Thursday, February 7, 2013

TheoBiology

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.9 Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? 10 In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. 
Job 12:8-10


     Theology is the study of God. Biology is the study of life. When you study biology in a Biblical perspective, you are studying God: the Creator, Sustainer, and Life of all living things. If you look around yourself, especially if you are in your office reading a blog, you probably don’t see many living creatures. Yet your own body is full of this miracle called Life. 
     When God looked at all he had made: land-forms, plants, animals, light, humans, etc., each according to their own kind, he saw that it was “very good.” Everything he made, and every way he made them points to how perfect, wise, and caring our Creator is. 
     God created our earth with the perfect sustenance for life. Take, for instance, the atmosphere. The three dominant gases that make up the atmosphere (hydrogen, oxygen, and ozone) have just the right kind of molecular bonds to absorb three low-energy (harmful to life) light rays: ultraviolet, gamma, and X-rays. Not only that, but once the double bond in the ozone molecule is broken by the ultraviolet, the leftover oxygen molecule is used to brake the gamma rays.[1] Truly “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”† 
     If any animal needs this protection from radiation, it is the camel. Besides the camel spending numerous hours in the hot sun, it encounters sand storms, dehydration, and the hot sand. It counters each of these with specialized features unique to its kind. The camel has closable nostrils, and extra hair to block out the sand from its eyes, nose, and ears. It keeps from sinking in the sand because of its expanding foot pads. They also conserve water by regulating their own body temperature. It can hold fuel in its humps and hold much water in their blood cells. They can also drink twenty gallons of water in less than ten minutes.[2] 
     An animal that has no risk of dehydration in its habitat is the sea turtle. Whereas other creatures’ lungs would rupture under such great water pressure, the turtle’s lungs are designed to collapse when they exhale, storing the oxygen in their red blood cells, which they have in greater proportions. Their eyes eject fluids that can protect their eyes from the sand while they dig nests for their eggs or rid their bodies of excess salt from the salt water around them.[3] 
     Not short of designer genius is the long necked giraffe. The giraffe’s diet consists of greens, herbs, and shoots. While some may be found in trees and shrubs, many are found on the desert ground. The giraffe must lower its six-foot neck to reach the herbs. When it has taken enough, it raises its head back up those six feet to digest its food. Most humans would fall over unconscious if they attempted this feat. What allows the creature to do such a rapid, heighty motion without falling over and becoming lion food? While the human brain allows the flow of blood through the brain, sometimes causing dizziness, the giraffe’s skull allows blood flow around the brain, not interfering with the functions of the brain. Obviously God cared for his creation enough that giraffes would live without the fear of extinction! 
     God designed this world so well that all its inhabitants work together to “keep it turning.” This very moment, millions of bacteria are living on your skin, surviving on you perspiration. Not only does your skin coolant and detox system sustain these harmless bacteria, but these bacteria, in turn fight off deadly pathogens to keep you healthy.[4] When the human body exhales carbon dioxide into the air, that gas will be the “air to breathe” for all plants. Those plants will convert that gas into more oxygen for humans to breathe and restore oxygen to the atmosphere. That is testimony to how efficient and full of foresight our Creator is. 
     But God’s providence and insight don't stop there. “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! ... Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!”† God may care for camels and all other creatures of this earth, but he never ceases caring for his people. 
     Living proof that God is the Creator Sustainer and “glue” of all living things is the protein laminin. Laminin is found by every cell structure in the body. It literally holds our membranes, muscles, organs, and bones together. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? The very structure of laminin is shaped like Christ’s cross. Nothing could be truer when God says “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”† 
     Our world, from the heights of the giraffe’s neck to the depths of the turtle’s sea habitation, is living testimony to a loving Creator. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the … Life.”† God is both our earthly life and our eternal Life and Salvation. God breathed life into Adam and Eve, and as long as they didn't sin and fall away from their Holy Creator, they had a carefree life without sin and suffering that was to last forever on a perfect earth. But man did sin and their lives were diminished lengthwise and spiritually, and suddenly bore suffering and depravity. 
     Yet God loved us so much that he sent his only son Jesus, fully man and fully God, who never sinned, to take our sins upon his perfect life. He died, killing Death to give us new, everlasting Life in heaven. Now our Creator and Redeemer lives and offers us this life with him. 

Justin Gummi

†All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, NIV1984.
[1] Jay Wile, Exploring Creation with Chemistry, 2nd Edition 
[2] Answers magazine, Answers in Genesis 
[3] Ibid.
[4] Jay Wile, Exploring Creation with General Science


Editor's Note:
This is Justin Gummi's last article for the time being. We hope you've enjoyed his articles over the past several months.

Image by Leaping Lizard

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