In the Beginning Was Information (21 page)

When considering ourselves as recipients of the message of the Bible, we can arrive at the highest possible apobetic density of information. We refer to the one verse, namely John 3:36: "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him." This concise piece of information with its overwhelming depth of meaning could only appear in the Bible where high semantic information densities are expected. Just as overwhelming is the stated purpose: eternal life! Nothing has a greater value — in the words of Jesus, the whole world is worthless in this respect (Matt. 16:26) — so that anybody who has entrusted himself in faith to Jesus has achieved the
highest possible apobetic information
density.

Chapter 15

The Quantities Used for Evaluating Information and Their Application to the Bible

In chapter 10, six measures for quantitatively evaluating information (especially its semantics) were identified, namely semantic quality, relevance, timeliness, accessibility, existence, and comprehensibility. Let us now investigate the role of these parameters in the Bible.

1. Semantic quality q:
The special semantic quality of the Bible is characterized as follows:

– It is divine: "This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord" (Jer. 7:1). "I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ" (Gal. 1:11–12).

– It is true: "O Sovereign Lord, you are God! Your words are trustworthy" (2 Sam. 7:28). "Your word is truth" (John 17:17).

– It comprises the message of man’s salvation: "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation" (Eph. 1:13).

2. Relevance r:
The message of the Bible is important for each and every person, because God’s judgment is the same for everybody: "For no one living is righteous" (Ps. 143:2); "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Even so, God has provided one way of salvation for everybody through His Son Jesus: "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Numerous other passages point in the same direction, for example, John 3:16, John 3:18, John 14:6, 1 John 5:12. Our profit is maximized when we correctly estimate the relevance. The attitude of the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 1:4–9) and the Philadelphians (Rev. 3:7–11) is highly commended in this respect.

The Bible very explicitly warns against an erroneous evaluation of its relevance, because then one will suffer the greatest possible loss. Paul and Barnabas told the people of Jerusalem, "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles" (Acts 13:46). The rich wheat farmer made plans for his life without considering God, and was told, "You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you" (Luke 12:20). The rich man in hell (Luke 16:19–31) was not lost because of his wealth — Abraham and Job had been richer — but because he misjudged the relevance of the information at his disposal.

3. Timeliness t:
Certain passages of the Bible represent some of the most ancient extant writings known to man. All the authors (excluding Luke) belonged to an insignificant, small nation of the Middle East. In the light of these facts, one might conclude that such a book could now only be of historical interest, and its contents would have been outdated long ago. One may expect that people belonging to the same nation as the authors might regard it as being of cultural interest. In spite of all such considerations, millions of people all over the world concern themselves with this Book. It is read and loved, irrespective of age, language, and level of education. No other book in history is so timely and relevant. What is the reason? Martin Luther commented, "The Bible is not an antique, neither is it modern; it is eternal."

The message of the Bible is relevant for all times. It is always up-to-date and topical because of its eternal dimension. In Matthew 24:35 Jesus expresses it thus: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." In this world, everything is perishable, except the Word: "The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands for ever" (Isa. 40:8). God’s Word is thus always up-to-date because of its exceptional nature. The word "today" is often mentioned in the Bible, but its applicability has never been lost over thousands of years.

Joshua entreated the Israelites: "Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve" (Joshua 24:15a), and even now God calls us in the same way. What a great blessing is entailed when we give the same reply as Joshua: "But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord" (Josh. 24:15). When Zacchaeus experienced a complete change in his life after meeting Jesus, Christ told him, "Today salvation has come to this house" (Luke 19:9). This blessing is ours also, today, when we turn to Jesus. When you have done this, you will continuously be nourished by the up-to-date Word of God: "Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4).

4. Accessibility a:
At present, the total volume of knowledge is doubled every seven years. For electrical technology, this period is five years, and it is even less in the case of information technology. If a scientist really wants to keep abreast, he will have to spend 100 hours every day just reading, which is impossible. It becomes very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to find relevant information in the present knowledge explosion. Access has become problem number one. In the case of the Bible, the situation is quite different: The wisdom it contains is complete and permanent, and there is thus an essential distinction between it and human knowledge. God’s information is contained in one book so that we can have easy and complete access to it. This access, through continuous use, has been commanded by God:

"Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night" (Josh 1:8).

"O land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord!"(Jer. 22:29).

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly" (Col. 3:16).

"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation" (1 Pet. 2:2).

In addition, we are encouraged to read the Bible through the exemplary witness of others. "Now the Bereans …received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day" (Acts 17:11). The Psalmist longs for the word (Ps. 119:81), because he finds renewal (Ps. 119:25), strength (Ps. 119:28), hope, and salvation (Ps. 119:81).

5. Existence e:
There is one further important question: Does the Bible really contain all the information required for knowing God and ourselves, to live according to God’s standards, and to achieve His eternal purpose? All important questions are answered clearly and unambiguously, but critics and doubters introduce uncertainties and vagueness. Spurgeon rightly concluded that "Nothing is easier than doubting. A poorly educated person with mediocre abilities can raise more doubts than can be resolved by the cleverest men of science from all over the world."

Because of the completeness of the biblical message, we may not delete anything from this message nor add anything (Rev. 22:18–19), and for every interpretation the fundamental rule holds: "Do not go beyond what is written" (1 Cor. 4:6).

6. Comprehensibility c:
This has already been discussed in paragraph 14.1 under "biblical concepts."

We can now formulate the following highly significant conclusions:

– The Bible contains the most important information conceivable. It is divine in essence, and indicates the way to our Father’s house.

– The relevance value of the information of the Bible for every person is r = 1, the highest possible value. It comprises the best advice for this life, and is the only compass that guides us to heaven.

– The information of the Bible is always up-to-date (t = 1). Whereas most scientific publications become outdated after ten years,
^[20]
the Bible can never become outdated.

– We can readily access the information of the Bible (a = 1). It can be obtained all over the world, and the contents are easy to understand.

– The information of the Bible is comprehensive and complete (e = 1).

– No false information is contained in the Bible; it is the only Book of truth (John 17:17).

– We find the highest semantic density of information in the Bible, as well as the best pragmatic information (commandments, rules of living, and our relationship with God and other people). It comprises the highest possible apobetics, namely an invitation to enter heaven!

Chapter 16

A Biblical Analogy of the Four Fundamental Entities — Mass, Energy, Information, and Will

The four basic quantities in creation:
These four entities, namely mass (or matter), energy, information, and volition, were discussed in paragraph 3.3. The latter two were described as being nonmaterial. Both material quantities, mass and energy, are subject to conservation laws, being linked by the equivalence formula E = m x c
²
. This means that they cannot be created by any natural process, neither can they be destroyed. Does this now mean that mass and energy are by nature eternal? No, it should be noted that none of the natural laws has existed forever, neither will any of them always be valid in the future. They were created together with everything else (see Theorem N10b in paragraph 2.3) and perform their wisely allocated functions only since creation week. "By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing" (Gen. 2:2).

The question about the origin of matter and the energies we observe in action is already answered in the first verse of the Bible: God created them! Everything came into being through His inconceivable power (Jer. 10:12 and Rom. 1:20). The active person at creation was Jesus, "through whom he made the universe" (Heb. 1:2). Jesus is also the sustainer of the entire creation, "sustaining all things by his powerful word" (Heb. 1:3). His creative and His sustaining acts are not restricted to matter and energy, but also hold for the information contained in biological systems. We can now conclude (John 1:1–3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2):

– Jesus is the source of all energy,

– Jesus is the source of all matter, and

– Jesus is the source of all biological information.

The totality of the information present in living organisms, designated I, represents a value characterized by high quality as well as a large volume. In the beginning, information was established through volition. The Bible tells us about the link between will and wisdom:

– "You created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being" (Rev. 4:11).

– "How many are your works, O Lord! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures" (Ps. 104:24).

– "Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:2–3).

In the light of Colossians 1:17 and Hebrews 1:3, we can say that Jesus sustains all energy, all matter, and all biological information (i.e., He sustains all life). Everything that exists does so through Christ; He is the First Cause of all things. However, supporters of the doctrine of evolution deny each and every purposeful cause for this world and deny any possibility of a personal sustaining will. They thus mislead themselves and are forced to regard information as a material quantity which originated in matter. We have scientifically shown that this view is erroneous.

According to His will, God gave us many creative gifts. For example: Our free will enables us to act creatively. The gift of language is the instrument through which we can produce new information (creative information!). There are two things which we cannot do: we cannot create mass (or energy), neither can we destroy it.

The spiritual meaning of the four basic entities:
It should be noted that the above-mentioned four fundamental quantities have a spiritual dimension in the Bible where man is concerned. For example, in 1 Corinthians 2:14–15 a distinction is made between the natural man and the spiritual man. The former is exclusively concerned with this world, and is not bothered with the message of the Bible. His philosophy ignores God, and he thus does not consider Jesus Christ, neither is he concerned about God’s purpose, salvation. He will be eternally lost without the Savior of sinners. Paul describes this situation in the following words: "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1:18).

On the other hand, a spiritual person lives in close communion with God (Eph. 5:18–20). The phrase "in Christ" occurs 196 times in the New Testament (e.g., John 15:4; Rom. 6:1; 1 Cor. 1:30; Gal. 3:28), referring to somebody who has tied his life to Jesus and who is sure of his eternal life (1 John 5:13). Such a person eagerly hears and reads God’s Word (Rev. 1:3) and has access to the spiritual dimension of the Bible.

Figure 30: Basic units in the life of a spiritual person. The four fundamental entities — mass, energy, information, and will — as depicted in Figure 8, have been created by God. In the case of believers, we find a spiritual analogy for these entities, described by the Bible as divine in essence.