Many organizations and ministries care for the earth and its environment. Some have interest in the Earth and care for its systems primarily for its own sake. Others care for Earth because humans benefit from a healthy planet. Most “creation care” enthusiasts take pleasure in the beauty of Earth’s systems as well as knowledge that the planet’s optimally functioning systems sustain a thriving human existence.
Our post now shifts to a different aspect of creation care—divine creation care. There are many different dimensions of God’s care for his creation. We mention only two. (1) How did God care for his creation of matter, energy, time and space from the time of the original creation event? (2) How does God care for his creation yet today? Our post deals with the first aspect.
When this blog speaks of creation events, we speak as adherents of the old earth creationist (OEC) position. Therefore, we endorse the numerous, independent scientific findings affirming that our universe originated 13.7 bya in a stupendous cosmic event of supernatural creation. This primeval event, most often dubbed “The Big Bang,” was not an event of destructive force but rather, an event of incredible creative power.
One is forced to examine the scientific findings of cosmic events in the intervening eons of time. Between 13.7 bya and the appearance of life on Earth, roughly 3.8 bya, much time elapses! How much time? Roughly ten billion years. Our God is not constrained by time frames, especially human time frames. Multiple billions of years equates to an instant in an eternal time frame. In human terms, this is a mystery.
By the time of the initial creation of life 3.8 bya, God’s creation care had provided the existence of an array of elements and their atoms by which life processes would be sustained. Imagine the existence of atoms of elements which could not generate a wide array of electromagnetic radiation to bathe our surroundings with heat, light, and a variety of other life-sustaining radiation. This would be like a science fiction tale with a very disappointing conclusion.
As you read these words you are immersed in life-giving heat and light. The heat arrives via infrared radiation generated by every atom in your surroundings. Electrons in those atoms are buzzing around the nuclei they surround. Uncounted moving electrons produce pulsating electric and magnetic fields which rush outward in waves or packets of energy called photons from its “home” atom at 300,000 km/sec (186,000 mi/sec). This is a type of energy known as infrared radiation. When infrared radiation is absorbed by people and objects, they acquire heat. In turn, those objects pass their heat energy to other objects. Infrared radiation travels in electric and magnetic waves in phase. Distances between these waves are exceedingly variable and have different effects.
Light is also generated by moving electrons surrounding atoms under different conditions. References list hundreds of sources of light generated in one way or another by moving electrons or other charged particles in atoms. Again, light waves occur in different lengths or distances between their wave crests. We observe colors according to different wavelengths. There are other types of electromagnetic waves in nature, all generated in the same way by the movement of charged particles in atoms.
Brilliant 19th century scientist James Clerk Maxwell predicted the existence of many other types of electromagnetic waves. He first proposed that visible light was an electromagnetic phenomenon. Many other electromagnetic phenomena were predicted by Maxwell, including radio waves later to be produced by scientists. Now we enjoy the full scope of thousands of types of electromagnetic waves distinguished from each other only by a difference in wavelength. Without electromagnetic radiation (radio, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-Rays, and gamma rays), human culture would not exist.
Life suddenly appeared on Earth, later followed by a plethora of appearances of diverse and novel species, finally culminating in the sudden appearance of modern humanity a mere moment ago in terms of geological time frames—these we report as divine creation events on our unique planet. In preparation for the appearance of life, God’s original creation care was in full operation. Existence of the marvelous electromagnetic spectrum operating within a framework of orderly physical laws is evidence of a Creator who cares deeply for his creation.
