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44 4/1/2006
When Did Entropy (2nd Law) Begin?
WHEN DID ENTROPY (2ND LAW) BEGIN?
It has been argued many times that the Second Law of Thermodynamics came about after the Fall of Adam and Eve. First, the Second Law states that all usable energy becomes less usable. Basically, it means that if anything is left to itself, it will decay and become useless. The old saying goes that if you leave a brick in a parking lot for 5,000 years you could come back and it would be a pile of dust. Creationists have often added that evolution would teach an increase in complexity so that if you leave that brick by itself for a long period of time you ought to be able to return to see a skyscraper. While this oversimplifies things a bit, in essence the truth is revealed in that analogy.
Since entropy isn’t a good thing, many Bible believing Christians have just assumed that decay must have come about after the fall because you couldn’t have such a thing in a perfect paradise. To some extent that is true, but not entirely.
Entropy is actually a benefit for us here on earth, just not as many think of “decay” processes. When heat is transferred to a colder object this is actually a result of the 2nd Law at work. This is very important for our survival on earth because it allows the earth to be heated by the sun’s energy. Even walking is dependent upon this law because friction falls under entropy as well. Therefore, without the Second Law being in existence before the Fall, Adam and Eve would be slipping and falling in different ways than we normally think. One result of entropy that I am very thankful for is baking. If you make cookies you mix all kinds of ingredients together producing disorder. Digestion of those cookies couldn’t take place without the food molecules being broken down in the entropic processes. Even breathing is reliant upon air moving from a high pressure to a low pressure.
From the above examples, it is clear that creationists can not say that entropy came about after the Fall. So how can we have all the other unbeneficial decay process in the Garden of Eden? Since Eden forshadows heaven, will we have this entropic principles in heaven?
I think the answer lies not within the scientific realm, but in the realm of God’s providence and power. It seems most likely that in the Garden of Eden, as it shall be heaven, God simply sustains and holds things together, despite the Second Law. At the time of the Fall, God simply withdrew some of His sustaining power. The Scriptures tell us of Jesus, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together” (Col 1:15-18). Clearly Christ is what holds this entire universe in place. Without Him we would just fall apart.
I find it very interesting that science tells us that this world is filled with atoms that are filled with movement and energy. Each atom has electrons, protons and neutrons, and even within them there is movement. Where does this energizing motion come from? Could it be Christ holding everything together? Interestingly we see in Genesis, “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Gen 1:2). The Spirit of God shows the third person in the Trinity being present at Creation. Here He is “hovering” over the waters. The Hebrew word is “rachaph” and is only used three times in Scripture - Jer 23:9; Deut 32:11; Gen 1:2. The true meaning is to flutter or move back and forth. Therefore, the Spirit of God is fluttering over the waters. This back and forth movement shows an energizing quality bringing motion into a static and formless environment. There is one more passage which gives further insight into this “hovering” characteristic of the Spirit. The Greek equivalent of “rachaph” is “phero” and is used in 2 Peter 1:21 to show the Holy Spirit’s energizing effect on believers. Therefore, the same energizing Spirit which brought energy to the world brings a Spirit led life to us.
Without this energy bringing form to a formless world we could not exist. At the creation, God’s energizing motion that was put into effect, kept things from falling apart and decaying in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve fell the energizing motion remained, however, some of the sustaining qualities were removed, allowing for thorns, thistles, disease and death to come about.
Imagine what would happen to the world if God’s energizing power were taken away from the universe. In our small minds I don’t think we can even imagine it. Right now, there is movement in the atoms of the paper you are holding. It requires energy for the paper to even exist. If the movement in the atoms stopped what would happen? My guess is that Peter gives us insight into exactly what we can expect to see: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness” (2 Peter 3:11-13). I believe that when the energizing Spirit is removed from creation, the creation itself will melt away in fervent heat. Even that is probably the best description of what we can’t even imagine. Perhaps the fires of hell will be fervent heat without any of this sustaining power. The spirit of man, being not of material nature, will suffer in great torment. The good news, however, is that as Christians, we need not worry about hell, damnation, or fervent heat. God will create a new heaven and a new earth that will probably be much like the earth before the Fall. God’s sustaining power will remain eternally and the second law may or may not exist. Perhaps it will still remain for breathing and digesting etc. However, perhaps our new bodies will not need such a thing.
Romans speaks of God’s withdrawal of his sustaining power after the fall, as well as His restoring all of creation to perfection after His second coming: “For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God” (Rom 8:20-21). I for one, look forward to the redemption of all creation because of Christ’s conquering of death and the devil on the cross and through His resurrection.
One more fascinating aspect of this energizing Spirit of God can be found when we realize, that as Christians, we can have a foretaste of this redemptive energizing power in a fallen world. As Christians we often put so much focus on the death and resurrection of Christ, when in fact there is much more. Not many believers take note of the very important ascension of Christ into heaven. Jesus clearly tells us, “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. When He comes, He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned” (John 16:7-11).
The same energizing force of creation has been sent to live inside of each Christian alive today. What power we have inside of us because of the sustaining Spirit that came after Christ left earth. He continues to hold us in Him so that Satan would have no power over us. That same Spirit will remain untainted until His return, upon which time, we will get new bodies that will not be affected by entropy. This also means that the Spirit that has been given to us, is to be used to energize the world with the knowledge of Christ by first “convicting the world of guilt.”
In conclusion, every time we see the result of the Second Law today, we should be reminded that it is Christ that continues to hold all things together. Though He has withdrawn some of His sustaining power, He has left a deposit in the spirit of every believer to sustain and ensure their salvation and a place in a new heaven and a new earth wherein only righteousness will dwell. While the world and its ungodly inhabitants decay around us, we can be joy-filled with the knowledge that we ourselves are being preserved: “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess 5:23).