Nature Has a Soundtrack! (incomplete post at this time)

Nature Has a Soundtrack!

“We need to discover a way of reading nature which includes the most possibilities.” (Flannery O Conner).

Who do we humans think we are, anyway? If something isn’t visible to us, does that mean it isn’t there? If we can’t hear something, does that mean that particular sound doesn’t exist? Granted, we are made in the image of God, so that is our true and foundational identity. And since Jesus of Nazareth is the exact perfect image of God, then we assume we are each made in the image of Christ. Our identity can only be found in Jesus Christ. But that doesn’t mean we human beings are the center of the universe… God is all of that. So why do we assume that something that is outside our awareness doesn’t in fact exist? Why are we so slow to believe in nature’s way of life? The fact is that we humans are ignorant of how creation works, of nature and all its inner mysteries. God has hidden much from us in His creation that is beyond us, outside of our understanding. If nature is full of sounds that are not audible to the human ears, so be it. As has been said often, “Some things have to be believed to be seen. Belief comes before understanding.” 

Nature’s Sound waves. God created sound to be a form of energy, a vibration, that must have a source from somewhere, and sound waves ripple from the source through matter, whether air, liquid, gas, or solid matter. Without some kind of source and some kind of matter to act as a medium, sound apparently doesn’t exist in the way we understand sound. Since much of outer space is a vacuum and doesn’t contain air, space is completely silent. Except, except, there is, lo and behold, some obvious matter in space… stars, planets, meteors, other pieces of substance. So therefore, there are indeed sound waves in space that vibrate through these pieces of matter. In fact, these sounds are now picked up and measured by scientists in amazing new technologies that collect all the data that is coming from these space materials. And now we can actually translate the sound waves from stars and planets into what the astrophysicists call “harmonious songs.” Yes, as proclaimed in Job 38:7, the “morning stars sang together in chorus” at creation, and the fact is they are still singing! Literally! There is a natural song of the universe, given by God, sung by the matter in space, and all we have to do is translate nature’s soundtrack so that we can truly hear and understand what nature is singing! Nature communicates in a foreign tongue, an otherworldly language to us humans, and all we need are translators. Music is in the DNA of the whole world. Why would our musical creator, who must have sung the universe into being, limit the profound gift of music to us mere humans? Doesn’t it make more sense that our Trinity-God, the world’s eternal Heavenly Trio, would be more than happy to offer the gift of music to all of creation, and not just us people?

Follow the Science:

(1.) The Big Bang Was Audible. God’s primal earthquake that put into motion all of creation resulted in literal sound waves that rippled out in matter and light. The hot plasma that burst at God’s hands was a ball of electrons and protons and light that created a primary bass note in space. Evidently, when all those ions smashed into each other, sound waves were produced, and a literal “New Song” was created in the universe. This massive bass note is so low in frequency that it is not audible to human ears, of course, because the scientists have now determined that this bass-note hum is 47 octaves lower than the lowest note on the piano! This low rumbling sound in space has also been discovered to include a number of higher overtones as well, resulting in a type of space-time harmonies. So the Big Bang sang a song audible to Creator god, and was certainly one of the reasons the Lord evaluated creation as “very good.”

(2.) All Nature Sings and Dances. Atoms, the building blocks of all created matter on the earth, are all comprised of impossibly small particles that have synchronized movement. They have an innate knowledge that enables them to cooperate in a natural “dance.” God created them with the ability to move together faster than the speed of light. Electrons move so fast that an electron could race around the earth in eighteen seconds. Scientists have discovered that each atom is “extremely turbulent,” that these particles in the atom “move and interact endlessly.” Surprisingly, these particles all seem to “vibrate coherently.” This discovery of coordinated movement in the atoms suggests that there may be a mysterious intuitive consciousness even at the cellular level in all of creation. Evidently, even inanimate objects have movement and are animate at that basic level. Might any of these statements be among those “possibilities” that Flannery OConner was talking about?

1. The movement at the cellular level is a form of creaturely self-expression; this “self” is foreign to human experience or knowledge;
2. The synchronized movement of the electrons and protons are their form of dancing, of rejoicing, of being expressive according to the way God created them;
3. Each cellular particle of every part of creation is vibrating with joy in praise of their Creator, rejoicing in its own existence, and dancing to God’s rhythm;
4. All of creation has been blessed to have its own relationship with God; each creature has its own unique way of communicating with God, even at the level of the atom’s inner particles; nature has its own “language” that God can understand;
5. Since all of creation is able to “groan” (Romans 8:19-22) under the fall’s curse, creation is thus able to rejoice, now and with the future restoration;
6. God’s creation is mysterious to humans to the point that it contains elements that are at the same time fact and symbol, reality and imagination, flights of natural fancy that are so elegant and “perfect” that they must be true;
7. Trees are clapping their hands at the subatomic level, expressing joy in their own way, unbeknownst to humans; trees clapping and hills singing are a “living reality” according to Christian poet and scientist Virginia Stem Owens;
8. The following may be literally true, and not a mere metaphor, picturesque language or poetic license:

”For you shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands…”  (Isaiah 55:12).

“Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; and let them say among the nations, ‘The Lord reigns!’ Let the sea roar and all its fullness; let the field rejoice, and all that is in it. Then the trees of the woods shall rejoice before the Lord, for He is coming to judge the earth.”  (1 Chronicles 16:31-33).

“You crown the year with your goodness, and your paths drip with abundance. They drip on the pastures of the wilderness, and the little hills rejoice on every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are covered with grain; they shout for joy, and they also sing.” (Psalm 65:11-13).

“Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout for joy, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, O forest, and every tree in it! For the Lord has redeemed Israel and glorified Himself in Zion!” (Isaiah 44:23).

“Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills be joyful together before the Lord!”  (Psalm 98:8).

“The beast of the field will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I give waters in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” (Isaiah 43:20).

“Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord from the heavens! Praise Him from the skies! Praise Him, all the armies of heaven! Praise Him, sun and moon! Praise him, all you twinkling stars! Praise him, skies above! Praise Him, vapors high above the clouds! Let every created thing give praise to the Lord, for he issued His command, and they came into being. He set them in place forever and ever. His decree will never be revoked… (Psalm 148:1-6);

Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths, fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey Him, mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds, kings of the earth and all people, rulers and judges of the earth, young men and young women, old men and children… (Ps. 148:7-12);

“Let them all praise the name of the Lord. For His name is very great; His glory towers over the earth and heaven!” (Psalm 148:13).

(3.) Birds are God’s Special Troubadours. It wasn’t long ago that calling someone a “bird-brain” was a supreme insult. However, all the recent research into the brain of a bird has uncovered the fact that birds have a unique density of neurons packed inside their little brains. Many birds enjoy an ability to engage in a higher order of thinking than mammals, even some primates. Songbirds in particular are extremely intelligent, as well as ravens and parrots. Parrots can mimic over 800 words, while ravens have the ability to mimic human speech, and even reproduce the sounds of predators in order to lead them to a carcass. One of the most astounding facts discovered in bird-brain research is that songbirds each have a voice box fully awake during their REM sleeping patterns, which allows them to quietly rehearse the songs they are going to sing the next day! Birds sing in their sleep! Not only that, but when male and female mates sleep together, they each rehearse their songs in harmony for the next day! Is there any doubt all these songbirds are singing songs of praise to their Creator?

The Scripture seems to take seriously the idea that all creation is able to rejoice, to praise God and worship Him, from the subatomic particles to the stars and planets, from the smallest creature to the kings of the earth, from so-called inanimate objects to those full of life.