In my last post, we talked about the different dimensions that define our universe and even parallel universes to which we may, someday, have access. I think to put all of this in a proper perspective is to understand our worldview on such a topic.

Which of the following statements would you consider true:
Science is Fact, or
Science is Truth?

The first is true. With what we can know, sense, test, measure, and interpret, science gives us facts for us to know. Yet, the issue is often not the fact itself but our interpretation of that fact. Our interpretation depends upon our worldview. That is, do we believe there is a God or not? Our worldview gives us a biased interpretation of the fact we observe. No one can have an unbiased worldview.

The second statement is false even though we try to justify that it is true. Why do I say that? Well, science is ever evolving and changing. We can only produce fact, or what seems factual, based on the sensitivity of the instruments we use to understand that fact. What we learn today is often something that could not have been known many years prior. Oftentimes we must modify what we thought of as a fact because our new way of measuring or detecting the phenomena around us has led us to new conclusions. So, science always points us toward truth but can never be truth in and of itself.

And what about Scripture? How does that fit into the two statements above? Well, if you ascribe to the dogma that there is no God, then you will likely believe that Scripture and Science cannot coexist together. Yet, if you ascribe to the belief that God does exist, then you likely believe that Scripture and Science will not contradict each other because Scripture is the ultimate source of truth. As I stated above, science points to truth but cannot be truth. Yet, Scripture is truth. Therefore, science points, supports, and acclaims what Scripture teaches.

So, one’s worldview is very important to understand. One needs to be aware of their own bias. Whether you believe in God or not, does not make you bias free in either case. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is biased. So, your biased worldview will dictate how you interpret what science is telling you. It’s never really about the fact, but the interpretation and application of what that fact means.

Also, what you believe about truth does not change or alter truth. Which bias is truth? Well, even if you believe in God, you can still miss the correct interpretation of the fact that has been discovered. In other words, if Scripture cannot support your interpretation, then maybe you need to look for a different interpretation. Now, the Bible isn’t a science textbook for sure, yet it contains all truth. Therefore, can the Bible support your interpretation or not?

Let’s look at our last post about the eleven different dimensions that science, according to M-Theory, tells us exist. Can the Bible support such as assertion? At face value, one may say no, that’s preposterous. But is it? Is it really?

Over the next several posts, I want us to explore what I said in my previous posts about these dimensions in more detail. Over the last one-hundred years or so physicists have attempted to unify the fundamental forces of nature (general relativity) and the atomic and subatomic forces of nature (quantum physics) in our universe into a cohesive whole by suggesting everything can be defined by “strings” (vibration frequencies) and branes (i.e., membranes connecting dimensions), and these two entities connecting to each other. Almost seventy years after Albert Einstein put his theory of relativity together in 1910, scientists began to come up with ways to combine his work and the work on the quantum scale into a generalized theory in an effort to come up with the so-called, “Theory of Everything.” Various versions were made over the next decade to try and achieve that. In 1995, Edward Witten, came up with what he called M-Theory which combined the five versions of string theory in existence at that time and quantum gravity into a model that could describe how we can understand our universe. In this model, he needed 11 different dimensions to make his theory tenable.

From a Scriptural perspective, I think the eleven dimensions can be divided into three categories: those defining our physical existence, those defining time, and those defining spiritual existence. Join me next time as we delve further into this line of thought.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Before we can see how God has worked with and through Gentiles, we should cover how the definitions of Gentiles, Israelis, and Jews have led to some opposing world views. Many have tried to develop an overarching theme of how God is working or has worked throughout history. It’s interesting how viewing the same data can lead to different results.

There may be others, but the two main views have Israel as the key distinguisher. One group feels that Israel is an Old Testament symbol or allegory for the Church (or true believers) and thereby forms a continuous continuity throughout the Bible. Yet, this is dependent upon how one views how God is working. If one only looks at the salvation of mankind as the only Biblical theme, then it is easy to see how a theory of God implementing salvation would be the key. God being all knowing would know mankind would sin, so the Godhead decided even before creation how mankind would be saved. Because mankind would become disobedient, God would institute grace to mankind to save it. Yet is this the real theme, or the only theme? Is mankind the real focus of the Bible? And if there are other themes, how can they be incorporated into such a theme without creating other allegories?

Let’s look at another view. This view sees Israel as a nation whom God would use to reveal Himself to the world. As a nation, they failed in that respect. Yet, that did not thwart God’s plan. God still revealed Himself greater and made a way for the salvation of mankind. Although the two views sound similar, this one puts God as the main focus rather than mankind. It allows other Biblical themes to be incorporated because it is about revealing who God is. The salvation of mankind is only one of the ways God reveals aspects of Himself.

In our last post, we saw how many of the Northern Kingdom of Israel (the ten tribes) escaped Assyrian captivity by fleeing to the area between the Black and Caspian Seas, as well to other parts of the known world at that time. Many, but not all, of the Southern Kingdom of Judah (2 tribes) returned from Babylonian captivity to rebuild Jerusalem and surrounding areas. At the turn of the first century, there were pockets of Israelis and Jews throughout both the Roman and Parthian Empires. Once Parthia fell, many of the Israeli descendants who had been part of the Parthian Empire fled across the Caucasus Mountains into Europe, and some believe eventually into the United States. Those who remained in Armenian territory became known as Khazars. Over time, Edomites were pushed by the Nabateans into prior Israeli territory and became known as Idumea (the Greek name for Edom). These were assimilated into Jewish society by the Hasmonean Dynasty. Later, Rome further invaded and destroyed both Jerusalem and the temple spreading Jews further throughout the known world. Over time, the area was under rule by many different geographic kingdoms. Today, it is now a nation again – ever since 1948.

The first world view we mentioned sees this as inconsequential because God’s plan is not about Israel at all but true believers (mainly Jewish/Israeli in the Old Testament; mainly Gentile in the New Testament). Or some go further to say that Israel dispersed throughout the world is the true elect who have become the Church. Again, this leads to being somewhat exclusionary and doesn’t seem to leave room for other themes of Scripture.

The second world view sees all of this in line with God’s plan of not only salvation for the entire world, but the salvation of Israel as a nation as well. It seems to blend well with such scripture where Paul states God will deal with Israel as a nation again and Israel will be saved (Ro 11:1-36). This view blends well with scripture which states our current salvation is but a deposit, or a guarantee, to the fuller inheritance that will occur when Christ returns to set up his earthly kingdom (Ep 1:13-14). And this view seems to fit nicely with the defined covenants in the Bible (Abrahamic Covenant, Gn 15:7-21; Deuteronomic Covenant, Dt 29:10-13; Davidic Covenant, 2Sa 7:8-16; and the New Covenant, Jr 31:31; 32:39-40; Ek 36:26) which are about promises concerning both land and monarchy. This view doesn’t need to allegorize to make this view fit into a theory of salvation for mankind, as this view is all part of God revealing His entire plan for mankind, for Israel, and for the world. We find Him to be very inclusive.

Now that we see He has a plan for everyone, let’s now begin to see how he has worked with Gentiles.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens