What is Light? - Peering into the Mystery from Physics to Scripture

What is Light? — Peering into the Mystery from Physics to Scripture

What exactly is light? Scientists today still really don't know.

From a preschool memory of switching on a flashlight to the brilliance of a sunrise that greets us each morning, we’ve all asked the same question at some point: “What is Light?” The query sounds simple, yet both modern physics and the Bible reveal it to be one of the deepest mysteries woven into creation. Today we’ll explore how cutting-edge experiments such as the famous double-slit test point to a reality far more astonishing than everyday experience, and how Scripture has, all along, offered a framework for understanding light’s dual nature—physical and spiritual.

1. The Physics: Light That “Knows”

When not observed, light mysteriously behaves differently.

In the early 1800s Thomas Young demonstrated that light produced an interference pattern, behaving like a wave. Fast-forward to the 20th century and scientists refined Young’s work into the double-slit experiment, firing individual photons (particles of light) toward two narrow openings.

When no one looked to see which slit each photon passed through, the resulting pattern on the back wall showed waves interfering—bright and dark bands where peaks and troughs overlapped. But the instant a detector was placed at the slits to observe each photon’s path, the interference vanished; the photons lined up like tiny BBs, betraying particle-only behavior.

The slit experiment model

Physicists were stunned: the very act of observation appeared to change reality. It was as though light “knew” whether it was being watched and adjusted its behavior accordingly. This baffling insight sits at the heart of quantum mechanics, and it resonates with the perspective that information—not merely matter—undergirds the universe. Light displays what researchers call wave-particle duality, refusing to fit neatly into our macroscopic categories.

2. The Biblical Witness: Light Before the Sun

Long before the era of lasers and photomultipliers, Genesis recorded a detail that still puzzles commentators:

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. … And there was evening and there was morning—the first day.”— Genesis 1:3, 5

Sun, moon, and stars don’t appear until Day Four (Genesis 1:14-19). In other words, the first creative word God utters brings forth light itself, independent of later luminous bodies. Scripture is unafraid to place light at the foundation of reality.

Carrying that theme forward, the apostle John opens his Gospel echoing Genesis:

“In the beginning was the Word … In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”— John 1:1-5

John identifies the Logos—Christ—as both the agency of creation and the Light that banishes darkness. Centuries before quantum theory suggested that information is primary, the Bible equated the living Word with Light itself.

3. Parallels Between Quantum Insight and Biblical Revelation

Quantum Observation	Scriptural Parallel	Reflection for “Ark Life” Living
Observer effect — light’s behavior changes when measured.	God’s presence “searches” and “knows” us (Psalm 139:1-4). Nothing is hidden.	Allow the Light to examine our motives; accountability reshapes behavior.
Non-locality / entanglement — distant photons act in concert.	The body of Christ is one despite distance (1 Cor 12:12-13).	My obedience influences the whole community; no act of faith is isolated.
Wave-particle duality — complementary truths needed for the full picture.	Jesus is fully God and fully man (John 1:14).	Embrace both physical stewardship and spiritual devotion; reality is “both-and.”

These resonances remind us that science and Scripture are not adversaries but alternate lenses focusing on the same majestic structure.

4. Light as Moral and Spiritual Metaphor

Beyond physics, Scripture leverages light to speak of truth, holiness, and guidance:

• Illumination of God’s character – “God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

• Guidance for daily choices – “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)

• Mission for believers – “You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14)

Just as photons carry energy that drives photosynthesis and fuels life on earth, God’s self-revealing Word energizes a life of faith. When we internalize biblical truth, we begin to emit moral and relational “lumens” that pierce a culture often overshadowed by confusion.

5. Living in the Light—Practically

1. Cultivate Observation: The double-slit experiment teaches that what we watch changes what we experience. Fix your “detectors” on Christ, and your habits will align with His.

2. Embrace Both Realms: Waves and particles; earthly tasks and heavenly callings. Integrate work, family, study, and worship under one coherent light source.

3. Reflect, Don’t Originate: The moon reflects the sun; believers reflect the Son. Seek daily exposure to Scripture so you can mirror His brilliance into dark corners of your world.

   
   

So…What is Light?

Let there be light.

It is the first word of creation, the medium through which we perceive, the paradox that dances between wave and particle, and the metaphor God chose for His own essence. When we ask “What is Light?” we stand at the intersection of laboratory experiment and holy revelation, hearing the echo: “Let there be…” Every photon and every page of Scripture testifies to a Designer who communicates through both physical constants and redemptive history.

May the answer ignite awe—and may we walk as children of light until the day when, in the New Jerusalem, “the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp” (Revelation 21:23).