Article of the Month of May 2008
Natural & Supernatural
By Dr. John Williams
 

Introduction
This article has been divided into the following sections:
1. Natural
2. Supernatural
3. Artificial
4. Spiritual
5. Biblical
Conclusion

1. Natural (Earthly/Worldly)
It is important to have a clear idea about nature and natural things with reference to the planet earth, the human beings that live on it, and the environment in which they live. What we describe as nature or natural things are listed below:
• The Planet Earth (The huge spherical mass made up of different layers of soil mixed with minerals, chemicals, micro-organisms, water, oil, deposits of rock, coal, metals etc and even hot liquids like fire etc)
• The Land or the surface of the earth made up of lawn, Rocky Mountains, Mountains covered with forests or snow, Valleys, Deserts, Forests etc.
(The soil which has several metal ores, chemical substances (providing nourishment to the plant kingdom which includes grass, herbs (shooting out leaves, bearing vegetables and fruits to nourish the living creatures), shrubs and trees (yielding edible fruits and providing shadows to shelter the animals, birds and human beings, and wood for construction of homes, furniture, ships, boats, bridges etc, and to provide heat by burning them, etc) and different kinds of Ameba, fungi, algae and other microscopic organisms and also worms of different kinds)

• Sea, Rivers, Lakes, Glaciers etc.
• The Sky
• The Clouds
• The Atmosphere in which there are different kinds of gases like oxygen, carbon dioxide etc., which are essential for the existence of human beings and other animals. It is interesting to note that God has made the plant kingdom and the animal kingdom to depend directly on each other for their very survival, because the plants release oxygen which is essential for human beings and other living creatures, to breathe in to live.
• The Sun, which provides light, sunshine and heat during the day
• The Moon, which provides dim light in the night, and the Stars that glitter in the night.
Considering the nature in general, and plant kingdom, animal kingdom and the creatures in the sea, river and water in particular, and the way every living creature has been designed and created to find its food like vegetables, fruits or leaves, or prey which has been provided in the nature itself in the form of animals, birds, fishes and insects, in the sea, rivers, lakes, land, forest etc, is just amazing and incredible. All these things were not planned and developed by men, but have been there always since the beginning of this world, and we refer to them as something natural, but we may say that everything we refer to is supernaturally natural.

All these living creatures not only have to get their nourishment to live, to grow and to multiply, but also to survive in the natural environment, escaping from the threats and risks of being attacked, killed and eaten by other living creatures which are larger and stronger. The living creatures have been naturally given colors in their hair and feathers to escape or camouflage in the environment in which they live, in order to escape from the attention and the clutches of other living creatures, for which they may become prey.

The study of nature is so intriguing and marvelous; the following few examples will attempt to describe some of these incredible wonders:

1. In the waterways like rivers or lakes, there are creatures called loaches, which crawl or live at the bottom, which are known as the scavengers and they consume all the dirt that collects at the bottom of the water, thereby they keep the water clean.
2. Similarly there are worms and different kinds of microscopic organisms in the soil which play a very vital role in preparing the soil by turning them over or ploughing in a way, for the vegetation to grow, and providing all the minerals and chemicals that we need for our health through the plants and trees.
3. There are perhaps thousands of varieties of birds, some of which have been naturally given characteristics to fly high in the sky or just low over the water to catch fishes for their food; and some of them swim in the water mostly; some spend more time on the land; and some birds and animals have the extraordinary capability to adapt themselves in icy cold environments; and some of them have been created as scavenger birds or animals to keep the environment clean, when some animals or birds that die or killed, begin to rot and smell.
4. Similarly some animals like cattle have been created primarily to provide milk and meat for human and animal consumption, and the other animals have been created primarily as preys for bigger animals.
5. Lastly, it is interesting to note that some birds like duck or swan have the extraordinary ability to fly at a great height in the sky, and to fly literally 100s or 1000s of miles to reach certain regions of the world where the climate is conducive for their survival during certain seasons, and some times they fly in large numbers in unison perfectly coordinating with each other, with God given senses and abilities even to know the direction in which they fly to reach a specific destination, without any technological devices used in the aircrafts, but with the naturally built-in aeronautical and aerodynamic skills, and perhaps something like mariners' compass.

As we can notice, in the foregoing paragraphs there is a wide assortment of illustrations of things and creatures, referred to, as something 'natural'. But it is very important to note that nature has been designed supernaturally or by a supernatural being. It is not a scientifically acceptable proposition that the entire earth to its core and what is on it and what is around it to provide light and warmth is something that suddenly came into existence by a sudden collision or collapse in the universe, as is propounded by the "Big Bang" Theory. Neither is it conceivable even stretching our wildest imagination nor can it be scientifically proved that everything developed over a period of millions of years through a process of evolution.

It is very interesting to note that what we describe as nature or something natural is, as a matter of fact something supernatural. Therefore, it will be fitting to say that nature is naturally supernatural, and supernaturally natural. The only acceptable theory is the theory of Creation as explained in the first chapter of Genesis. The following can be accepted as scientific proofs to believe in the Theory of Creation.

The concept or time-frame of a seven day week with 24 hour day is still accepted, followed, still exist in reality and even observed. The habit of working for 6 days, and resting for one day, is still a universally accepted practice. The pattern and the speed in which earth, moon and sun are positioned, and the speed at which they orbit, providing just enough heat and light to the entire world, in a span of 24 hours is also a fact based on the record of the Bible. For that matter even the calendar that the whole world is following at least for the last 6000 years and the history of the world for this period as recorded is true geographically, historically, geologically, archaeologically, chronologically, genealogically and is also true scientifically, considering the indelible proofs, results of some carbon tests etc.

2. Supernatural
In spite of the fact that the knowledge that human beings have gained, is so vast and so complex, what they do not know is actually much more than what they know, when we talk about the universe which is immeasurable in terms of time and also in terms of distance. In the universe the knowledge that man has gained is very little, and we can perhaps say that man with all the scientific advancements is barely scratching the surface of just a few planets which are relatively closer to the earth, and innumerable millions of stars which are millions of miles away from our planet, and even the other known planets which are far away, have not been reached by man and explored as yet. At this level of human understanding and knowledge about the universe, it is not surprising that man has not been able to explain with scientific evidence what we are referring to as the supernatural realm, which is controlling the natural realm in which we are living. We know that everything that was explained in the previous section titled nature or natural and everything that exists in that realm has been described as the nature, but it has also been mentioned in the previous section, that the nature which is taken for granted by us is naturally supernatural and supernaturally natural.

As we begin to delve in the realm of supernatural, it has been proved to be impossible to explore what we are referring to as supernatural, in a physical or scientific way. God is in the supernatural realm and God is everywhere. God is described as omnipresent (Present everywhere), omnipotent (all powerful) and omniscient (knows everything). This brief introduction to God will help us to begin to understand the supernatural, and interestingly God, the creator of the universe, who is naturally supernatural, is also supernaturally natural to the spiritual man who can discern him spiritually, with the spiritual skills he is endowed with, when he becomes alive spiritually. The Bible says that the natural man who is dead in sins and trespasses can become alive spiritually, by confessing his sins to God with repentance and receives Him as his Lord and Savior.

The Bible which is referred to as the word of God, gives a complete account of the human history for the last 6000 years from the time of the creation of this world in 6 days, as mentioned below, where all that prevailed in the area where the world is today, there was utter chaos and darkness. The story of creation which is recorded in the Bible in Genesis Chapter 1 indicates the order in which everything that exists now on this planet was created by God, in a span of 6 days, and further what he created every day and in what order he did, during the span of 6 days, is very clearly mentioned.

The Bible Account of Creation
Day 1 Light called Day and Darkness called Night
Day 2 The firmament – the Sky
Day 3 The Waters- The Sea & the Dry Land- Earth
Day 4 The Sun, Moon and the Stars
Day 5 Moving Creatures, the Fowls, Every Creature
Living in water
Day 6 Cattle, Creeping Things & Beasts
Finally God made Man in His own image and
Likeness.
Day 7 God rested on the 7th Day – Blessed and
Sanctified that Day

At this juncture, it should be mentioned that nothing that is written in the Bible covering the history of this world, starting from the creation of the first man named as Adam, can be refuted or proved to be inaccurate, false or wrong. There is ample
Historical
Geographical
Geological
Chronological
Genealogical
Cosmological
Archaeological and other
Scientific evidence
to prove that everything that is recorded in the Bible is one hundred percent accurate and true. What should be noted here is that the events recorded in the Bible covers only a period of nearly 4000 years, from the time of creation, until the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the few more decades after the first Church was birthed and just began to extend and grow.

The Bible does not claim that it has recorded anything that existed or happened before God created this world, the way it is now, and that none existed anywhere in the world anywhere in any form, before the first man Adam was created by God, whose descendants are the people living all over the world now. It is very interesting to note that we have detailed accounts of genealogy, which has been traced from Adam all the way up to Abraham, from Abraham to David, and further down from David to Jesus Christ. It is needless to say that all the historical information given in the Bible about the kings that ruled through centuries, the nations that existed from the beginnings of Biblical times, the geographic terrain described and named in the Bible as mountains, deserts, valleys, nations, seas and rivers, that were particularly in or around the Bible land, do exist in the same place and are still known by the same names mostly, that were used in the Biblical times, until today. The Bible does not claim to cover in its writings as to what existed before 6000 years from now, nor does it say if anything existed before that time or did not exist. So far as we are concerned, in our generation the knowledge of the past, beyond the Biblical days is not going to really matter to us or add even an iota of any value or significance to our generation.

In order to understand the supernatural realm of God which is spiritual, we have to understand the fact that we human beings are spiritual beings, which denotes that there is a common denominator between God who is a spiritual being and us who are also spiritual beings. We have been created as the sons and daughters of God, to love and have fellowship with him. As mentioned in the Bible, we have been created to reign and rule this earth and to exercise dominion over it and to replenish the earth. This statement in the Bible makes it very clear that we have been created by the God of the universe to live on this earth to enjoy the nature, eating the vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, God has provided naturally to last for ever and ever, and he has designed supernaturally the environment and the climatic conditions to be conducive to provide nourishment for the human beings and all the other living creatures including the plant and the animal kingdom for ever and ever. When God created man first he was not supposed to die, but to live forever and ever. Just because man committed sin, and disobeyed God, death was brought to him as the wages of sin. During the first millennium, man was living up to 900 plus years, but then God reduced the life span slowly and brought it down to 120 and then even to 70.

It is deplorable that man with all of his human intelligence is still trying to discover as to who he is and where he came from in a typical university, which is supposed to be an intellectual center of higher learning where research work is carried on continuously by thousands of scientist in innumerable scientific disciplines. It is ironical and sad that as he learns more he is confused more. The more he learns he realizes how little he knows or his knowledge is. As somebody defined knowledge, "it is knowing more and more about less and less". Another definition for knowledge is to know that you know what you know, and to know that you don't know what you don't know. I believe that these two definitions of knowledge are superb and great. This implies that the real knowledgeable person to some degree will accept the fact that his knowledge is very limited and that he is ignorant of many things that he would like to know. If a person would take that position, perhaps what is going to be mentioned in the next paragraph will be of great significance and value.

When an intellectual man asks a question, where man came from? Where is he going and what is he doing? For all the questions that have been raised which are generally unanswered questions, to the satisfaction of everyone, one can know the truth or answers for all of these questions from one book which is called the Book of Books or "The Bible". After getting in a nutshell in this article the answers to all the questions that have been raised so far, one would probably quit the search for truth and will say boldly with confidence that he has found the truth. So what is truth? A couple of more sentences will be added in this section to expound the truth which we are dealing in this article as spiritual or supernatural things, in contrast to the physical and the natural things.

The Bible says that we are made up of 3 components namely the body, the spirit and the soul. The soul in turn consists of the mind, the will and the emotion. Of all these words used here to explain us, the only component which makes the man a living being, is the spirit of the man for which there is no scientific explanation on this world. This spirit part of human being is the supernatural component or in other words, we can say this is the common denominator between the man and God. We have mentioned already that our God is a spirit. We should be excited about the fact that we have spirit and we are spiritual beings, with a body and soul. When we die, the spirit will leave the body along with the soul, and the body will be left behind, decay and become a part of the mud, when it is buried in the ground. But the spirit of man coupled with his soul is indestructible and everlasting. In the closing of this chapter I want to say that the medical science that has advanced so much in our days has no rational explanation for life and death. When there are no vital signs in a human body the doctors pronounce that man as clinically dead. This is going to be the point of a new beginning in this article which is going to lead us to know the truth and as the Bible says "ye shall know the truth and the truth will set you free, from all questions, doubts, fears etc.

Therefore, since the beginning of this world, with all the scientific advancements that have taken place, because no one could figure out the truth about the human life, they have no other choice but to accept the only reasonable explanation given in the Bible, that God breathed into the nostrils of Adam, his spirit when he became a living soul. After Jesus was crucified and he died, the Bible says that Jesus rose from the dead in 3 days, and appeared to many for many days in a spiritual body resembling Jesus in form, for anyone to identify him while at the same time he was able to appear and disappear and was able to cut through the wall and appear in the midst of the disciples, which clearly indicates that he had a spiritual body and not a body with flesh and bone. This is the blessed hope of all Christians according to the Bible that after our natural death, we will all rise at the return of Jesus, as king of kings and Lord of Lords, to reign and rule this world for 1000 years with Christ, and this is the blessed hope of Christians according to the Bible, and no other clear cut report is available about the resurrection of human beings and their eternal life.

Even during the life and ministry of Jesus, he has mentioned that he was the resurrection and the life. The open Sepulcher/tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem, where Jesus was buried, and from where he rose is still open to the public to witness and to know the truth about the resurrection of Jesus. There is no other theory that has any explanation with such a clarity and detail, about resurrection and eternal life of man.

We reviewed in the earlier section of this article the wonderful way in which God created the whole world. It is important to draw a distinction between God's creation and man's creation, which is facilitated in modern days through the continuously developing technologies. Everything that we find in this world today other than God's creation is something man made and artificial, in contrast to the nature, which is natural and God created. As explained in the earlier paragraphs, in God's creation there is inbuilt mechanisms and devices, to avoid developing or creating any unwanted waste materials or garbage which will create the necessity of totally disposing or eliminating them, in a surgical way, in order to prevent anything injurious, hazardous or fatal developing. Whereas in the artificial creation and technological development of things by man using natural resources as we witness in our times, and particularly during the last few centuries, because of the increased technological developments and production of thousands of varieties of artificial goods and food as well, there has been a slow or gradual increase and accumulation of industrial waste, emission of smoke and gas. The packaging and waste materials by the industries and consumers have also increased to a geometric proportion. Since it is not removed from the natural surroundings, and since the extraction of chemicals, metals etc. from the soil has become a continuous process, the natural soil has become deficient and unfit for cultivation and natural purposes, while at the same time the disposal of waste products, both solids and liquids and industrial gas emitted in large quantities, and oil spills in the ocean and rivers, have made the entire surface of the earth too dangerous and harmful for the humans and other lives to exist without their health and life being affected adversely. The cyclical series of this process resulting finally in what is commonly referred to in our day and age as "Global warming and green house effect", which causes the weather to change drastically in an unknown and even dangerous pattern, and further it is also unpredictable.

Therefore, we should be mindful of the fact that increased industrialization and technology beyond certain limits and certain precautions, will only produce temporary economic gain and utility, but there will be other irreparable and dangerous consequences. We have now gone to the extent of raising garden plants with artificial chemicals since the soil is not able to provide proper nourishment to the plants and similarly we are not able to consume natural nutritive food, with a result we have to take innumerable pills and tablets both to provide necessary nourishment for the body and also to avoid consuming several chemicals and preservatives in the processed food. In conclusion, we are able to see how the technology which is developed in this world in a competitive way and at a rapid pace for temporary economic gains and to increase our physical comforts in life, has begun to back fire and cause heavy damages, and requires us to pay an increased toll, while God's creation had been designed for recycling waste products through the natural process. In man's creation the cycle is not complete, whereby creating a big risk to the human lives.

3. Artificial
Man with his intelligence, has produced or developed using technology, many things in the natural world in which he is living. He has also visited some of the planets and has accumulated a vast amount of knowledge about what we described as nature so far, and because the amount of scientific knowledge is so great; the kinds of things in the nature are so varied; the knowledge that man has gained through scientific research has been documented with scientific evidence in volumes of books; and the knowledge has been classified as a wide variety of sciences, for which some examples are listed below:
1. Physical Sciences
This will include sciences like Physics, Chemistry, Geology/Earth Sciences, Astronomy, Hydraulics, Dynamics, Thermo-dynamics, Heat, magnetism etc
2. Natural Sciences
Zoology, Botany, Microbiology, Physiology etc
3. Pseudo Sciences
Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Economics, Management etc.

Man is not only the most intelligent living creature, but because he has been created in the image and the likeness of God, he is naturally supernatural and supernaturally natural, and is unique and different from all the other living creatures, with spiritual faculties and skills like spiritual hearing, spiritual sight, spiritual taste, spiritual understanding, spiritual discernment, and with these extra-ordinary capabilities, he can, not only have a foretaste of heaven, but can also hear the voice of God and even love and have fellowship with God for which God has created us.

4. Spiritual
When I did some research recently on the subject of spiritual science, I found it very fascinating, broad based, cutting across a wide spectrum of religions, philosophies, beliefs, traditions, vedas and other religious books. Everything collectively put together, unquestionably support, directly or indirectly, the essential truths recorded in the Bible. This is too vast a subject to do justice in a few lines after finding and searching through several books and websites on the subject of spiritual science. But interestingly I have found 6 principles mentioned by the spiritual scientists as 6 stages in the life of a human being when he strictly follows the spiritual science principles which is in a way a mixture, consolidation or amalgamation of the key principles of religion, philosophy and Vedas, which are listed below, and interestingly everyone of them is described in the Bible, in the same order as the steps or levels of spiritual growth, maturity and strength.

I. The six levels of Spiritual Power of Human Beings
(Website Ref: http://www.spiritualresearchfoundation.org/spiritualresearch/spiritualscience/hierarchyofpowers/)
The Spiritual Research Foundation has explained power at six levels. The lowest level of power is called the Physical Power, which is derived by medicines to cure illnesses, antibiotics to kill gems, physical weapons to kill, financial power to achieve many things and political power to have control and dominion over a piece of land or a country. These kinds of powers do have some value in our life, but they are very limited in scope and magnitude.

II. The second kind of power described is a combination of Physical Power and something spiritual. The term Mantra is used in several religions, but in the context of the Bible the word Prayer is used. Therefore, when a person prays he is able to achieve something naturally through the influence of God, the supreme spiritual being. This suggests that there must be a relationship between God, the supreme supernatural being and the physical man who is also a spiritual being. As a person grows more and more spiritually, he gains more influence with God in the same proportion and therefore, his prayers will be more effective.

III. The third kind of power is also referred to as something like Mantra, which with reference to the Bible will mean the "Word of God", and when man uses the right word of God in the right context, he will be able to overcome any problem and achieve anything. The knowledge of the word of God or the Bible is very important according to the Bible for a person to use it in the right way at the right time.

IV. The fourth kind of power is released through the physical touch or "Contact". If a person has grown spiritually to this level, he will have the power to lay hands on the sick to heal them and so also by laying on hands one would be able to even cast the demons. This principle of contact with the evil force is accepted by the spiritual science, and interestingly "laying on of hands" is a method taught to the disciples to deal with the evil spirits and other kinds of problems.

V. The fifth level of power according to the spiritual science, even without physical contact, power can be released by human beings, as their mind or thought synchronizes with the word of God or the mind of Christ. It is also emphasized in the Bible that we must meditate the word of God day and night to absorb the spiritual truths in the word of God in our mind, to think like God and to act like God. Another scripture says that we can have the mind of Christ, and when we use His mind we will do exactly what Jesus will do in that situation, which will be the right and the best thing to do in that situation.

VI. The sixth level of power is the radiation of God's power from a human being even without speaking a word or laying on of hands. When a person is richly anointed by the Holy Spirit, even when he stretches his hand towards a sick person or just moves close to persons who are sick or possessed with demons, they will get healed and the demons will leave, because of the powerful radiation of the spiritual power of God. This is described in the Biblical science as the highest level of power that a human being can have as he grows spiritually. Details and examples are given in the Bible, but the concept and the principle they advocate jibs with what is taught in the Bible and practiced in the life of a Christian or a Christian Leader whether he is a Pastor, a Prophet, or an Apostle etc.

5. Biblical
In this concluding section, I would like to point out that if a reader of this article has read everything with an open mind and heart, seeking truth, and approaching this matter sincerely, intelligently, rationally and logically, they will undoubtedly draw the same conclusions as listed below regarding our past, present and future, and also about the past, present and future of the universe and the world, because these are the searching questions of our times. Interestingly the answers given in the Bible for these questions are crystal clear, practical, logical, acceptable and even scientific, because Bible is the Science of Sciences that connects the Natural and Supernatural sciences and the Material and the Spiritual. An analysis and explanation for a human being is given in the earlier part of this article as recorded in the Bible which is reproduced below to refresh our memories. Man is composed of a physical body (which needs no explanation), a spirit (which is the only thing that has to be explained) and the soul (consisting of mind, emotion and will, which also need no explanation).

The only word, concept or reality that has to be expounded and explained now is "The Spirit of Man", which can be described in the following ways to gain a very good insight and understanding.
1. God is a Spirit.
2. Man is a spiritual being also and God has breathed into the nostril of man His Spirit which made him a living soul, with a mind, will and emotion.
3. We can therefore, spiritually communicate and fellowship with God. We can also love God and be loved by him. This is the very reason for which God created man in his own image, order and likeness, even above the angelic beings, which are only ministering spirits.
4. God has created every man with a destiny, will or purpose.
5. Man can gain knowledge of God's will and purpose through his spiritual understanding.
6. As a man grows spiritually by feeding his soul with the Word of God, he will gain more spiritual understanding and grow more spiritually and can establish and maintain a closer communion, fellowship and communication with God.
7. He can communicate to God through prayer and at the same time listen to God.
8. Man is endowed with spiritual understanding to understand the spiritual truths; spiritual eyes to see spiritual things; and spiritual ears to hear the word or voice of God.
9. By feeding one's spirit with the spiritual food which is the word of God, one can not only be nourished but can also facilitate one's sustenance and growth. In this process of spiritual growth, one can grow more and more like Jesus and can conform to the very image and the likeness of Jesus Christ. This is as a matter of fact God's purpose in human life while we are here on this earth.
10. Through the nourishment of God's word one can also become more and more Christ like, which is loving everyone, forgiving those who offend us, giving to the needy and the poor, going about daily, doing good, healing the sick, casting the demons, performing miracles etc.

Conclusion
It is needless to say that people who are living in sin ignoring and disobeying God's laws and his inner voice, repeatedly indulge in a life of immorality and worldly material pursuits which have been the continuous root cause for all kinds of judgments and wrath of God pronounced and poured on people during the entire Bible history. Even today, if we have to specifically mention two evils in this world which are the root causes of all evil, they are materialism and immorality. God by virtue and nature is holy, pure and virtuous. Man by nature is worldly, sinful, unholy, and unrighteous. The question we all face today is, whether we want to conform to God or conform to the world. The question that faces us now is, whether we want to live a holy life, love people and please God to inherit eternity or to choose the life of materialism, immorality, sin and selfishness, and slip away from the grace of God to eternal judgment and damnation. Sin, which is strongly condemned and listed in detail in the Bible, is not in the vocabulary of an average human being or in the political, legal or public sector. Every thing that this being attempted by the Governments, in general to accomplish is, to protect the rights and interests of special interest groups, with reference to the economic gains or human rights.

Spiritual is Supernatural, superior in every way, eternal and immortal!!!
 

The End