Creation Files: PHOTOSYNTHESIS before SUNLIGHT

Often as theists we are beset with 'tough' questions regarding our belief system, questions can range from morality to creationism to judgement or the outright accusation of God. The next few posts will be on creation from a Biblical Perspective, to be written on a "HCTBP" basis, in other words the next Creation File will be based on the response(criticism or questions) from the current article.

HCTBP: How Could This Be Possible.

  Many a time I and several other creationists have been confronted with the question "How could Photosynthesis be possible without sunlight?" at first the question might seem harmless and easy to answer but don't be fooled it is meant to question your belief in a supreme being(GOD). Here i present an answer/reasoning based on the Biblical story of creation.

What is Photosynthesis?

Photosynthesis is the process by which plants, some bacteria and some protistans use the energy from sunlight to produce glucose from carbon dioxide and water. This glucose can be converted into pyruvate which releases adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by cellular respiration. Oxygen is a byProduct. 

In Layman's terms:

Photosynthesis= Carbon dioxide + Inorganic salts + water + Light.
Chemical Equation
6CO2 + 12H2O + Light Energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O
English Translation
Carbon Dioxide + Water + Light Energy = Carbohydrate(Glucose) + Oxygen + Water

To begin with, it has been generally and previously believed that photosynthesis ONLY occurred under natural sunlight however, due to advances in sciences and light spectroscopy we now know photosynthesis WILL occur under full spectrum lighting, it can occur under red and blue light if the luminous intensity is high enough to take it past its compensation point. In other words sunlight is not the only source of light for photosynthesis. The sunlight just appears to be perfectly suited for this task because it offers full spectrum of light and different plants require different spectrum color, therefore with sunlight plants can easily choose the color spectrum they need.

 In the Bible it's obvious that plants grew before Sunlight came into existence and this is somewhat of a conundrum for certain people, well the Bible does't leave us in the dark. The book of the Beginnings also called Genesis Chapter 1 handles this issue very well and can be self-explanatory if we allow the book to do so.

Genesis 1: 9-13 The Third Day(Land and Seas)

Gen 1:10 God called the dry ground "LAND" and the gathered waters he called "SEAS." God saw that it was good. 11 God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds.” It was so. 12 The land produced vegetation – plants yielding seeds according to their kinds, and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:14-19 The Fourth Day(Sun, Moon and Stars)

Gen 1:14 God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them be signs to indicate seasons and days and years, 15 and let them serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." It was so. 16 God made two great lights - they greater light to rule over the day and the lesser light to rule over the night. He made the stars also.

  As can be deduced from the verses cited above it's clear vegetation and plants came into existence before sunlight, the question then is how did plants survive on the third day if Sunlight was made on the 4th day. 

Back up to earlier verses in the same chapter one of Genesis for analysis. 

Genesis 1: 3-5 The First Day (Light)

God said, "let there be light." And there was LIGHT! 4 God saw that the light was good, so God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day" and the darkness "night." There was evening, and there was morning, marking the first day.

Genesis 1: 6-8 The Second Day (Sky/Firmament)
6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters and let it separate water from water. 7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. It was so.8 God called the expanse “sky.” There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

Factors Necessary for Photosynthesis

Day 1: Light
Day 2: Atmospheric gases(CO2).

Day 3: Land(inorganic salts) + Water + chlorophyll pigment(Green Plants).

By Day 3 EVERYTHING NECESSARY for photosynthesis and vegetation was in place and rightly so, ELOHIM spoke the Word and His Word never returns void, it accomplishes all that it was sent forth to do.
As modern science has shown us, sunlight is not the only light that can support photosynthesis, modern farms grow crops under controlled environment using Ultra-Violet lights(UV) or Light Emitting Diode lights(LED) especially in a greenhouse to reduce greenhouse effect. If modern man-made light can grow crops how much more the light spoken into existence by a supreme being? 

What was this Light? this was a single light, it was unitary, was not placed, it was spoken into existence. An infinitely supreme being who created the universe 🌌itself through The Word has no problem emanating light from himself. The beloved Apostle John wrote in John 1:4 In him was life , and the life was the light of mankind. 5 And the light shines on in the darkness, but the darkness has not mastered(understand/comprehend) it. 

The light of the first day was the Light emanating from God himself, this is documented in the scriptures that God Himself exudes super-radiant light, recall when Moses went to Mount Sinai on the orders of God to receive the Tables of Covenant, when he came down his face shone, observe; Exodus 34:29 "Now when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand – when he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him." all this happened without Moses even seeing God, the Glory of God alone made Moses's face shine. 

Also John the Beloved in the book of the Apocalypse(commonly called Revelations) 22 verse 5 reminds us again of the infinite power of God(ability to replace sunlight entirely), observe; 

"Night will be no more, and they WILL NOT NEED the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will SHINE on them, and they will reign FOREVER and EVER."

Other people who confirmed that God is indeed LIGHT include: Prophets Daniel, David, Habakkuk, Apostles Matthew, Luke and Peter.
Supporting Bible Verses: Acts 26:13, 1 John 1:5,Acts 9:3, Matthew 17:2, Daniel 2:22, Habakkuk 3:3-4, and Revelations 21:33.

Why did God create the Sun if the LIGHT was sufficient

God is omniscient(all-knowing) and omnipresent(ever-present), in our limited minds we assume He couldn't have continued to use himself as the LIGHT, the Bible shows clearly why God created the Sun, Moon and Stars, observe; in verse 3 we had Light(singular) that separated day from night, fast-forward to verse 14, lights(plural) which had more functions than the first light, God took Himself out as the Light and created 2 major lights to do the job, what jobs you might ask?
1) Separate Night and Day.

2) Signs to indicate seasons and days and years.

3) Serve as lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth. 

4) Separate the light from the darkness.

Let's be clear the Light of God could accomplish this and eventually will replace sunlight(Rev 22:5), but God in His benevolence created autonomous lights for the universe(earth).

After every creative act each day, the day ended with "God saw that it was good". This is because the creative act of God built on each other successively, observe;

Light-Firmament(sky)-Land &Sea-Lights(Sun,Stars, Moon)-Birds &Sea Creatures-Land Creatures & Man  

Man and Mammals feed on plants and animals, sea creatures require algae, birds feed on plants and small sea creatures, algae and plants use light(sunlight) for photosynthesis, land and seas are required to host plants, animals and man, their waste products acts as natural fertilizer for algae and plants, to support life there has to be atmospheric gases evident by the (firmament) and the firmament wouldn't be visible without the initial Light of God. 

• If God can and will replace sunlight in the end making it obsolete for eternity(Rev 22:5), why can't HE be the light for a day?
• If God is the Creator of everything, would it be hard for Him to act as the Light for the first 3 days?
• If God is truly Omnipotent, is there anything too hard for Him?
• If God who is Jehovah-Jireh(Provider) can sustain birds, how is photosynthesis for a day a problem?
• If God can SPEAK THE Universe into existence, should we really be asking about photosynthesis without sunlight?
• If Science can grow crops with artificial lights(UV, LED) how much more can the CREATOR who is LIGHT Himself do? 
• Shouldn't the question be what else can God not do?

The Sunlight was purposely designed to support photosynthesis, it is free, it is natural, it can be harnessed for solar energy and used for other tasks, it lights the lesser light(moon), it is also a star among stars, artificial lights are expensive, requires expertise and the produce(plants) generally can't compare to ones that benefits from natural sunlight. 

A purposeless universe cannot create a purposeless sunlight. 

The Psalmist, a man after God's own heart King David captures it perfectly in the first verse of  Psalm 19 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky displays his handiwork." 

I conclude with these definitive words from the Beloved John in John 1:3 “All things were created by him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created”.