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Zhao: I cannot understand what is said in Genesis about the origin of light. The issue of the origin of light was a very important one for our ancestors. They were very curious and wanted to have an answer.

During Plato's times, the ancient Greeks thought that light came from human eyes. So according to them, there was light wherever the eyes reached. But Plato pointed out that this assessment was not completely correct since light also came from lamps and other objects which emitted light. But he could not answer the question: what is light. Then in the 18th century Isaac Newton declared that light was a particle stream. So there's shade behind a tree when the particle stream was blocked.

But Christiaan Huygens, a contemporaneous scientist of Newton, said that light was a wave motion like the wave motion sent through wireless and water. Experiments had proved that light had the property of diffraction. Therefore there was a contradiction between the views of Newton and Huygens. Probably because Newton commanded greater authority at the time, more people believed in his theory rather than in Huygens'.

But then Albert Einstein came along and he pointed out that both of their assessments were correct. So according to him, light should be regarded as a quantum and acquire the duality of particle and wave. So you see it is quite a complicated process of recognition for the scientist to answer the question what is the origin of light. I think God will not make it so complicated that light has this duality. Scientists later discovered that the transition of an electron in the atomic shell produces light. But for God, it's very simple. "Let there be light and there was light." God solved the whole issue in one sentence, only he said it 2,000 years before those scientists.

Palau: But do you think God didn't reveal it so that scientists could entertain themselves trying to figure it out and understand it?

Zhao: I think you have reconciled a contradiction between scientists and God.

Palau: Scientists today are searching to understand if there is a creator how does that relate to all the theories of science. And there are very serious scientists studying it deeply. I want to bring it to the moral and spiritual angle.

The concept of light is very important in Chinese culture, isn't it? And Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. If anyone follows me, they will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life." Then on another occasion, he said, "Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil." So he uses the reality of light and shadows and light and darkness that you were talking about. And he gives it a spiritual application. So the day that you as a scientist become a believer in Jesus, you will be the best explainer of these things to the intellectual community.

Zhao: Having been engaged in scientific research for two decades, I am accustomed to sticking to the materialist viewpoint in my epistemology. But this has not prevented me from respecting people who have religious beliefs. On the contrary, it has stimulated my urge to try and understand the significance of religion and its existence. I'm very keen in understanding your views-the views of a refined theist. They can be a very good reference for me when seeking to understand the differences between theists and atheists.

As pointed out by Max Mueller, "He who knows one knows none." If atheists only know atheism and theists only know theism, that means they only know "one" and therefore none. Do you know Max Mueller?

Palau: Yes. He was a German who wrote on comparative religion.  

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