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I love the analogy of light tied to the absolutes of black and white. We see the fullness of light as white, and the absence of light as black. Everything in between is seen as various shades of color – the rainbow of life. Sometimes with our unique temperaments we may be inclined to argue that a particular hue is closer to magenta than violet. I have to wonder in such situations if we are sidestepping the most important point – that it’s a color, and by definition it’s only a portion of all light. We’re not really sure if all eyes see all the different colors in the same way anyway. Wouldn’t it be nice if the world could just say “yes that is a beautiful color – whatever you call it.” Is it too hard to remember that a strictly black and white world would be kind of boring – that the division of light into portions is what helps us appreciate the fullness of light? It’s even the blackness that defines the light, colors would mean little without being balanced by contrast. I for one am thankful for black, without it everything else would be blinding and almost meaningless. Maybe this is an important point, didn’t Jesus say “he who has eyes to see, let him see”?
A very interesting topic, as intelligence is also light. I think your reasoning shows why there must be opposition in all things. We would not know what white means unless we knew what non-white is to compare it to. Even then, non-white could be so many things, that comparing white to black provides a standard (all light or no light), and everything in between can be relative to those polar opposites.
I have so little time right now, but I just want to say what a wonderful post this is. Shades of color are what make the world beautiful around us, as different instruments and parts are what make the orchestral and choral sound rich and vibrant. Beautiful post Orson. All the shades and colors are light. The only thing that isn’t light is darkness — complete darkness. This way of thinking could also tie into the idea of becoming one with God, as Christ is one with God. We become all light, and are only light, having no more darkness within us. Okay, so I’m gonna wax nerdy on you because this is my field. And I’m gonna reinterpret the metaphor here. Visible light is only a small spectrum of the electromagnetic spectrum (also called electromagnetic radiation). It goes from long range radio, to gamma rays. It’s actually all the same light, just different wavelengths. This, I think makes the metaphor even more beautiful.
We can’t even seemost of the electromagnetic spectrum. Yet we can feel it sometimes (in infrared), or after we get burned (ultraviolet). We also have sensors that can measure it, and we can transmit information in it. It’s all the same stuff – electromagnetic radiation. Great addition, jmb275. That is a wonderful point, and it’s SO easy to forget in the emotion of the moment when disillusionment clouds the light even more than normal. jmb275 wrote:We also have sensors that can measure it, and we can transmit information in it. It’s all the same stuff – electromagnetic radiation.
That’s interesting to think about too, because our sensors may not be the same as others’, for example someone who is color blind.
That doesn’t mean the radiation is different for them, it is still all the same, but they may only see shades of grey whereas I see the reds and blues they cannot see. So I can’t tell them they’re wrong because they don’t see it the same way I do, I can only tell them how I see it.
Heber13, that is an amazing insight. I’m loving this thread. Would you mind, Heber, taking the post and comments and writing a new post for Mormon Matters as a guest? If you would prefer not to do it, do you mind if jmb275 does? (jmb275, do you mind being volunteered? I think it would be an awesome post for that forum – just not too technical, OK?)
I wouldn’t mind taking a stab at it, and have it be my first guest author attempt. Its a good subject. When you have it ready, e-mail it to me at: curtisraydegraw at yahoo dot com. I will schedule and post it – or send it to Hawkgrrrl, if I’m too busy at the time. 
light illuminates everything but itself (i.e. the pitch blackness of space, with light piecing it in all directions). It is not until light strikes something else that its presence is perceived. I also love the electromagnetic spectrum. The human eye can only detect a very narrow range of the spectrum of light. What amazes me is that a little insect can see ultraviolet. We look at a small white flower and hardly notice it. A honey bee might see the exact same flower, ablaze with violet color,
that beckons to the sweet nectar. How much “sweetness” we miss when we cannot see and appreciate the whole spectrum. Human “busily buzz” right past the beauty of life’s most glorious creations and “notice them not”.
Oh, I forgot to mention that bats “see” in the total darkness of a cave. They can fly at midnight – as they do. Their secret “sight” is actually echo location. The bat screeches and emits a sound wave. The sound wave travel to the wall of the cave and then bounces back toward the bats humongous ears. These little creatures have nothing but black dots for eyes and really are “legally blind”, but they are excellent little pilots.
One wonders, if God can guide these little creatures through the darkest night, surely He can guide us through our darkness, if we learn how to listen. Just as the blind little bat sends out a cry and the wall of the cave “replies”, so does the Lord reply when send Him our prayers.
MWallace57 wrote:I also love the electromagnetic spectrum. The human eye can only detect a very narrow range of the spectrum of light.
What amazes me is that a little insect can see ultraviolet. We look at a small white flower and hardly notice it. A honey bee might see the exact same flower, ablaze with violet color, that beckons to the sweet nectar. How much “sweetness” we miss when we cannot see and appreciate the whole spectrum. Human “busily buzz” right past the beauty of life’s most glorious creations and “notice them not”.
This is what I love about the principle of light as well…what is light to my eye or your eye or an insect’s eye can be different relative to the eye that perceives it, and limited to our current capacity. I think we become foolish when thinking I see the full light and everyone has to have the same light I see, and they also need to call it by the same name as I do, or they are wrong or they are in “darkness”.Now your bat theory is a new twist. That suggests some may not need “light” at all, if they have sound or other methods of still being led. Why would God make a creature that doesn’t need light unless it was for a purpose and there was “another way”? That is something for me to chew on for a while.
Thanks for your comments.
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