Did light not refract before God made a rainbow?

Question

Before God supposedly flooded the earth and made the rainbow as a pact between him and man, did light not refract?

Answer 1

possibly. because he created the world. he could have right then made rainbows like he made everything else! wow! that is just mindblowing isn't it??

Answer 2

Genesis 9:12-16: "12 And God added: “This is the sign of the covenant that I am giving between me and you and every living soul that is with you, for the generations to time indefinite. 13 My rainbow I do give in the cloud, and it must serve as a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 And it shall occur that when I bring a cloud over the earth, then the rainbow will certainly appear in the cloud. 15 And I shall certainly remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living soul among all flesh; and no more will the waters become a deluge to bring all flesh to ruin. 16 And the rainbow must occur in the cloud, and I shall certainly see it to remember the covenant to time indefinite between God and every living soul among all flesh that is upon the earth.”

Complicated theories and formulas are used to explain the formation of a rainbow. Basically, it seems that as white light enters a raindrop it is refracted and dispersed into different colors, the drop acting like a tiny prism. Each color strikes the inner surface of the drop and is reflected back at a different and specific angle. Thus an observer sees a bow with all seven colors of the spectrum (from the inside of the arc outward: violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, and red), though these may blend so that only four or five are clear. Sometimes a larger and less distinct “secondary” bow is formed with the colors reversed. Scientists are still studying the rainbow. Carl B. Boyer observes: “Within a raindrop the interaction of light energy with matter is so intimate that one is led directly to quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity. . . . Although much is known about the production of the rainbow, little has been learned about its perception.”—'The Rainbow, From Myth to Mathematics', 1959, pp. 320, 321.
The first Biblical reference to a rainbow is in the account of the covenant God made with Noah and his offspring after the Flood survivors came out of the ark.
The Bible does not describe the degree of clarity of the atmosphere just prior to the Flood. But apparently atmospheric conditions were such that, until a change came about when “the floodgates of the heavens were opened” (Genesis 7:11), no others before Noah and his family had seen a rainbow. Even today, atmospheric conditions affect whether a rainbow can be seen or not.
So, it is therefore possible that in the pre-Flood times, atmospheric conditions were much different than today, such that it obscured the view and rainbows perhaps were not visible.

Answer 3

Ahhh! one that bugged me for quite a while, with my physics background!

I believe that light did refract before the flood and God's promise--it just has one of two things: either a) we were color-blind and couldn't see it (which I don't believe), or b) the world was very, very different before the flood and the light couldn't split to make a rainbow.

I personally believe B. I believe that before the flood, there was a layer of water of some type suspended above the atmosphere (it's mentioned in Genesis several times). This did many cool things: 1) It increased the atmospheric pressure; 2) it completely stopped all harmful UV rays from the sun, and 3) it constantly dispersed all light from all points, thus "nullifying" any view of a rainbow.

This, of course, is a theory. But I believe it!

Answer 4

Maybe there were rainbows beforee then, but God choose to use it as a reminder after the flood.

The Bible does not say that it rained befor then (a mist watered the garden). Before the flood, the earth was much different than what we see today. There was a canopy of water (ice) over the atmosphere (that blocked UV rays), the air pressure was 2 times greater, there was twice as much oxygen, and there was alot more water under ground also. The Bible tells us about the water canopy and the underground water, the air pressure and oxygen we can tell because of tests done on amber that has air bubbles in it.

Answer 5

God didnt make the rainbow. Nor did god create the earth in six days. So, yes, light was refracting way before man decided to create god.

Answer 6

The rainbow is the symbol of God's promise not to every flood the earth again.. The rainbow did not exist before then.

Answer 7

Genesis 9:13 - "I have set my BOW in the cloud, and it shall be a SIGN of the COVENANT between me and the earth."

The point of this passage is not that God at this time suddenly "created" the rainbow, but that he declared it would now be a "sign of the covenant". It is the MEANING he is giving to the ohject that is important.

The key things that would stand out for the first readers of these words were "sign of the covenant" and "bow" (in caps above).

First, about covenants and esp about "signs" of covenants. "Signs" involved formal acts with objects that might have a special symbolic appropriateness, along with solemn declarations. These acts and words were accepted by everyone in the society as making some action or promise "legally binding".

Formal treaties, legal adoptions, manumissions or ritual cleansing ALL involved such things. It's not all that different a notion from our using formal words and acts, in the giving of the wedding ring and the kiss at a wedding, or in formal pronouncements in a court room (declaring someone guilty or not).

Some of the more common "signs of covenants" in the Bible are the formal eating and drinking (the feasts, cf. Christian communion, all of which suggest being one people or family) or the setting up of a visible marker-stone.

In this instance the sign is a "bow" WITH God's formal declaration:

"I have set my BOW in the skies"

That's meaningful because "bow" is an instrument of war or judgment. So God is making a PEACE declaration, saying "I've set it aside" or laid it down. That is, he points to it as a symbol that he will NOT judge people in that way again. (Later in the Bible the covenant with Noah is specifically labeled a "covenant of peace" [Isaiah 54:10].)

Answer 8

If you read the Bible, it never rained before the flood. No rain = no rainbow.

Actually, this is a good support to show the accuracy of the Bible. How a rainbow is formed was certainly not known at the time the book of Genesis was written. However, when the Bible is examined some 4,000 years later, it is scientifically correct.

Answer 9

i suppose there is no better god than the nature itself. so light does refract thru whatever things it passes through. Rainbow is a magic of nature which is highly noticed... coming to the part on the 'pact'... well, i dont know.

hows that for 10 points?

Answer 10

It never rained before the flood. Before the flood, God watered the earth by underground springs. While you are looking for silly questions to try to ridicule Christianity be sure to read the entire story because when you just pick things out of the air it shows your ignorance.

Answer 11

i'm sure it did. god just chose it as a symbol at that moment.

before abraham i bet people had been circumcising kids, it just took on a new meaning when god told abraham to do it.

its not that god was creative and made up a rainbow ater the flood, he just decided, ok, i'm gonna make a promise and what's the best way to symbolize that promise. a rainbow. ok, so i'm gonna show one to noah so he can remember every time he sees a rainbow that i won't kill everyone with a flood again.