by Werner Gitt
5. Apobetics: From the point of view of the sender, a process of information transfer has only been successful when the purpose intended for the recipient has been achieved. All aspects of information are inextricably interlinked. It is thus insufficient when everything runs smoothly up to a certain level, but the final level — the purpose — is not attained. Strictly speaking, any information level is only a stepping stone to the next higher level: Language is solely a means for achieving the semantics purpose. In its turn, semantics leads to the pragmatics level, and, in the last instance, pragmatics is only a preparatory stage for the apobetics. In chapter 4, this purposefulness of information is described as the most important aspect. This is especially true of God’s message in the Bible. He has certain objectives with the Bible, of which we mention some special ones.
a) Perception: Who is God? Without the Bible, we would have known very little about God. We could deduce His existence and His power from His works of creation (Rom. 1:20), but nothing would be known about His person and His nature. The Bible thus has the purpose of making God known to us. It is obvious that all polytheistic representations are false: "I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from me there is no God" (Isa. 45:5). God is love (1 John 4:16), life (1 John 5:20), and light (1 John 1:5). He is holy (Isa. 6:3) and hates sin so much that it carries the death penalty (Rom. 6:23). We are abundantly informed about God’s Son and His function as Savior, and also about the Holy Spirit who leads us in all truth. Jesus is the only way to God. In the words of Martin Luther, "If you do not find God through Christ, you will never find Him, even if you search everywhere else."
b) Perception: Creation was purposeful. When we read the first two chapters of the Bible, it becomes clear that creation was systematically planned and made purposefully. Man is the crowning glory at the pinnacle of creation. Seen in the light of the Bible, Nietzsche’s anti-apobetics is empty and not based on reality: "Man is a thread tied between animal and superman, a thread stretching above an abyss" (Zarathustra). According to the New Testament, however, everything was created by and for Christ (Col. 1:16).
c) Perception: Who is man? Alexis Carrel, a Nobel laureate, wrote a book with the title Man the Unknown. Apart from the Bible, we cannot fathom who we really are; our true nature would remain a mystery. The well-known German author Manfred Hausmann (1898–1986) testified as follows: "Every time I open the Bible, I am astounded anew by its depth and many-sidedness. The picture drawn of man is found nowhere else. Man is encompassed in his entirety, his greatness and his pitiableness, his tenderness and brutality, his glory and his darkness. No other book reveals such appalling and such splendid things about human nature than does the Bible. The background meanings of the stories told in it are inexhaustible." We learn from the Bible that we were separated from God through sin and are now on our way to hell. Everybody needs to be saved, and the religions encourage us to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps — self-salvation. On the way to judgment, we are met by the One who is the "antidote" to sin: Jesus! If we understand ourselves in this light, then we know who we are.
d) Manual of instructions for life: God has prepared the best purposes and greatest blessings conceivable for our earthly life. He is concerned about our happiness in marriage, in our family, our career, and our nation, and desires to bless us with success in everything, so that the words of the Psalmist are applicable: "Whatever he does prospers" (Ps. 1:3). God’s will for us is the best, as indicated in uncountable ways. The upright will be prosperous (Prov. 2:7), those who hope in Him will be strengthened (Isa. 40:31), and all who are weary and burdened will find rest (Matt. 11:28). There is only one answer to the question why God does this, namely "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jer. 31:3).
A machine will not operate properly in the fashion envisaged by the inventor, unless the instruction manual is obeyed. How much more then do our lives become a mess when we disregard the instructions for our life as provided by the Creator? This type of information can be regarded as operational information, as discussed in chapter 7. The Bible is the only instruction manual for a blessed and full life; the condition is briefly and simply formulated: "By living according to your word" (Ps. 119:9).
e) Signpost pointing to heaven: The highest purpose ever formulated is that God desires eternal communion with each one of us. Earthly blessings are only a minute foretaste compared to the richness of eternity. We are invited to enter heaven. The suffering and death of Jesus was the price paid for sin, so that we will not be lost. When Jesus rose up from the grave, this sacrifice was honored by God. Now anybody can get into the lifeboat which will reach the other coast, because God does not want sinners to be lost, "but rather that they turn from their ways and live" (Ezek. 33:11). God sent the Lord Jesus "as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood" (Rom. 3:25). Everyone who calls on His name (Rom. 10:13) and who receives Him (John 1:12), has crossed over from the death penalty of sin, to eternal life (John 5:24). The way to heaven is just as simple as it is sure: The Bible is the only compass, and Jesus is the only way. Anybody who turns to Jesus is saved. He then becomes a child of God and at the same time heir to heaven (Titus 3:7). This decision cannot be postponed. Bezzel once said, "The pardoning power of grace is unlimited, but it still depends on the moment."
Missionary and native: After every sermon, a missionary called on the congregation to choose Jesus. When urged to repent, someone who attended regularly for several years always responded with, "Next year." One day he became seriously ill, and the missionary brought him the required medicine with the instruction that it should be taken a year later. The native then said that he might be dead before that time and needed the medicine right now. The missionary replied, "You care for your body, but what about your soul?"
Many people, when seeking a goal for their life, are worried that it might be a failure. Our life has attained its highest purpose when we bind it to God; then all searching becomes unnecessary because of this consummation. Spurgeon once uttered the striking words [S9]: "Man’s heart has only enough life to pursue one goal fully. Nobody can serve both God and mammon, because there is not enough life in one’s heart to serve both."
There is a striking example in the Bible of the way somebody comes to faith; this is depicted in Figure 28. All aspects of information are covered one after the other in such a way that they can easily be followed. This Ethiopian is a good example of someone finding Christ and salvation through Scripture.
Figure 28: God’s Word as sender; a seeking man as recipient. A special case of the general view in Figure 27 is shown here. The example of the minister of finance of Ethiopia provides a striking overview of the successive levels of information transfer (Acts 8:26–39). The message of the Bible reached him and touched him; he came to believe in Jesus Christ and thus received eternal life. This Ethiopian is a good example for us. The functions could be interchanged, so that man is the sender and God the recipient. Seen technologically, the information transmission system from man to God is the very best available one. Any and every message from the sender reaches the recipient without distortion or loss. No meanings are misunderstood, and the pragmatics and the apobetics are guaranteed by divine promises.
The parable of the sower:Another easily understood example of the information levels is found in the parable of the sower (Matt. 13:3–23). In this parable, Jesus uses a common occurrence of everyday life to illustrate and explain aspects of the kingdom of God. At the semantic level, the information is complete and clear. The effect of God’s words (the seeds) results in four different kinds of conduct (pragmatics on the side of the recipient). The purpose intended by the sender (Jesus) is achieved in only one group of recipients (their apobetics).
14.2 Man as Sender — God as Recipient
The case where God is the sender and man the recipient is illustrated in Figures 26 (page 136) and 27 (page 144). The question arises whether these are the recipients of the information transmitted by man. That is exactly the case, as sho
wn in Figure 29; not only is it conceivable, but it is God’s desire and purpose. We may approach God the Father or His Son, Jesus, with various conceptual goals in mind. The message is transmitted through prayer, and this transmission is vastly superior to any technological communications system:
– It is the surest connection possible, because nobody and no process can break this link. It is always and immediately operational.
– This "wireless telegraphy" cannot be blocked or shielded by anything. When the astronauts circled the moon, no radio contact with earth was possible when they were behind the moon on the far side, but we can pray anywhere; distance and separation is no obstacle. It does not matter whether one is 100 feet underground, 1,000 feet under the sea, or behind the moon. The message reaches the recipient with absolute certainty.
– Interference is encountered in all technological transmission systems, so that the original message may be distorted by external influences. Code symbols may be lost or changed, but prayer messages cannot at all be distorted; they reach the recipient unchanged.
Figure 29: Man as sender, God as recipient. Seen technologically, the information transmission system from man to God is the very best available one: Any and every message from the sender reaches the recipient without distortion or loss. No meanings are misunderstood, and the pragmatics and the apobetics are guaranteed by divine promises.
The information transmission system from man to God is thus the very best available one. A better communication link is found only in heaven when faith is replaced by direct communion. We now discuss the separate levels from God’s side.
1. Statistics: The matter of statistics does not arise here.
2. Syntax: At this level, there is no restriction of codes, because God understands all languages. No language poses any problems. Every conceivable method of expression may be used, even if it is only a deep sigh. He can even read unformulated thoughts.
3. Semantics: The Psalmist said to God: "You perceive my thoughts from afar" (Ps. 139:2), so that comprehension is absolutely guaranteed. There can be no misunderstandings. Even if our verbal formulations are off the mark, our actual perceptions do reach God (1 Sam. 16:7: "The Lord looks at the heart"). There is a further positive aspect: The Holy Spirit compensates for the weaknesses and defects of the information sent by us: "The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express" (Rom. 8:26).
4. Pragmatics: God is described as a doer in the Bible: "I, the Lord, do all these things" (Isa. 45:7). It is clear from the creation account that His words immediately become deeds, and the Bible could have the subtitle "The Great Deeds of God." Jesus’ life on earth was a unique life of witnessing through deeds. He did not only preach with authority, He also acted at every conceivable opportunity: He healed those who were ill, He raised people from the dead, He forgave sins, He exorcised demons, He fed large crowds, and He controlled the weather. Eyewitnesses cried out in amazement, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (Mark 4:41).
His greatest deed was the salvation He wrought on Calvary. This was already prophesied by God through Isaiah: "The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isa. 53:6). Today, the power of forgiveness reaches out to all sinners. Nobody need be lost. We only have to turn to the One who has the required authority, Jesus Christ. He has never ever rejected anybody who prayed to Him in earnest. God always answers our prayers in the way that is best for us, because He knows the correct time much better than we, as well as the action which will benefit us most. There is one prayer which is always answered immediately; there is no delay and no alternative when a sinner prays for salvation. If you call on the name of Jesus for this purpose, you are immediately accepted (Rom. 10:13). There is no delay between call and answer, not even one millisecond: "Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear" (Isa. 65:24). When the one criminal on the cross next to the Son of God made the plea, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom," he was immediately given the unconditional and instantaneously effective promise: "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:42–43).
5. Apobetics: In the "Our Father" prayer, God gives us goals which correspond to His purposes: "Your will be done" (Matt. 6:10). It is God’s will to bring everybody to the goal of salvation: He "wants all men to be saved" (1 Tim. 2:4). God identifies himself with our desired goals when they correspond to His Word. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) once said that although God does not fulfill all our wishes, He does fulfill all of His countless promises. There are about 1,260 direct promises in the Bible, and thousands of aids for our daily life situations (Ps. 50:15), but His main concern is our eternal life: "His eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Eph. 3:11). He has achieved His purpose for us when Jesus becomes Lord and Master of all areas of our life. Then we "are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone" (Eph. 2:19–20). Without Jesus, we will miss the purpose of our life, as the Bible warns emphatically (Col. 2:18; Heb. 2:1).
14.3 The Highest Packing Density of Information
The statistical density of information is discussed in the appendix, chapter A1. It is clear that the highest possible packing density is attained in the DNA molecules of living cells. It also makes sense to determine information density at the other levels of information. Without recourse to actual numerical calculations, we now discuss some estimates for the Bible:
1. The semantic density of information: This can be defined as the plenitude of ideas or the "weight of the meanings" per sentence or per paragraph. The origin of man and of this world has been discussed in many scientific and popular publications. Nobody knows how many books have been written on these topics. However, most publications treat the subject from an evolutionary viewpoint, and nobody can provide genuine answers. Having said this, it is noteworthy that the Bible describes man’s origin completely in one single verse: "The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being" (Gen. 2:7). These few words comprise a remarkable information content, since they provide answers to many questions:
– Man did not develop through a chance process of evolution, but he was formed by a personal Creator.
– Contrary to all statements to this effect, man did not descend from some animal; he was created separately.
– One single man was created originally.
– Man does not consist of matter only, but he received a vital non-material component, a spirit, through God’s breath.
– He became a living being through the union of the material and the nonmaterial parts.
The saying "Truth does not require many words, but a lie cannot use enough words," now becomes meaningful. In spite of its semantic fullness, the verse quoted above requires amazingly few code symbols. No other description of man’s origin is so true and at the same time formulated so concisely. We may deduce that what we have here represents the highest possible semantic information density. Other passages in the Bible also exhibit superlative semantic densities (e.g., John 3:16 contains all the information necessary for man’s salvation).
2. The pragmatic density of information: This can be measured in terms of the effect E produced by input I prompted by some transmitted information. It usually requires extremely strenuous efforts to be accorded one single line entry in the Guinness Book of Records [G13], for example. This kind of "fame" is very short-lived, since the record for eating fried sausages, for example, 96 pieces in 4 minutes and 29 seconds [G13], may soon be broken. Many human deeds only served selfish honor, and have long since been forgotten and become meaningless. The Bible directs our thoughts in an entirely different direction. Everything we do in the name of Jesus (Col. 3:17) is eternally meaningfu
l (Matt. 10:42). Even a cup of cold water given to "a little one" will be rewarded (Matt. 10:42). Where on earth will you get such a stupendous reward for such a simple deed? Such results are only found in the Bible. Paul compares the acts of a Christian working in the name of Jesus, with an athlete. Athletes compete for "a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever" (1 Cor. 9:25). We thus have another superlative, namely the highest possible pragmatic information density.
3. Apobetic information density: This is a measure of the height of the purpose attained after information has been received. The following episode which occurred during the time of the Spartans describes various apobetic information densities.
Example: When there was famine in one of the regions ruled by the Spartans, the local residents dispatched an eloquent messenger to Sparta. He addressed them at length and — in his own opinion — convincingly, to ask for a gift of wheat. The Spartans, however, dismissed him, because they had forgotten his introduction and thus did not understand the conclusion. Another messenger was sent soon afterward. His modus operandi was quite different: He brought an empty bag which he opened for everybody to see, and said concisely: "This bag is empty, please put something in it." This messenger obtained the required wheat, but the Spartans commented that he was too verbose. It was obvious that the bag was empty and needed to be filled; he should use fewer words when he came again.
This episode illustrates that the first messenger did not attain his purpose in spite of the meaningful contents of his speech, while the second one was immediately successful with his concise but striking information input. We thus have two distinct densities of apobetic information, and the suggestion of the Spartans to the second speaker would have resulted in an even higher value.