Science And The Bible

One of the major problems many people have today in accepting the Bible as the Word of God is the supposed conflict between the Bible and Science. It is the popular belief that the Bible and science are at odds, that intelligence is on the side of unbelief, and that only childish or sentimental or uneducated people still trust the contents of the Bible. (2/20) This world-view has caused a prejudice that keeps many from even considering the legitimacy of the Bible Scriptures. By examining the evidence before deciding this will allow for a fair hearing on the subject. It is the purpose of the Christian evidences set forth here to show the correlation of Christianity to fact.

Science, which is knowledge, is the organized body of observation and experiment on present (repeatable) processes. Science can examine and analyze present processes and materials, but science cannot say conclusively how things came into existence, because origins are not subject to experimental verification. Science can only show what can be verified now, not what has happened in the past. That is for historians, biographies, and autobiographies.

If the God of the Bible is a reality, He cannot contract His speech in Nature by His speech in Scripture. If the Author of Nature and Scripture are the same God, then the two “books” of God must eventually recite the same story ... as science discovers more and more and continues to discard theories that contradict the reality of nature. Science merely documents nature, while God is the reality lying behind all phenomena, supporting it, directing it, and explaining it. We must be ready to hear the voice of science and the voice of Scripture on common matters. Scientific knowledge is invaluable for a knowledge of the Bible --- at least to know it fully and completely.(2/25)

Science is simply the process of discovering the mechanisms of nature, which God has put in place to make our universe work as it does. Science has opened up the secrets and meaning of nature, the creation of God. Both science and theology deal with the same universe, one part is physical and the other invisible. Through the Scriptures we discover the origin, purpose and end of the created universe. The reliability of the Scriptures can be validated by logical examination of evidence, just as valid scientific data can. Through science we find clues, analogies, confirmations of the existence and nature of the invisible universe. (2/28)

If one were to put into operation an automotive plant so fixed that as the finished products were driven off the assembly line they would drop into the maws of the huge smelter from which they were originally derived, it would be judged as a case of a perverted and fantastic mentality. Yet this is precisely the type of analogy much of modern science is following. It is the intent of science to amass all the facts about the universe in its countless facets; it is the function of theology to give these data their purpose and theological ordering. (2/27)

THE FIVE FUNDAMENTALS
OF SCIENCE After practically a lifetime of study, Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), the famous British philosopher, declared that there are basically five fundamentals of science: time, force, action, space, and matter. Little did Spencer realize that he was but echoing what had been written by a man more than 3,000 years prior to him! That man was Moses, his book was Genesis, and his statement: “In the beginning [time] God [force] created [action] the heavens [space] and the earth" [matter] (Genesis 1:1) Thus, with the very first verse of the Bible, it becomes crystal clear to the open-minded inquirer that there is something special, something unique, about the sacred text. A closer examination of the Book reveals many startling scientific facts, placed there hundreds or thousands of years before they were known to the modern scientific mind ... buried like precious gems within the text of the Bible. (1/vol.1#9,33)

ASTRONOMY 1) Job stated, in speaking of God, that "He stretcheth out the north over the empty space, and hangs the earth upon nothing"(Job 26:7). That of course, is a well known fact today. The earth is literally "hanging upon nothing". But we must remember that this was not the concept of Job's day. Men in Job's time felt the earth was possibly suspended on the backs of four elephants, who stood on the backs of a giant turtle! Or, they felt that the earth was suspended upon the shoulders of a supernaturally strong man! There were many odd views about the condition of the earth, but none stated the matter in the clear and correct manner as did Job. A lucky guess --- when everyone else was wrong ?

2) Isaiah said, "It is he [God] who sits upon the circle of the earth " (Isaiah 40:22).

The Hebrew word Isaiah used for "circle", means literally something with "roundness" or "sphericity". Of course, the people of Isaiah's time (and for many generations to come) thought the earth was flat, not spherical. Another lucky guess ?

3) Psalm 19:6 contains several interesting facts. In speaking of the sun (vs. 4), the psalmist says that "His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and the circuit unto the ends of it; and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof."

For many years, Bible critics scoffed at the Bible stating that this verse taught the old false doctrine that the sun revolves around the earth! Then, it was recently discovered, that the sun is in fact, moving through space. It is not stationary, as was once thought. In fact, it is estimated to be moving through space at about 600,000 miles per hour, in an orbit so large it would take an estimated 200,000,000 years just to complete one orbit! Another lucky guess ?

Oh, another thing, there is another gem tucked away in these two verses. The writer hints at the fact that the sun is the source of the energy of the earth ("and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof"). An amazing statement, considering when it was written, is it not?

OCEANOGRAPHY 1) Solomon, long ago, wrote, "All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; unto the place wither the rivers go, there they go again" (Ecclesiastes 1:7). The Mississippi River, when running at an average rate of flow, dumps approximately 6,052,500 gallons of water into the gulf of Mexico - per second. Where does all that water go? And remember this is just the water from one river! The answer, of course, lies in the hydrologic cycle, of which the Bible speaks. Ecclesiastes 11:3a states that "if the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth" Amos 9:6b reminds us that "He...called for the waters of the sea, and poured them out upon the face of the earth; the lord is His name"

The idea of a complete water cycle was not fully understood or accepted until the 16th and 17th centuries. The first substantial evidence came from the experiments of Pierre Perrault and Edme Maroitte. Astronomer Edmund Halley also contributed valuable data to the concept of a complete water cycle. More than 2,000 years prior to their discoveries, however, the scriptures indicated a water cycle. How? Just a lucky guess?

2) Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806-1873) was once confined to bed during a lengthy illness. His son, who had been asked to read for him from the Bible, turned to Psalm 8 and upon reading verse 8, drew his fathers immediate attention. The verse reads, "The birds of the heaven, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas". It had never been noticed by Maury before. Using this verse he decided to find the "paths of the seas".

Indeed, he found just that! He was the first (of whom we have a written record) to recognize that the seas were circulating systems with interaction between wind and water. His book on physical oceanography is still considered a basic text for studies of that sort. The book, Matthew Fontaine Maury: Pathfinder of the Seas, by C.S. Lewis (published in 1927 by the U.S. Naval Institute) recounts the entire story. Maury "took God at His Word" and found that Word to be fully accurate!

3) Job was asked by God (Job 38:16), "Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the recesses of the deep?". The Hebrew word for "recesses" (or "trenches") refers to that which is "hidden, and known only by investigation." What then were these "recesses of the deep" (the Hebrew for "deep" is the word for seas or oceans)?

Man, in previous centuries, thought of the seashore as nothing but a shallow, sandy extension from one continent to another. Then, in 1873 a team of British scientists searching in the Pacific Ocean found a "recess" 5 1/2 miles deep. Later, another team of scientists found in the Pacific ocean a trench more than 6 miles deep! How did Job know the recesses of the deep were there, when they weren't discovered for centuries?
PHYSICS Moses wrote, "... and the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them" (Genesis 2:1). This is an interesting statement, because Moses chose the Hebrew past definite tense for the verb "finished", indicating an action completed in the past, never again to occur. That is exactly what the Fist Law of Thermodynamics says! This law (often called the Law of the Conservation of Energy, and/or Matter) states that neither matter nor energy can be created or destroyed. How did Moses know ?

In three places the Bible affirms that the earth is wearing out in Isaiah 51:6 and Psalms 102:26, and Hebrews 1:11 all say that, "... the earth will wear out like a garmet". This is precisely what the Second Law of Thermodynamics says: everything is running down, wearing out; energy is becoming less and less available for use; Entropy (a measure of randomness, disorderliness, lack of structure) is increasing.

That of coarse, means that eventually the universe will "wear out". The Bible writers knew it, and stated it clearly. We didn't discover it until a few years back. How did the Bible writers know?

MEDICINE Moses told the Israelites that "the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leveticus 17:11-14). Indeed, Moses was correct. Because the red blood cells can carry oxygen (due to hemoglobin in the cells) life is made possible.

In fact, human red blood cells can carry 270 million molecules of hemoglobin, each.. If there were any less, there would not be enough residual oxygen available to sustain life after, say, a good sneeze, or a hard pat on the back! We know today that "the life of the flesh is in the blood". But it wasn't known even as recently as in George Washington's day. He was bled to death through the blood-letting process of that days doctors. How was Moses so accurate ???

According to the old testament, circumcision was to be performed on the eighth day of a newborn male's life. (Genesis 17:12). Why the eighth day? In 1935 Professor H. Dam proposed the name "Vitamin K" for the factor in foods which helped prevent hemorrhaging in baby chicks.

We now know that Vitamin K is responsible for the production of prothrombin by the liver. If Vitamin K is deficient, there will be a prothrombin deficiency and hemorrhaging may occur, since both Vitamin K and prothrombin are necessary for proper blood-clotting. Oddly enough, it is only on the 5th through the 7th days of the newborn male's life that Vitamin K begins to be produced (usually produced by bacteria in the intestinal tract). It is only on the eighth day that the percentage of prothrombin climbs above 100%!

The only day in the entire life of the newborn that the blood-clotting element prothrombin is above 100% is day eight. Therefore, the best day for circumcision is the eight day! Did Moses have access to modern day scientific knowledge, or did God tell him to write this?

· Genesis 3:15 says, "... between her seed and thy seed", revealing that a female (as well as a male) possessed the seed of life . Such, however, was not believed in Moses day, or even until recently. Ancient writers believed that only the male possesses the seed of life, and that the female was nothing more than a "glorified incubator". One writer even suggested that you could deposit the male semen in the warm mud, and the result would be the same as depositing it in the human female! How was Genesis so accurate?

BIOLOGY In the field of biology, one of the most commonly accepted and widely used laws of science is the Law of Biogenesis. This law was set forth many years ago to dictate what both theory and experimental evidence showed to be true among living organisms --- that life comes only from preceding life, and perpetuates itself by reproducing only its own kind or type. As Dr. David Kirk has correctly stated, “By the end of the nineteenth century there was a general agreement that life cannot arise from non-living under conditions that now exist upon our planet. The dictum ‘All life from preexisting life’ became the dogma of modern biology, from which no reasonable man could be expected to dissent.” (7) The experiments which formed the ultimate basis of this law were first carried out by such men as Francesco Redi (1688), Lazarro Spallanzani (1799), Louis Pasteur (1860), Rudolph Virchow (1858). It was Virchow who documented that cells do not arise from formless matter, but instead come only from preexisting cells. (1, vol. IX, #6/22). This law has no exceptions. (This, by the way, is one of the major flaws in the theory of evolution!)

· Thousands of years before the “Law of Biogenesis”, Moses declared that things reproduce "after their kind" (Genesis 1:11-12, 21, 24). You don't get bananas from corn stalks, buffaloes from zebras, or dogs from cats. Moses was right on target, but how did he know these things --- since the science of genetics wasn't instituted until the year 1900?

· Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:39 stated that there are four fleshes --- those of men, beasts, birds, and fishes. Today, every evolutionists acknowledges this truth. These fleshes are different indeed in their biochemical makeup. But how did Paul, an itinerant preacher, know this?

· Paul also said that it is God who gives all life (Acts 17:25). For centuries men tried to prove spontaneous generation true; they attempted to "create" life through naturalistic process, yet always without success. Men may alter the state that life is, but they cannot create it. But, how did Paul know this almost 2,000 years ago ? One of those lucky guesses? (1/Vol1, #9, 33)

GEOLOGY The Worldwide Flood of Noah (Genesis 1:2, 6, 9; and 7:11-24) has been ridiculed often.

In 1885, Edward Suess was one of the first geologists to publish a study based on the geologic framework of all countries. His research led to his discovery that all land surfaces had been under water, especially in his observations of the world's mountain ranges. This explains why you find shells on the tops of mountains. Coincidence?

Many huge fossil beds have been found where great numbers of many different types of animals were together: Flood explains this: as waters rose, animals sought higher ground and eventually were all together, then swept off together where currents deposited them along with loads of sediment.

The quick-frozen Mammoths in Siberia is in favor of the Flood.

The Grand Canyon: water cut through material not yet consolidated after it had been deposited by the flood.

How would you get all those animals in the Arc?

Ernst Mayr, a leading taxonomist, list only 17,600 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians:

· Taking sheep as the average size for the animals (You can fit 240 sheep into a two level box-car);

· The Arc was a huge box that would have space for of 522 box cars (the measurements are in Genesis 6:15). This means all 17,600 would fit leaving plenty of space for food and people. So maybe the Flood and Noah's Arc aren't so far-fetched after all

ARCHEOLOGY The Bible is filled with references to actual cities, places, mountains, rivers, civilizations: Archaeology (The study of history by means of uncovering ancient ruins) has confirmed the Bible record time and time again.

1) Civilization began in Mesopotamia: The Fertile Crescent has been proven to be the cradle of civilization.

2) Long lives of patriarchs before the flood . Archaeology has revealed men living great lengths of time:

The Sumerian’s, lived in ancient Mesopotamia from 4000 to 3000 BC, (sometimes called “the cradle of civilization”) and seem to have been the oldest people to make use of writing. These people made contributions to many area which still influence us today in Astronomy, Mathematics, Geometry, Fine Arts, and Architecture. Their day was divided into two twelve hour segments, and their architecture may have been responsible for constructing the famous “tower of Babel” (4/9-14), from which all languages seem to have originated (6/47). Cuneiform from excavations of the capital city of Mari, have produced records of familiar Biblical names such as Peleg, Serug, Nahor, and Terah, as well as the city of Haran where Abraham lived, as well as the city of “Ur of Chaldees” in his youth. (5/26-28) From them has been recovered a record called The Sumerian King list which tells of kings reigning from (10,800 to 64,800???) years. The Bible is pretty conservative compared to these, and suggests that before the Flood there was a water canopy around the earth which created a greenhouse effect removing the harmful rays of the sun (see Genesis 2:6-14).

3) The Great Flood: Archaeologists have found many accounts of a Great Flood which are amazingly parallel to the Bible (Genesis 6-8). Most striking similarities are: divine judgment; of a hero who constructs a boat; even of sending out birds. Mere coincidence?

4) Today many believe that Noah's actual arc is still in existence on Mt. Ararat in Turkey: some claim to have seen it; due to its being under snow most of the time, and being located close to the Russian border, it has been extremely difficult to prove this conclusively.

5) Stories like the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9); Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18-19); Jericho (Joshua 6) are no longer regarded as myths --- have been proven by archaeology.

ATOMIC PHYSICS 2 Peter 3:10-12 was used over 100 years ago to prove that the Bible could not have been divinely inspired. It reads, " ... the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth and the works that are therein shall be burned up ... the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved ... "

"How could there be a fire big enough to burn up the whole world?", they said. Two generations later science discovered atomic energy. In these verses God is prophesying how the world would come to an end through an atomic reaction that actually melts the basic building blocks of matter itself. That is an atomic physics statement from a fisherman of 2,000 years ago! Mere chance? No chance!

NUMERICS In 1882, Ivan Panin, a Russian immigrant had just graduated from Harvard. A brilliant mathematician, multi-lingual scholar (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) and a literary figure, he had traveled as an agnostic and had often lectured on atheism. He began studying the Bible in the original languages, of which he was fluent.

Now both Hebrew and Greek (the New Testament languages) are unique in that they do not use special symbols for their numbering system, but instead use the letters of their alphabets to represent numbers. Each letter can actually represent a number, too.

Aware of the numerical values of the Greek and Hebrew alphabets, Panin experimented one day by replacing the letters with their corresponding numbers in the Scriptures. Suddenly, his trained mind saw a mathematical pattern. The verses he had studied bore unmistakable evidence of "an elaborate mathematical pattern, far beyond random chance, or human ability to construct!"

This study marked a turning point in his career, and from that time until his death in 1942, he devoted his entire life to the study of Bible numerics. He later supplied the Nobel Research Foundation with over 43,000 sheets of his studies accompanied by his statement that this was his evidence that the Bible was the Word of God, and was acknowledged by them, "As far as our investigation has proceeded.. we find the evidence overwhelming in favor of such a statement."

Panin found that patterns of prime numbers, such as 11, 13,17, 23, "but especially 7", were found in great clusters. When you add up the sum of all numerical values for different words, sentences, paragraphs, passages, and whole books, you find the same pattern in each of these forms!:

1) The number of words in a vocabulary divides by 7.
2) The number of proper names, both male and female, divides by 7.
3) The number of words that begin with a vowel, or a consonant, divides by 7.
4) The number of nouns is divisible by 7, as are the words that are not.
5) The same for words that occur more once in a sentence, paragraph, book, or the whole Bible divided by 7.
6) Even the number of words beginning with each letter of the alphabet are divisible by 7!
7) And on and on the list goes ... limited only by your imagination!

Some example are:

Genesis 1:1, the very first sentence in the Bible states "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." In the Hebrew that comes out exactly 7 words, that have exactly 28 (4 x 7) letters, 3 nouns (God, Heaven, and Earth), one Hebrew verb (created). Taking the letters of the nouns and substituting their numerical equivalents and adding them up, you get 777 (111 x 7)! The verb had a numerical value of 203 (29 x 7). This process can be carried out as far as you want to go!

Matthew 1:1-11 has 49 words (7 x 7) in the original Greek, with 28 words that begin with a vowels (4 x 7), and the remaining 21 (3 x 7) begin with a consonant. 7 end with a vowel, and 42 end with a consonant (6 x 7). The 49 words have 266 letters (38 x 7); 140 are vowels (20 x 7); 126 are consonants (18 x 7). Of these 49 words, 14 occur only once (2 x 7); 35 occur more than once (5 x 7); 42 are nouns (6 x 7) that have exactly 49 letters (7 x 7). Male name occur 56 times ( 8 x 7), and women's names appear 3 times (a prime number), and the letters of their names adds up to 14 . How far do you want to check it. It keeps coming out the same!

Every word, chapter, and book in the Bible checks out this way. The Bible has it's own built-in self-checking mechanism against someone tampering with it! Take out one letter and it damages the whole pattern ! How could mere fishermen and tax collectors have conjured up something as remarkable as this mathematical pattern? (3)

One mind, one author --- one God, many different writers, but one Writer! Can you imagine the kind of Mind that would do this, and not even care if you found out?

Conclusion These items are just a meager sampling of the science in the Bible. How did the writers have this scientific foreknowledge? Simple: God had them put it there, through divine revelation!

All conflict between the Science and the Bible falls into the realm of interpretation of facts --- which are based upon assumptions (assumptions which can be in error!). No fact of science is in conflict with the scriptures! To set science against theology is simply to oppose Creation to Revelation, and Nature to Redemption. It is the uniform testimony of Scripture that the God and Christ of creation are the God and Christ of redemption. It is the interest of science to amass all the facts about the universe in it’s countless facets; it is the function of the Bible to give these data their purpose and theological orderings.

Science without Scripture sets forth the universal scheme as blind, meaningless, and purposeless never knowing of an hour of creation, or consummation, and in the perceptive of an infinity of years and an immensity of space our human hopes, joys, tragedies, aspirations, civilizations, intellectual and artistic achievements are meaningless, insignificant and trivial.

Science in harmony with the Scripture and human life with all it’s hopes, joys, tragedies, aspirations, civilizations, intellectual and artistic achievements become the very center of the universe. It is the insistence of the Biblical revelation that God is the God of all humanity, of all the world, and of all the universe. Both science and Christianity deal with the same universe. The emphasis in science is on the visible universe, and of Christianity the emphasis is on the invisibility universe, but it is one universe! (2/28-29)

The more one studies the Bible, from any perspective (Science, History, Prophecy, Numerology, Etc.), the more it's reliability is established ! You can put any test that you want on this book and nothing is even in the same class. No other work of man in any language even faintly resembles the intricate structure and design of the Bible. The Bible is not just a book --- it is God who has spoken in history, and presents His Truths of the invisible, or spiritual side of the universe. They are just as “true” as the God’s physical truths science documents for us. Truth is truth and facts are facts no matter who develops them!

The Bible will, and has, stood the test of time and is worthy of your investigation. The truth welcomes examination. Find out for yourself: is the Bible what it says it is, the word of God? Or is it just another book in a sea of books?

WHAT IF? What if all the physical things the Bible says can be proven to be true, then what about the spiritual things; are they not true also?

The Bible also says that we each will live eternally, either in heaven or hell, depending on whether we obey God. The Bible says we must: believe (Romans 10:17), repent (turn from sin --- Romans 3:23; Acts 17:30), confession of Jesus as the Son of God (Romans 10:10), baptism into Christ for the remission of sins (Galatins 3:27; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16), and to be faithful until death (Revelation 2:10). If you were to die right now, would you go --- to heaven or hell?

References: 1) Thompson, Bert & Jackson, Wayne, “Reason & Revelation”, Apologetic Press, Inc., Montgomery, Al, 36109.
2) Ramm, Bernard, “The Christian View of Science and Scripture”, Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Ferdmans Pub. Co.
3) Panin, Ivan, “Bible Numerics”, Waubaushene, Canada LOK 2CO
4) Hyma, Albert, “Ancient History”, New York: Barnes & Nobel, Inc., College Outline Series
5) Seller, Charles E. & Russel, Brian, “Ancient Secrets of the Bible”, New York: Dell Publishing
6) Free, Joseph, “Archaeology and Bible History”. Wheaton: Scripture Press Publications
7) Kirk, David, “Biology Today”, New York: Random House, 1975.


WHAT CAN YOU DO?
You can accept the authority of Christ by doing what He commanded (Matthew 7:21; John 14:15; 15:10-14; Luke 6:46). Notice the pattern for becoming a Christian as revealed in the Scriptures. The Gospel was heard, resulting in faith (Romans 10:17); Repentance of (turning away from) sin (Acts 17:30) and confession of Jesus as the Son of God followed (Romans 10:10). Believers were baptized INTO Christ for the remission (forgiveness) of sins (See Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 8:35-39; 22:16; Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:20-21), and added to His church (Acts 2:47). Christians were taught to be faithful even to the point of death (Revelation 2:10).

WE WELCOME YOU Following the instructions of the Scriptures, members of Christ’s body assemble as congregations for worship, encouragement, and Bible study. The congregation in your community welcomes you to investigate the Bible with us.

With a spirit of brotherly love we would seek to reconcile any differences by following the Bible ONLY. We recognize the Bible as God’s inspired word, the ONLY reliable standard of faith and practice. We desire the unity for which Christ prayed and which the Bible emphasizes in the expression, “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.” Together we seek to maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace."

A friendly welcome awaits you. We do not wish to embarrass you in any way. You will not be asked for contributions. We assemble for Bible study and worship each Sunday morning and we welcome you to meet with us. We would be happy to talk to you about your questions and we want to be of encouragement.

Please Contact me, Dennis Crawford, at BibleTruthsToU@gmail.com or 253-396-0290 (cell) for comments, questions, further Bible information, or for the location of a congregation belonging to Jesus Christ near you.