Scientific
Evidences of The Bible
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 doing nothing more than echoing what had been said by a man who lived
some 3,000 years prior to him! That man was Moses, his book was Genesis, and
this is his statement. "In the beginning time (time) God (force)
created the heavens (space) and the earth (matter)." (Genesis 1:1)
With the very first verse
of the Bible, it becomes crystal clear to the open-minded inquirer that
there is something special-something unique- here. And, a closer examination
of the Book reveals starting scientific facts, placed there hundreds or
thousands of years before they were known to the modern scientific minds.
Unusual? Indeed it is! Astonishing? Absolutely! Accurate? Without a doubt!
These unusual, astonishing, accurate scientific facts, which are buried
within the text of the Bible like pearls of great price, tell a story not in
accord with what many today are saying. At every turn it seems, foes of the
inspired text declare with vigor that the Bible is antiquated, out-of -date,
and even wrong, being nothing but a modern man in his: enlightened"
condition. The famous infidel,
Robert Ingersol, once stated: "The inspiration of the Bible depends
upon the ignorance of the one who reads it!
It is the burden of this
article is to show that rather than the Bible-reader who is ignorant, it is
instead Mr. Ingerol, and all those who make such ridiculous statements as
his - statements which fly in the face of all the available facts. Either
the Bible is what it claims to be-inspired (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter
1:20-21; I Corinthians 2:12-13) -or we are left with one of the two choices. First, we may state that those men (over 40 in
all) who wrote the Book (over a period of some 1600 years; 1500 BC to
approximately 100 AD) in its three
languages (Hebrews, Aramaic, & Greek) from three different continents
(Asia, Africa and Europe) were
deluded! That is to say, they really thought what they were writing was from
God, but it wasn't! They were sincere, but they
were sincerely wrong. Second, we may state
that those men were possibly deceitful! They knew all the time they
were writing that the words they penned
weren't from God. They wrote them merely to perpetrate the greatest
hoax that has ever been violated upon the
minds of men! They lied!
Upon
what, then, may we base our conclusion as to which of these three is
the correct choice? Why, we
shall have to examine the evidence, of course.
The law of Rationality demand
that we draw only those conclusions earned by
the evidence. This we shall do . It would make an interesting study,
of course, to examine the uniqueness of the Bible, or
its internal and external phenomenology, or its fulfilled prophecy,
or its historical evidences. But space will not permit such. Let us then
turn our full attention to the scientific foreknowledge of the Bible, to see
if there is such scientific knowledge there as could have come
about in no way except God had revealed it to those men writing His
Book. And if this scientific knowledge (hundreds or thousands of years
before its time) is present, the question
will then become: how did
it get there? Could deluded or deceitful men have performed such a feat?
The Bible Challenged: From
The Field Of Astronomy
JOB (26:7) stated, in
speaking of God, that "He stretcheth
out the north over the empty
space, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. "That, of course, is
a well-known fact today. The earth is literally "hanging upon
nothing." There are no suspending
wires, no supporting or
under girding beams. But we must remember this was certainly not the
way people in Job's day viewed the matter. They
felt that the earth was suspended on the
backs of four elephants who stood on the back of a giant turtle. Or,
they may have felt that the earth was suspended on the shoulders of a
supernaturally strong man, but none stated the matter as clearly and as
correctly as Job. How did Job know? Merely a lucky guess- when everyone else
around him was wrong?
GENESIS 15:5 AND JEREMIAH
33:22 both point out that the stars of the heavens are simply to many to be
numbered. The astronomer Hipparchus in approximately 150 BC stated that his
count of the stars stood at 1,026. Later,(150 AD) Ptolemy counted the stars
and gave the figure of 1,056. Brahe (1575 AD) gave the figure of
approximately 777. Kepler(1600 AD) gave an approximation of 1,005 stars,
Today, of course, we know the figure to be much, much, higher. The last
figure seen by this writer, given by the famous Cornell astronomer Dr. Carl
Sagan, was 25 sextillion. That's 25 with 21 zeroes added on behind it. And
we're not anywhere near finished counting yet! How did Moses and Jeremiah
know-before the telescope and satellite were ever invented- what we know
today to be accurate? The stars of the heavens are literally innumerable!
Just a lucky guess?
Isaiah, in speaking of God,
stated (40:22), "IT IS HE WHO SITTETH UPON THE CIRCLE OF THE EARTH."
The Hebrew word Isaiah used for "circle" is the word knug.
It literally means something with "roundness," a
"sphere." But, of course, the people of Isaiah's day (and, in
fact, for many generations to come) thought the earth was flat. How did
Isaiah know that not to be the case? Just a lucky guess?
Psalm 19:5-6 contains
several interesting scientific facts. in speaking of the sun, the psalmist
says that "his going forth is from the end of the heaven , and his
circuit unto the ends of it, and there is nothing hid from the heat
thereof." For many years, of course, the Bible critics scoffed at the
Bible, siting that this verse taught the old false doctrine of
genocentricity (i.e.: the sun revolves around the earth .) Then it was
discovered, and only recently by the way, that the sun
is, in fact, moving through space. It is not stationary, as was once
though. In fact, it is estimated to be moving through space at approximately
600,000 miles per hour, in an orbit so large it would take approximately 200
million years to complete just one orbit. How did the psalmist hints at the
fact that the sun is the source of energy for the earth "and there is
nothing hid from the heat thereof"). An
amazing statement, is it not, considering
when it was written, and by whom?
Bible Is Challenged: From
The Field Of Oceanography
Solomon, long
ago, wrote, "All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not
full: unto the place whither the rivers go, thiher they go again"
(Ecclesiastes 1:7). This statement, considered
merely by itself, may not seem so profound at first. But, when
considered with additional evidence, and other biblical passages, it becomes
all the more remarkable. For example, the Mississippi River, when running at
normal speed, dumps approximately 6,052,500 gallons of water per second into
the Gulf of Mexico ! Where, pray tell, does all that water go? And that's
just one river! The answer, of course, lies in the hydrologic cycle so well
brought out in the
Bible. Ecclesiastes 11:3a states that "if the clouds be full of rain,
they empty themselves upon the earth. "Amos 9:6b tells us that
"He...calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth 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 sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The first
substantial evidence came from
the experiments of Pierre Perrault and Edme Mariotte. 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?
.Matthew Fontaine
Maury(1806-1873) was once confined to bed during a lengthy illness. His son,
who had been asked to read to him from the Bible, turned to Psalm 8 and upon
reading verse 8, drew his father's immediate
attention. The verse reads like
this." The birds of the heaven, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever
passeth 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 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 this
sort. The book, Matthew
Fontaine Maury, Pathfinder of the Seas, by C.L. Lewis
and published in 1927 by the U. S. Naval Institute, recounts the
entire story. Mr. Maury "took God at His word" and found that word
to be accurate. How did the psalmist know these things? Just a lucky guess?
Job was asked by God
(38:16), " 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 were these
"recesses of the deep" (the Hebrew word 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 straight down. Later,
another team of scientists found a trench in the Pacific Ocean 35,800 feet
deep (more than 6 miles). How did Job know these " recesses" in
the deep there, when we didn't
discover them for centuries? Just a lucky guess?
The Bible Challenged: From
The Field Of Physics
Moses (Genesis 2:1) stated,
"And the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of
them." 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. Moses stated that the creation
was "finished"-once and for all! That is exactly what the First
Law of Thermodynamics says. This law (often referred to as the Law of the
Conservation of Energy and/or Mass) states that neither matter or energy can
be either created or destroyed. It was because of this Law that Sir Fred
Hoyle's "Steady-State" (or "Continuous Creation") Theory
was discarded. Hoyle stated that at points in the universe called "irtrons"
matter (or energy) was constantly being created. But, the First Law states
just the opposite. Indeed, there is no
"creation" ongoing today. It is "finished"
exactly like Moses stated. But did he know? Just a lucky guess?
In three different places
in the Bible(Isaiah 5:6, Psalm 102:26, Hebrews 1:11) the indication is given
that the earth is wearing out. This is , of course, exactly what the Second
Law of Thermodynamics (the Law
of Increasing Entropy as it is often called) states. The Second Law states
that everything is running down, wearing out. Energy is becoming less and
less available for use. That, of course, means that eventually the universe
will "wear out" so much (theoretically speaking , of course) that
there will be a "heat death" and therefore no more
energy available for use. The Bible writers knew it, and stated it in clear,
succinct terms. We didn't discover it until relatively few years ago. How
did the Bible writers know it? Just a lucky guess?
From The Field Of Medicine
Moses told the Israelites
(Leviticus 17:11-14) that the "life of the flesh is in the blood."
Indeed, Moses was correct. Because the red blood cells can carry oxygen (due
to hemoglobin in the cells) life is made possible. In fact, in human red
blood cells, there are approximately 270,000,000 molecules of hemoglobin per
cell! If there were any less there would not be enough residual oxygen
available to sustain life after, say a good hard sneeze or an accident that
knocks the breath out of you. We know today that " the life of
the flesh is in the blood." yet we didn't know that in George
Washington's day. We bled him to death using the system of
"bloodletting" which was so popular in that day. How did Moses
know the life of the flesh was "in the blood"? Just a lucky guess?
God told Abraham that on
the eighth day newborn males were to be circumcised (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 know 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.
Oddly enough, it is only on the 5th through the 7days of the newborn
male's life that Vitamin K begins to be produced (the vitamin is usually
produced by bacteria in the intestinal tract). And, it is only on the eighth
say that the percent prothrombin climbs above 100%. The only day in the
entire life of the newborn that the blood clotting element prothrombin is
above 100% is the eighth day! But how did Abraham know that in his
limited scientific knowledge? Just a lucky guess?
Genesis 3:15 reveals that a
female (as well as Amelia possesses the "seed of life." This was
not the commonly held position in Moses' day, however. Nor was it the
commonly held position until just a few centuries ago. Several writers of
days gone by, including the people of Moses' day, felt that the male only
possessed the "seed of
life" and that the woman was nothing more than a "glorified
incubator." One writer even suggested that the male seed could be
deposited in warm mud and the result would be the same! But, Moses knew all
along that both the male and the female possess the seed of life. How did he
know that? Just a lucky guess?
Leviticus 17:15 teaches
that an animal which has died naturally is not to be eaten. Moses was
obviously highly trained in public health procedures ! One thing is for
certain: he knew that of which he spoke. Today it is against the law to take
an animal that has died naturally into a slaughter house, to be prepared for
human consumption. It is not a good hygiene. What if the animal died of
anthrax, or rabies, or a thousand other such diseases? Obviously, it should
not then be eaten. One thing is for sure: if the animal died, something was
wrong! How did Moses know this kind of information? Just a lucky guess?
Leviticus 11 Moses gave the
Israelites strict sanitation laws, including instructions not to eat
pork(among other things). Why would Moses give such an injunction? Today we
can at least theorize as to his reasoning. Porcine animals. are scavenger,
eating almost anything. In so
doing, they are more prone to acquire bacterial and parasitic conditions
than animals. One of the parasites which porcine animals may have in their
muscle tissues is the parasite Trichinells spiralis- the cause of the
disease we know as trichinosis. It is a painful, sometimes fatal
disease acquired by
humans through the ingestion of undercooked or raw pork. It seems not
unusual, then, that Moses would command the Israelites not to eat pork. But
how did he know to do that? Just another lucky guess?
From The Field Of Biology
Moses stated
(Genesis1:11,12, 21, 24) that things reproduce "after their kind."
This, of course, is "not big news" to us today, because we
understand genetics and the laws of heredity, which ensure that things
reproduce "after their kind" you don't get a buffalo from a horse;
you don't get a dog from a cat; you don't
get a banana from a
tomato. Things reproduce "
after their kind." Moses was right " on target" with these
statements. Even today in nature these laws hold true. But how did Moses
know these things-long years before science of genetics(which came about
only in 1900) was discovered?
Paul stated(Acts 17;25)
that it is God who giveth all life. For centuries men have been trying to
"create life" through processes of spontaneous generation. Even
when men like Spallanzani, Redi, Pasteur, and hundreds of others have shown
over and over that spontaneous generation is impossible, evolutionists still
keep trying, so that their favorite theory can possibly be shown true. But,
to date, no one has ever "created life." They do well, in fact, to
even get one of the simplest "building blocks"-animals acids. Paul
knew long ago that it was God who gives life. Just a lucky guess?
Paul also stated(1
Corinthians 15:39) that there
are four fleshes- those of men ,beasts, birds, and fishes. Today even
evolutionists recognize that this is , in fact, true. These fleshes are
indeed different in their biochemical makeup. But how did Paul, an itinerate
preacher, know such things? Just a lucky guess?
The Summary Of Scientific
Challenges Of The Bible
The items we have covered
here are, of course, just a meager sampling of the many items which could have been mentioned.
We have not even touched on the fields of archaeology, biophysics, molecular
biology, geography, etc. Ah, what pearls there are in those fields as well!
But, the point is well
made. There is scientific foreknowledge in the Bible which is years ahead of
its time. How could the Bible writers have known it- except God, who created
the universe and knew every detail of it told them!? No rational , sane,
fair-minded person would believe that such foreknowledge could have come
through just men, and men who deluded or deceitful at that? Such a stance is
indefensible, and will not stand up to strenuous investigation.
The Bible is what it claims
to be-God's inspired word. It is authoritative, given to us by god for an
abundant life here (John
10:10b) and an eternal life
hereafter (John 3:16) . The
evidences which substantiate it are irrefutable.