Many people believe that science has proved the Bible to be wrong. The education authorities, most newspapers, radio programs and TV shows all take the “theory of evolution” as if it is fact and therefore the idea of an almighty God who created the heavens and the earth surely cannot be true – and therefore by implication everything in the Bible must be false.
In this article we want to briefly look at science in relation to the Bible.
What is Science
The most logical place to start must surely be what we actually define “science” as. The Oxford dictionary tells us that the origin of our English word for “Science” is in fact from the Latin scientia, from scire and it means ‘know’ or “knowledge”. In it’s truest sense then the word science should be used about facts. We “know” that when we do this, that will happen. Its a law or a fact of nature. True science is therefore a fact about something. It is a discovery of a law or rule which when applied will always bring about the expected result.
The problem is that the scientific community has long had to theorize or come up with hypothesizes which they then go about to prove. Many theories have not been proved but people still call them “science”. Sometimes further theories are developed from an existing theory bringing about more and more speculation which is not based on the true definition of science!
One such theory has been very influential in our age – Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution which was published in his book “The Origin of Species” in November 1859. He argued that species develop from being naturally selected. The weaker species die out whereas the stronger adapt and evolve over a period of billions of years.
True science is not an idea. It is fact. It is a law. It is something that can be proved and backed up and repeated over and over.
So the question is has the theory of the evolution of species been proved? The answer is a resounding no. How does one test and observe this idea of an evolution of a species? If Darwin was correct we should have many transitional species that could be brought forward as clear evidence – “look here is a dog growing wings to jump higher”. Do we have such evidence? No! All we have is some dubious fossils, the false claim about some peppered moths and some bogus claims of a few “missing links” where bones found far apart, are assumed to be from the one individual (e.g piltdown man). This is not fact but speculation.
Many scientists have had to change their opinion about natural selection and adopted the idea of mutations. It is thought that these accidental changes can bring about a new species but again there is no evidence!
The more scientists look at life the more confounded they become – there is still no answer to the areas in biology which require an “irreducible minimum” of components. The flagellum of a cell is but one example. The flagellum is like a complex engine made up of many different parts which all come together as one and none have any purpose on their own so couldn’t evolve without the other – the problem is why would they evolve if there was no purpose for them without the final design? There is no adaptation in this process and therefore within what has been called the “simple cell” are some very profound and complex issue which modern science has no answer to! There is also the problem of where life started and how – nothing can come but of a vacuum and yet hear we are! We could go on an on.
Does Science prove the Bible wrong?
So with that brief look at what true science is we turn the focus of this article onto the Bible. Does true science disprove the Bible? It has to be admitted that science has disproved many other religious text’s – for example in Hinduism it is said that the earth is a disk born on the back of three giant elephants who stand upon a giant turtle that flies through space (see hear for more details). The Bible contains no statements of this kind. In fact as we will now demonstrate the Bible is consistent with all that it says about “true” science.
The Bible constant with true science
In this section we hope to go through a few of the amazing things contained within the Bible which are 100% consistent with true science. The Bible is not a scientific book as God only reveals what is essential for our salvation and does not entertain puny human curiosity (which he could probably not ever fully appreciate anyway) about His creation. However God has given us enough evidence to be confident that the writings of the Bible are not only in harmony with true science but also that God knew about many of the facts of science before we did! Its slightly ironic that when one reads the Bible we find that true science has actually been proving the Bible right!
Hear are a few examples of how the Bible and true science harmonize:
- Gravity & Space – The Bible talks about gravity (a force of God) – discovered by man in 1687 by Sir Isaac Newton
“He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.” Job 26:7
- Shape of the Earth – The spherical shape of the earth is described by the prophet Isaiah (interesting that the Bible stated this all along and that the Roman Catholic Pope, Paul V had such a problem with Galileo who first suggested the earth was spherical after his observances of the movement of the planets in 1610. This historical conflict proves the Catholic church to be fallible but does not prove the Bible is fallible! Consider the verse:
“Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he (God) that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in” Isaiah 40:22
- Meteorology – The description of the wind cycle is revealed in the Bible only recently documented by science. Also the fact that air has a weight only discovered by Evangelista Torricelli in 1644. This is interesting as we cannot determine the weight of air with our natural eye or senses – how advanced therefore is the author of the Bible!
“The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. Ecclesiastes 6:1
God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof… To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.” Job 28:23-25
“For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:” Isaiah 55:10
The Bible also describes the water cycle:
“All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” Ecclesiastes 1:7
“He bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds; and the cloud is not rent under them.” Job 26:8
- Biology & Bacteria – The Bible has many many examples which show it’s author had an amazing biological knowledge. To pick two as examples we have the statement about blood in Leviticus which explains that blood is the key factor to life (only discovered in 1616 by William Harvey) and also the in the law of Moses is a clear commandment to discard used pottery that may be contaminated with bacteria which is amazing since bacteria cannot be seen by the human eye! There are may other examples of how the Bible was medically advanced but this example will suffice for the moment.
For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul. Leviticus 17:11
But the earthen vessel wherein it (meat) is sodden shall be broken: and if it be sodden in a brasen pot, it shall be both scoured, and rinsed in water. Leviticus 6:27-28
- Paleontology – many might be surprised to note that Dinosaurs are mentioned several times in the Bible. See Job 40:15-24 and Job 41:1-34.
- Astronomy – The Bible describes each star as being unique (which cannot be determined by the human eye). It also outlines the fact that the universe is expanding (stretching):
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory. 1 Corinthians 15:41
“(God) …stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain” Isaiah 40:22
- Hydrothermal vents – A hydrothermal vent is a crack in the earths’s surface from which heated water issues. These happen deep underground and only explored in the last 50 or so years.
“Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth” Job 38:16
Conclusion
As we can see therefore the Bible, unlike other ancient religious manuscript, is totally in accordance with true science. All provable facts of science are consistent with the Bible – even those discovered thousands of years after they were written in the pages of the Bible.
As the great scientist Albert Einstein stated: “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind”. Both must go hand in hand. Facts cannot be disputed and do not contradict the Bible but to ignore the marvels of design is surely the greatest error of modern science. Isaac Newton once said: “This most beautiful system (the Universe) could only proceed from the dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being.”
Has true science disproved the Bible? In no shape of form. The real question is – does the Bible disprove modern scientific theories such as evolution? To answer that you need to read up on the evidence of the Bible – topics such as Bible prophecy and archeology should be understood before concluding.
As the apostle Paul warned Timothy:
“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:20
Open your Bible dear reader – for only within it’s pages will you find consistency and a way to salvation…
