"THE BIBLE AND SCIENCE"
(Lesson 7)
Intro.
1. 1 Pet. 3:15 - [Unity, style, fulfilled prophecy, (Israel, nations & Messiah)].
2. The Bible has been depicted as contradicting science.
a. Bible is not a science textbook (so, it does not speak in scientific language).
b. But, when it speaks of scientific things, it demonstrates a knowledge of science far different from human knowledge at time of writing.
3. The God of creation also sustains the world by His might - Rev. 4:11.
I. WE AFFIRM THAT PERFECT HARMONY EXISTS BETWEEN SCRIPTURE AND SCIENCE.
A. Same God Who Created The World, Also Inspired The Bible - Psa. 19:1, 7-9.
1. Science shows the method of the world's operation, but not its cause. (Phenomenon, facts, laws of nature - cf. Human body, planets/stars, geology, oceans, etc.)
2. Bible shows its cause but not its method.
3. Let each remain in their respective field - then they compliment each other.
B. Significant Points To Raise:
1. The Bible & theories of science may (& do) conflict (origins, evolution).
2. Facts of science & theories about the Bible may conflict.
3. Truth of the Bible & the facts of science do not conflict.
C. The Bible Does Not Contain The Errors & Fallacies Of Science Which Were Common At The Time Of Its Writing.
1. Moses (Acts 7:22). Yet, no trace of Egyptian theories of origins:
a. World came from a flying egg; Man came from the white worms of the Nile.
b. Instead: Gen. 1:1, 26-27; 2:7.
2. Daniel (Dan. 1:14, 17-20). Yet, none of the Babylonian myths, magic or mysteries in his writing. Babylonians came to him for wisdom, not vice versa (1:20; 5:11-12).
3. The prophets stood against false wisdom of their day. Writings agree with true science.
D. Claims Of Men Which The Bible Never Made:
1. Life arose from inorganic matter.
-(Bible claims life from life - Never disproved.)
2. The earth is the center of the universe. (Ptolemy: Egyptian, "ancient astronomer, geographer, and mathematician who considered the Earth the centre of the universe (the "Ptolemaic system"). Virtually nothing is known about his life.")
3. Stars & planets are fixed in position or revolve around the earth.
4. Superstitious medical remedies (lizard blood, swine teeth, putrid meat, animal excreta, etc.).
II. STATEMENTS OF FACT LATER DISCOVERED BY MAN’S SCIENTIFIC TRUTH.
A. A Round Earth - Prov. 8:27 (~1000 BC); Isa. 40:22 (740-690 BC).
1. 384-322 BC: Aristotle argued for a spherical earth, but few were convinced.
2. 1520 AD: Introduction of the compass & voyages of Columbus & Magellan finally brought general acceptance that the earth is round.
B. Suspension Of Earth In Space - Job 26:7 (2000-1600 BC). (Clear, in unscientific terms.)
1. When men thought earth flat & supported.
2. 1608 AD: Invention of the telescope by a Dutch optician, Hans Lippershey.
3. 1687 AD: Sir Isaac Newton & his "Law of Universal Gravitation" (Principia). The earth is suspended in its orbit by the attraction of the sun.
4. Earth weighs six billion trillion (6 x 1021) tons. To replace the gravitational pull of the sun it would take the strength of a steel cable 8,000 miles in diameter!
C. Number Of Stars - Gen. 15:5 (~1400 BC); Jer. 33:22 (~600 BC). (cf. Isa. 40:26; Psa. 147:4; Rom. 1:20)
1. 150 BC: Hipparchus taught there were less than 3,000 stars.
(A Greek astronomer and mathematician who discovered the precession of the equinoxes,
calculated the length of the year to within 6 1/2 minutes, compiled the first known star
catalog, and made an early formulation of trigonometry.)
2. 150 AD: Ptolemy counted 1,056 & claimed the actual number
was not over 3,000.
3. 1608 AD: Galileo used a telescope and announced the number of stars "innumerable."
D. Paths Of The Seas - Psa. 8:8 (~1000 BC).
1. 1855 AD: Matthew Fontaine Maury, upon hearing Psalm 8:8 read to him by his son, set out to discover & chart the oceans' sea lanes & currents. (Statue of Maury in Richland, VA).
E. Channels In The Sea - 2 Sam. 22:16 (~1000 BC).
1. 1504 AD: Juan de la Costa made the first ocean soundings, but did nothing to change the universal view that the ocean floors were flat, sandy beds like our deserts.
2. 1840 AD: James Clark Rose made oceanic soundings to a depth of nearly 2,000 fathoms (12,000 ft.).
3. 1971 AD: First complete map of the ocean floor showing the "recesses of the deep."
F. Springs Of The Sea - Job 38:16 (~2000-1600 BC); Gen. 7:11; 8:2 - ~1400 BC.
1. 1930 AD: Fresh water springs on the ocean floor.
2. 1945 AD: Underwater volcanoes discovered.
G. The Water-Vapor Cycle - Job 36:27-28 (2000-1600 BC); Eccl. 1:7 (~1000 BC).
1. Sea not full - Evaporation & water cycles.
2. 350 BC: Aristotle comprehended the water-vapor cycle & published his "Meteorlogica".
3. 1770 AD: Benjamin Franklin observed movement of water by storms (river-to-sea-river water cycle).
H. Life Is In The Blood - Lev. 17:11 (~1400 BC).
1. ~350 BC: Herophilos, physician of the Museum of Alexandria, advocated blood letting as a means to get rid of disease. They thought blood carried DISEASE instead of LIFE!
2. 1616 AD: Dr. William Harvey, British physician, discovered blood circulates & is used over & over.
3. 1800 AD: Barber-surgeons were professional blood letters (red stripe on barber pole).
III. SUMMARY.
A. Negatively: Scientific Knowledge Contemporary With The Writers of the Bible Is Not Found In The Bible! (No wrong notions, superstitions, etc.).
B. Positively: An Understanding of the Physical World Is Revealed Which Transcends The Writers’ Ability To Discover At The Time They Wrote The Bible!
Conclusion
The Bible is not the product of man’s knowledge and ability - It is the inspired word of God. (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
___________
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Schnabel, A. O., Has God Spoken
Encyclopedia Britannica, Online edition