Science vs. the Bible

Some people might have the false impression that science and the Bible are in conflict with one another. That simply isn't true. If one chooses to view the contents of the Bible objectively, without jumping to false conclusions, and without accepting faulty opinions as to how to interpret various versus, then that person will be rewarded with a clear understanding that there is no conflict between the Bible and science.

It is, of course, worth remembering that the goal of the Bible is not to teach science but to teach people about God, Jesus and salvation. Even so, there are times when the Bible stated things, during ancient times, which are consistent with our modern understanding of science. In fact, there are a number of passages in the Bible that appear to be centuries, even a few thousand years, ahead of scientists in terms of understanding of science. Here are a few examples:

1. The Old Testament of the Bible said that the earth is round and is suspended in space:
There are passages in the Bible that state that the earth is round and that it is suspended in space. It took a long time for scientists to reach the same conclusions. Copernicus, for example, made the discovery in 1475. But the Bible contained passages alluding to these facts a few thousand years before Copernicus:

"He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth," (Isaiah 40:22a, NIV translation).

"He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing" (Job 26:7 NIV).

2. The Bible described the Hydrologic Cycle:
The Bible contains various passages that coincide with our modern understanding of the hydrologic cycle, the process by which water evaporates, clouds are formed, rain is produced, and ground water is replenished. Science made this discovery during 1600s. But the Bible knew about it for a few thousand years beforehand:

"He wraps up the waters in his clouds, yet the clouds do not burst under their weight" (Job 26:8 NIV).

"He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind" (Job 36:27-28 NIV).

"The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again" (Ecclesiastes 1:6-7 NIV).

3. The Bible alludes to matter as being made up of invisible particles:
In Romans 1:20, and in Hebrews 11:3, there are passages that refer to all things being created with something that is invisible. That might have sounded impossible to people living 2,000 years ago, when these verses were written, but science has since proven that matter is made up of invisible particles. Take a look at these Bible verses:

"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible" (Hebrews 11:3 NIV).

4. The Bible indicated that the stars were uncountable:
For centuries, scientists and astronomers thought they could count the precise number of stars in the universe. Brahe, for example, concluded that there were 777 stars in the skies. Kepler, on the other hand, claimed that the total was 1,005. Hipparchus raised the number to 1,022 stars. Ptolemy topped the others with a finding of 1,056 stars. Eventually, scientists, including Galileo, realized that the stars could not be numbered, just as the Bible had always claimed:

" . . . as countless as the stars of the sky . . . " (Jeremiah 33:22 NIV).

He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be" (Genesis 15:5 NIV).

5. The Bible stated the existence of valleys and springs in the seas:
Only during the past few centuries did man have the technology to discover and investigate the deep valleys and fresh water springs within the oceans. But the Bible always knew of their presence:

"The valleys of the sea were exposed and the foundations of the earth laid bare at the rebuke of the LORD . . . " (2 Samuel 22:16 NIV).

"In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, on the seventeenth day of the second month—on that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened" (Genesis 7:11 NIV).

6. The Bible stated that kind words and laughter are good for one's health:
During the past few decades, various American newspapers have published reports that laughter releases chemicals within a person's body that can contribute to one's health. And, that depression and stress can weaken the immune system and lead to a variety of health problems. But, the Bible recorded the healthy virtues of laughter about 3000 years ago when the Bible's book of Proverbs was written:

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones" (Proverbs 16:24 NIV).

"A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones" (Proverbs 17:22 NIV).

7. The Bible stated that stars differed from one another, centuries before scientists reached the same conclusion:
Today we know that the stars in the skies are very different from one another, that they are made up of differing concentrations of different elements, and that they vary in size, age and proximity to earth. But the ancient people had no way to prove this. Even so, Paul, one of the people God had inspired to write portions of the Bible, wrote a passage more than 1900 years ago in an epistle (letter) of the Bible, 1 Corinthians, which said that the stars in the heavens differ from one another:

"The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor" (1 Corinthians 15:41 NIV).

Copyright © George Konig and Ray Konig and konig.org

By George Konig
3/24/1999
www.konig.org