Scientific Revelations in the Bible

God versus Science?

God versus Science was found on the cover of Time Magazine on November 13, 2006. The cover article questioned “whether faith and scientific progress and hunger for miracles and for MRI’s are incompatible.” [1] In an engaged debate, Oxford professor Dr. Richard Dawkins, who claims Darwinian theory and science can only lead to atheism[2] faced off with Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Human Genome Research Institute, who is convinced that material signs and design point to God.[3] Apart from name calling (“clowns” as he referred to creationists), Dawkins does not seem to have a problem putting his faith in the existence of billions of parallel universes (of which our universe is just the lucky one) in an attempt to explain the fine tuning of the natural laws.[4] The existence of a God who exists outside of space and time is not a credible option for him, as it is not a scientific alternative.

However, God is not opposed to science. This simply is not a one-or-the-other proposition. Science is only a means to study God’s creation, and through it we can learn more about Him. When we discussed the evidences for God’s existence, we discovered that recent scientific discoveries in astrobiology, molecular biology, and genetics reveal the work of design by a Creator. Once again, we turn to science to discover that the texts of the Bible reveal scientific knowledge known only in recent times; therefore it was wholly unknown to the authors when the Bible was written.

Examining Exhibits

We will examine 8 exhibits where scientific knowledge reveals divine inspiration of the author:

Exhibit #1: The Genesis creation account
Exhibit #2: We descend all from Adam, Eve and Noah
Exhibit #3: Telomeres - we cannot live forever
Exhibit #4: The Ark of Noah
Exhibit #5: Timing of circumcision
Exhibit #6: Hygiene and contagious diseases
Exhibit #7: Dietary rules for a healthy life
Exhibit #8: Rules against incest

Are There More Scientific Evidences?

The above discussion is not exhaustive. Only evidences that could be objectively supported by scientific data were considered, avoiding objections that the “text does not realty say this.” Each of the eight exhibits presented demonstrates a case where the Bible is explicit in its statements, with insight clearly beyond the knowledge of those times. Thus the only explanation is that God inspired these writings.

In table 23-2 is an overview of other Scripture passages considered evidence for the scientific accuracy of the Bible, again, recorded before this information was common knowledge to the world.

Other scientific statements in the Bible
Scientific fact/observation	Bible Text	Reference
The universe came into existence out of nothing	“the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”	Hebrews 11:3
Moisture goes through a cycle of evaporation and condensation	“He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lightning with the rain”	Psalm 135:7
The earth is spherical in shape	“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth…”	Isaiah 40:22
The earth rotates upon its axis	“The earth takes shape like clay under a seal…”	Job 38:13-14
The earth is suspended in space	“He suspends the earth over nothing.”	Job 26:7
Tides vary in the late evening and early morning hours	“He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters for a boundary between light and darkness.”	Job 26:10
The stars cannot be numbered	“…as countless as the stars of the sky…”	Jeremiah 33:22
The stars travel in certain paths	“From the heavens the stars fought, from their courses they fought against Sisera.”	Judges 5:20
The blood sustains life	“For the life of a creature is in the blood…”	Leviticus 17:11
The universe is running down	“They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment.”	Psalm 102:25-26
The stars are a great distance from the earth	“And see how lofty are the highest stars!”	Job 22:12
The stars differ in magnitude	“…and star differs from star in splendor.”	1 Corinthians 15:41
The chemical compostion of man and earth are identical	“…for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.”	Psalm 103:14

Table 23- 2 : Other Scientific Facts in the Bible

Read on about: (2) Exhibit #1; The Genesis creation account

[1] Time Magazine, November 13, 2006, pages 48-55.

[2] Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (2006).

[3] Francis S. Collins: The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief (2006).

[4] See Exhibit #2: Structure and Order in chapter 3.

Back to: Is the Bible inspired?

(1) Scientific revelations in the Bible	(2) Exhibit #1; The Genesis creation account
(3) Exhibit #2: We descend from Adam, Eve, Noah	(4) Exhibit #3: Telomeres - we cannot live forever
(5) Exhibit #4: The Ark of Noah	(6) Exhibit #5: Timing of circumcision
(7) Exhibit #6: Hygiene and contagious diseases	(8) Exhibit #7: Dietary rules for health
(9) Exhibit #8: Rules against incest

	Jump to: 3. Fulfilled Prophecies - Foretelling the Future

2. Scientific Revelations in the Bible (1)

God versus Science?

Examining Exhibits

Are There More Scientific Evidences?