SCIENCE AND THE BIBLE
by Ed Stevens
"I will speak of the glorious honor of (God's) majesty and of (His) wondrous works." "The works of the Lord are great, sought out by all them that have pleasure therein." Psalm 145:5; 111:2.
All who investigate will find that true science and the Bible are in perfect agreement and that this Book is actually the earliest and most reliable text book on science in general. With great "pleasure" we verify this in the following 18 points:
1. Anthropogeny — origin of man. It shouldn't be hard for anyone to believe the simple truth given in Genesis 2:7, "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul". Through chemical analysis it has been found that the human body is composed of many elements found in the soil but having no trace of silica, aluminum or titanium which preponderate therein. God saw fit to miraculously exclude these.
2. Biology — science of life. For many years educators have taught the "continuity theory" or similarity of all living cell structure and that all life began with a single protoplasm. This is both unproved and unscientific. They are speechless before two simple questions: Where and how did that original protoplasm begin? If evolution is true how is it that all the various forms of life from low to high are still to Le aeon all about us, there being no cessation or extinction of such species ? Theories must be proved to be true. When science says, No life except from life, we heartily agree for that is Bible truth. Hear then the sublime certainty and simplicity of God's holy Word; — "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth ... the grass and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed is in itself, after his kind . . . and God created great whales and every living creature that moveth, which the water brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged foul after his kind . . . And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind; ai1d God saw that it was good". Notice how the unchangeable continuation of species is designated in the words "after their kind".
"All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds." Gen. 1:1,12,21,25; 2:7; I Cor. 15:39. The blood of men and of beasts has been found to be distinctly different by modern science.
3. Blood circulation in the body, its importance and function was discovered in 1616 A.D. Blood transports needed body building materials, keeps the body at even temperature and balances the fluids. The Bible tells us, "The life of the flesh is in the blood", Lev. 17:11.
4. Fingerprint Science. The oldest book of the Bible, Job, written probably by Moses sixteen centuries before Christ, mentions this science which men discovered a few generations ago. "On the hand of every man He (God) setteth a seal that all men may take note of his doings", Job 37:7 (Rotherham's translation). God here long ago revealed means to detect criminals but men have disdained His Word.
5. Terrestrial Astronomy, or support of the earth. The ancients believed the earth was supported by a giant called Atlas, or by an elephant, etc. They could have learned from God that "He hangeth the earth on nothing", Job 26:7.
6. Shape of the earth. Scientist Columbus believed our earth to be round and he set out to prove it by navigation. As far back as Job's day God revealed its shape for in Job 26:10 we read, "A boundary hath He encircled on the face of the waters between light and darkness" (literal rendering). A second and third proof we find in Isa. 40:22 and Prov. 8:27, "It is He that sitteth on the circle of the earth ..." "...when He set a compass upon the face of the deep".
7. Geology — earth's formations. The scientists who have been hunting for "missing links" (that never link) have been baffled in finding ancient "links" in stratas that lie above not so ancient stratas. Geologists make various and seemingly wild guesses in regard to different formations of the earth. The Bible deliever knows that God "turneth the earth upside down" (Isa. 24:1) and that between Gen. 1:1 and verse two can be placed many geological ages -"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth (v. 1). And the earth was [or 'became', Heb. trans.] without form and void and darkness was upon the face of the deep" (v. 2). Cataclysmic changes occurred because of divine judgment. Another judgment occurred in Noah's day with the Flood -- "And it, came to pass ... that the waters of the flood were
upon the earth ... all the fountains of the great deep were broken up and the windows of heaven were opened", Gen. 7:10,11. In Psalm 104:6-8 we read that God caused the mountains to rise and the valleys to sink (see R.V.).
8. Gravitation. That all the planets, suns and stars of the many universes obediently remain in their orbits with perfect precision as to time and distance is no longer a mystery to one who has become a child of God through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Concerning Christ who "was with God" and who "was God" and who "made all things" (John 1:1,2), we read in Heb. 1:4 that He upholds "all things by the word of His power". So also in Col. 1:17, "And He is before all things and by Him all things consist". This word "consist", it is interesting to note, comes from two root words in the original, meaning "union" and "abide" or "continue".
In 1950 the newspapers reported the nuclear scientists to have discovered something they called "glue" that held a check on the atoms. Why not believe the Bible which tells us that the One who made the atom also keeps the atoms of the universe in "union" by His mighty power? We bring this out in our next point.
9. Atomism — study of the atomic structure of the universe. The word "atom" comes from the Greek word "atomo" which word occurs in I Cor. 15:52, "In a moment (atomos), in the twinkling of an eye
"Believers will be "changed" in an atom of time and "caught up to meet Christ in the air" (I Thes. 4:14-17). In connection with atom study we read in Heb. 11:3, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear". By forming a new element in an instant with the great cyclotron at Berkeley, nuclear scientists have concluded that all things must have come into being in a moment of time. Exactly so! The Bible has taught this all the while as can be seen by adding to the above reference, Heb. 11:3, two verses in Psalm 33:6,9, — "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. For He snake, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast".
In a wonderful parallel in the spiritual sense we find the greatest and most important truth Per man today. It reaches into eternity! We quote I Pet. 1:23; II Cor. 5:17,18 and John 5:24, — "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever." "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, there is a new creation. . . but all things are of God who hath reconciled us to Himself through Christ" (R.V. margin). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth Him that sent me, hath eternal life, and cometh not into Judgment, but hath passed out of death into life." My friend, salvation is instantaneous! A spiritual "new man" (Eph. 2:14) is created the moment one believes "with the heart" (Rom. 10:10) the gospel message which is most plainly given in I Cor. 15:1-5, — "Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel . . . wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved . . . how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures; and that He was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve."
God plainly warns man to accept "today" His free offer of making him a "born again" member of His heavenly Family with assured eternal, indescribable happiness. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation". "While it is said, Today if ye will hear His voice harden not your hearts", II Cor. 6:2; Heb. 3:15. "But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness (God will render) indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil ... ", Rom. 2:6,8,9.
Returning to atom study, the Bible also warns of God's ability and purpose to finally make one great atomic explosion of the entire heavens and earth. It is found in II Pet. 3:7,10,12, — "But the heavens and earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store reserved unto fire ('stored with fire', R.V. mar.) against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise [combustion] and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up . . . (in) the day of God wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the elements shall melt with fervent heat." Men today fear that man may bring this about through increased knowledge of destruction, but God says He Himself will do it in His time.
10. Snow Crystal Beauty. With the aid of the microscope man has come to know the significance of God's words to Job. "Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?", Job. 33:22. Men have not found two snow crystals identically the same in an entire snow bank. What beautiful designs are seen, with ever the same outgrowth in six directions from on central cell, so forming the number seven, God's number of completion and perfection.
God's Word itself has been scientifically proved to be inspired of God (by Ivan Panin) in that a multiplicity of the number seven is found in various designs in each verse of the original Hebrew and Greek, the letters of which having also a numerical value. This intricate design of the number seven is not found in writings other than the Bible.
11. Hydrography — mapping the water surface of the earth. We find Psalm 8:8 speaking of "the paths of the sea".
12. Meteorography — atmospheric phenomena. In this science men have come to know that wind currents flow to the poles from the equator and back. Solomon spoke of this in Eccles. 1:6, "The wind goeth to the south and turneth about to the north; it whirleth about continually and returneth again according to his circuits".
18. Evaporation. That water is evaporated from the sea and spread on land is found in Eccles. 1:7, — "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".
14. Astronomy. Here men feel very small indeed, and must acknowledge the existence of God. He is majestically revealed as Creator in Psalm 19 which begins thus: "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth His handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech and night unto night showeth knowledge".
In the 19th century a great "void" was discovered in the northern heavens. Job knew this, for he said, "He stretcheth out the north over the empty place". In Job's day the now lost study of the gospel in the stars was well known as seen from Job 38:32 (R.V. mar.), — "Canst thou lead forth the signs of the Zodiac?" Astronomers have thought that our universe swings around the Pleiades. Job 38:31 speaks of "the sweet influence of the Pleiades". Job also knew that the moon was a dead planet having no light in itself, — "Behold even the moon and it shineth not", Job 25:5. The "lesser light to rule the night", referred to in Gen. 1:16 signifies the moon's reflected light. So, incidentally, Christ's Church is to reflect the light of Christ, "the Sun of righteousness."
15. Solar Physics — mechanics of sunlight. Men now know that light is wave-motion traveling at the rate of 186,000 miles per second. That light traveled and that darkness was stationary was revealed to Job, — "Where then is the way the light shall rest? And the darkness, where then is its place?", Job 38:19 (Roth. trans.). That light has sound is seen in Job 36:7, — "The morning stars sang together" when "the foundation of the earth was laid".
16. Philology — science of languages. There are fifty or more distinct language groups with no common origin. Only God's Word reveals their beginning as seen in Gen. 11:1-9 where the account of the building of the tower of Babel is given. The Lord said, "Go to, let us go down and there confound their language that they may not understand one another's speech". Verse 1 states, "the whole earth was of one language and of one speech".
17. History and Archeology. Archeological finds continually corroborate the truth of the Bible, which Book is His Story as well as history. "Thy Word is truth", John 17:17.
18. Philosophy and Psychology. The Bible is the only correct, proved, reliable philosophy of life and the best treatise on Psychotherapy, or mind cure. Human philosophy is only human thought. "The carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law [or Word] of God, neither indeed can be", Rom. 8:7. Men in their Adamic fallen condition are by nature, "haters of God, insolent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenant breakers, implacable, unmerciful", Rom. 1:30,31. Alas, the human race was brought to ruin by Satan's knowledge and use of psychology. Through his cunning method of auto-suggestion he got Eve to doubt God and His word, resulting in the fall (Gen. 3:1-6). To this day "through his subtlety" Satan beguiles men, who then "oppose themselves" to God's Word of truth and are "entrapped by him to do his will" (Wey. Trans.). Please read II Cor. 11:3,14,15; II Tim. 2:25,26.
We pray that through this tract many will come to know in saving faith the great Author of all true science, "the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end".
"What think ye of Christ?" This is the greatest all-important question that should occupy the minds and hearts of men at all times!