Consistencies Between Science and the Bible

Posted by Debbie on March 6, 2013 under Front Page Posts, Sermons, Uncategorized

Presented by Dr. Michael Cole on Sunday night, February 10, 2013.

I grew up with the idea that science can answer ANY question.

Click Here for PowerPoint Slides

The SCIENTIFIC METHOD:
1. Observe some aspect/phenomena of the universe.
2. Invent a theory/hypothesis that is consistent with what you have observed.
3. Use the theory to make predictions.
4. Test those predictions by experiments or further observations.
5. Modify the theory in the light of your results.
6. Go to step 3.

LIMITATIONS of the Scientific Method:
1. Limited to what can be observed by the 5 senses — i.e., 1st step is
OBSERVATION
2. Limited, therefore, to the present (by definition)
3. Limited to describing HOW a process works, but not WHY — science does
not deal with “why?” (example of tree grows from seed)
4. Limited by amoral issues (ignorant of values) (no good or bad)
5. Limited in that it cannot deal with the unique
— events on earth that occur only ONCE are outside the realm of science
— deals with events that are timeless, universal, repeatable at will;
dependable, predictable

If these criteria are not met, then it can’t be a FACT of science.

Evolution of man from lower life forms which evolved from non-living material cannot be considered a FACT of science because of the SCIENTIFIC METHOD. Can NEVER be more than a theory. Speculation.

However, CREATION (as recorded by Moses) is NOT a fact of science, either — it was not observed (by man), it happened in the past, occurred only once, & not repeatable.

Origin of Species by Charles Darwin — largely way of explaining living things apart from God’s creating them.

Which are we to believe? Evolution or Creation? “Faith” that spontaneous generation occurred.

SCIENCE cannot tell you which to believe. Point of view.
Faith — Hebrews 11:1 & 11:3

We need to prepare ourselves to deal with evidences which support both sides so we may come to our own conclusions about: “Where did I come from?” “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?”

Let’s consider whether the Bible and FACTS OF SCIENCE are in harmony or in contradiction.

The Bible is a very unique book — there are very few books that claim to be inspired by a higher being. (less than 5)

In Old Testament alone >2,700 times phrases that indicate inspiration

Bible composed of (1) revelation & (2) known facts at the time (i.e., known by the author from experience/observation/study/education)

since this Book is here, let us consider the only 3 choices that we can make about it
#1 – the men who wrote it were deluded, tricked — (sincerely wrong)
#2 – the men who wrote it were deceitful
#3 – the men wrote the truth (therefore: the Word of God)

only way to choose is to check it out
geography, history, prophecy, Resurrection, archaeology, etc.
Is the Bible consistent with Scientific Knowledge?

SCIENTIFIC:
• Job 26:7 — earth hangs from nothing (?)
how did the writer know this?? — this is a correct concept
but it is inconsistent with beliefs of that day (e.g., Atlas in mythology)
Lucky guess, perhaps

• Isaiah 40:22 — circle of the earth (round) (like vault or arch)
CORRECT concept (not flat) — was it a lucky guess?

• Genesis 15:5, Jeremiah 33:22 — stars too numerous to count
how did Moses and Jeremiah know that?
Lucky guess?

Only 6,000 stars are visible to the naked eye over the course of a year — 2,000 at any one time on the clearest night (before the telescope was invented)

compare with millions of Israelites during exodus from Egypt

There are 100-200 billion stars in our own galaxy (the Milky Way).
There are estimated to be about 100 billion to 1 trillion galaxies.
With our present technology in astronomy we can “see” more that 1 x 1023 stars in the universe that we know of. (23 zeros)

Let’s explore how big 1023 is:
If 5 billion people in the world spent 24 hours a day counting stars at a
rate of about 5 per second, it would take us 127,000 years to count them all
(that we know of now).

That is a lot of stars! Too numerous to count!
How did the writers of the Bible know that there were more stars than man could count? A lucky guess?

• Luke 17:31, 34 — “on that day,” “on that night”
How could Jesus come back during daytime & nighttime at the same time? — How did He know that? — It wasn’t discovered till many centuries later that while people sleep on one side of the globe that it is daylight on the other.

A lucky guess? NO, we’ve run out of lucky guesses.
Christ knew because He was THERE. (John 1:1-3; Hebrews 1:2)

OCEANOGRAPHY (U.S. Navy) —
• Ecclesiastes 1:7 — sea is not filled
Why doesn’t the ocean fill up? — Water (or Hydrologic) Cycle — discovered in the 16th century but described in Job 36:27-28

• The classical oceanography story is that of Matthew Fontaine Maury, the father of modern day oceanography (“Pathfinder of the Seas”). (1806-1873)

Psalm 8:8 — “… whatever passes along the PATHS of the sea”
If God says they are there, they must be — take God at His word.

Maury charted the currents in the oceans — greatly beneficial for shipping lanes & fuel conservation to this day

Before 5,000 people at the founding of the University of the South in 1860, Maury proclaimed the following:
“I have been blamed by men of science, both in this country and in England, for quoting the Bible in confirmation of the doctrines of physical geography. The Bible, they say, was not written for scientific purposes, and is therefore no authority in matters of science. I beg pardon! The Bible is authority for everything it touches.”

Faith is NOT a blind leap into the dark. Biblical faith is always evidence-based, knowledge-based. (Heb. 11:1)

• Job 38:16 — recesses of the deep (RSV) — trenches in the ocean not known until 1870’s — Maury studied Atlantic sea floor; telegraph cable.

One trench in the Pacific is 6½ miles deep.
In 2012 James Cameron (director, writer, & co-producer of 1997 “Titanic” movie) was the first man to reach the bottom of the Mariana Trench at 6.8 miles below sea level.

• Gen. 6:15
It was discovered in the mid-1800’s that the perfect sea-going ratio is 30:5:3 — not for speed, but for stability (somewhat similar to an oil tanker)

300 x 50 x 30 cubits was the dimensions of the ark that Noah built. This is identical to perfect ratio of 30:5:3. Noah got these measurements from God (not from generations of shipbuilding knowledge) — (Genesis 6) only way he could have known the perfect measurements. (Noah’s ark remained the largest sea-going vessel ever built until 1844.)

MEDICINE:
• Leviticus 17:11 — “the life of the flesh is in the blood …”
Today, we know about RBC’s, WBC’s, platelets, albumin, immunoglobulins, etc.

The doctors 200 years ago thought the blood was bad. They didn’t comprehend “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” When George Washington was sick they used leaches to suck out that imagined “bad” blood. (Actually, they sucked out the good blood and its components that aid in recuperation.)

• Genesis 17:12 — circumcise when EIGHT days old — didn’t discover the reason for this until the 1970’s.

Vitamin K is necessary to clot blood (every American baby since 1980 gets a shot of this immediately after birth) — Vitamin K is not formed in sufficient amounts till 5 – 7 days after birth

Prothrombin (another factor necessary for clotting) is >100% normal on day 8.

? lucky guess ? (8th day)

• Genesis 3:15 — seed of life in a woman
for 1000’s of years it was thought that only MAN had the seed; the woman was only the incubator

The Bible was not meant to be a book of science.
However, if this Book is from God (who cannot lie or be mistaken) then it neither contradicts itself nor contradicts FACTS which have been discovered by man.

If Evolution is a FACT, perhaps the Bible is only partially inspired.
The Book itself, however, says in II Timothy 3:16 that “ALL scripture is given by inspiration of God …”

Let us also heed the warning given by Paul to Timothy in I Timothy 6:20-21.

Evolution — science fiction. There is scientific evidence that supports creation by God.

Perhaps you think that since you don’t believe in Evolution or Humanism anyway, you can just ignore it. — It would be nice if this were so. — Children are being exposed to Evolution in the lowest grades. — Are you prepared to give them a logical alternative to the explanations they get about origins?

First, we had better be convinced ourselves that God exists.
And 2nd we had better be prepared to give our children an answer for WHY we believe in God and why we believe He is the Creator of all things.

In our post-modern world with so-called post-modern thinkers, as Christians we MUST examine the data from science, archaeology, history, and other fields of study that relate to our basic religious beliefs.

We need to draw conclusions that can help us be CONVICTED that God does or does not exist.
If God does not exist, then nothing really matters. But, if God does exist, as I profess, then nothing else matters.

Being agnostic (or unconvinced) is little different from being atheistic.

Only the TRUTH can make you free.

If you are convinced that God exists, as I am, then you can conclude that He provided us with a guide book, the Bible.

He has told us in this Book that we are created by Him and owe Him everything while He really owes us nothing, but nevertheless He has shown love for us and blessed us beyond measure.

We can understand that if God is the Creator and we are the created, then we have a responsibility to serve Him and to please Him.

If you live your life all week as if God does not or might not exist, then remember the words of Hebrews 10:31, “It is a FEARFUL thing to fall into the hands of the LIVING God.”

Fortunately, God has provided you a way to escape His wrath. The blood of Christ has been provided for our salvation.