The Bible Makes Accurate Scientific Statements
In our world today, science has made great advancement, and technology is just an extension of our lives. However, when the Hebrew Scriptures or Tanakh was written, engineering existed only at the most basic level. But embedded in God’s Word are geographical facts and scientific predictions which have turned out to be accurate.
The Bible is not a book of science but when it makes scientific statements on several occasions, it is surprisingly accurate. For instance, the Scriptures predicted that the earth was round even before science confirmed it. “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy and spreads them out like a tent to live in [Isaiah 40:22]; the word “circle” implies that the earth is round. The prophet Isaiah said this about 700 BC. At that time, people believed that the earth was flat, or they would fall off the surface into space if it was round; back then, no one understood gravity, and sailors were afraid to reach the edge of the sea. In 340 BC, the famous Greek thinker Aristotle wrote a book, On the Heavens, where he gave reasons to support the theory that the earth was shaped like a sphere. Later, more evidence would confirm it. In the twentieth century, aerial photographs showed the earth to be round, but the Bible had said it well ahead of time.
The Scriptures also say the earth is suspended upon nothing. “He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing” [Job 26:7]. In those days, people had little or no clues about the universe. The Greeks believed that the earth was held in space by one of their gods, Atlas. Gradually, thinkers like Ptolemy, Copernicus and Galileo asserted that the earth, like the other planets, might be suspended upon nothing. Science would confirm this later, but not before the Bible had said it much earlier.
The Word of God has been consistently correct on numerous occasions, not just a couple of times. The Lord told Abraham that his descendants would be as many as the number of stars in the sky, if indeed he can count them [Genesis 15:5]. Early astronomers used to believe that they can count the stars, but later, they realized that there are billions of them in the galaxies – beyond our ability to even give a close estimate.
When God created the earth, He said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear” [Genesis 1:9]. It means that at the beginning, the land mass was together. Today, there is geological evidence to substantiate this theory: Same kinds of plants and animal fossils on different continents show that they used to exist on the same land. Geologists or scientists believe that only one supercontinent used to exist, which later became separated into the land masses that we see today. Now, on the map, we can observe that the eastern coastlines of the Americas run almost parallel to the western shores of Europe and Africa. Did they used to be joined together but became separated later? Due to lack of clear evidence, science cannot prove that the “continental drift” happened. Science bases its assertions on what it can see or quantify, and it does not confirm or deny something that has not been proven yet. However, lack of evidence does not mean that it did not happen. And we know that many things from the past cannot be proven, whether they occurred five days or 5,000 years ago. However, with a reasonable and consistent trail of evidence, we can believe or reconstruct how some events or situations take place.
The Bible provides clues about how the supercontinent was broken up by the flood. During Noah’s time, the waters poured out from the deep of the earth and the floodgates of heavens opened, upon which the earth became submerged. After the water had covered the earth for about a hundred and twenty days, God altered the terrain of the earth. He broke up the supercontinent and oceans were formed as water filled the void between the lands. He created valleys and gorges, and the water flowed into these channels.
You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains. But at your rebuke the waters fled, at the sound
of your thunder they took to flight; they flowed over the mountains, they went down into the valleys, to the place you assigned for them.
You set a boundary they cannot cross; never again will they cover the earth. ~ Psalm 104:6-9 ~
“Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?” [Job 38:35]. When the Bible was written, the word “electricity” did not exist, obviously, and “lightning” referred to raw electric power from nature. Several millenniums later, scientists would be able to harness electricity for use in lighting, telephones and many other ways that we see today. Now, we are indeed using electricity to speak and send messages and images over telephones, mobile phones, radios, televisions, computers, satellites and other communication equipment. In Job’s time, when lighting was provided by fire, no one would dream of using electricity, let alone run away from streaks of lightning. And the telephone was invented more than two millenniums later in 1876, but the Bible alluded to it well ahead of time. Of course, Job did not know about electricity, and he would not be thinking about telephones, televisions and sophisticated instruments. However, inspired by God, he spoke about a technology that will materialize far beyond his time. Today, satellites send messages across the galaxy and spacecraft transmit images from Mars back to earth. We use mobile phones to communicate daily. Job’s words were more than just a scientific prediction; he was speaking about a way of life. Some argue that the Scriptures may be figurative about science and technology, but whether literal or otherwise, the Book has been consistently correct in many claims.
Some people feel that it is a choice between science or God, but not both; that if they believe in science, then they have to reject His existence. The truth is science does not confirm or deny the existence of a Creator. Faith cannot be proven in an empirical manner. And there are scientists who believe that without a Designer, it would have been mathematically impossible for the vast diversities of life on earth to have happened all by themselves.
It is always possible to think of reasons to be critical of the Scriptures. But the fact is there are sufficient or even strong reasons to believe that it is inspired by God, if we do not deliberately choose to ignore the history and scientific facts that it contains. The Bible also spoke of prophecies that have come to pass, which we will consider soon.
Adapted from "Understanding Prayer, Faith & God's Will: Compass for Christian Faith"
