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 The
Bible and Scientific Knowledge (Excerpted from an article
by Allan Turner. The website link to the entire article appears at
the end of this installment.)
If the Bible is God’s divine revelation, then it is essential that
the statements of Bible writers, when describing or mentioning
physical laws of the universe, other than allowances for poetic
license, must agree completely with all known facts of science (this
does not necessarily include theories). In addition, they must do
this regardless of the accepted theories and level of scientific
knowledge of the age in which they were written. If it can be
demonstrated that between the observations of science and a simple,
direct interpretation of the Bible narrative there exists a harmony
such as would be expected of a book having the same author as the
physical world, then this is ample proof that the Bible is what it
claims to be—a divine revelation from God. If proof of this can be
shown, then you will have witnessed a miracle in the scientific age
as unexplainable as any recorded in the Bible. How do I know this to
be true? Because, it is beyond comprehension that men who lived 2000
to 4000 years ago could, without this age’s scientific instruments,
arrive at the same knowledge as men of science have in the past
three hundred years.
Leeuwenhoek’s invention of the microscope in 1776; the use of shock
waves in the study of the ocean floor; the use of the world’s
largest radio telescope; the invention of the micron microscope; the
use in space of the Hubble telescope; these and countless other
instruments have caused to be recorded in the scientific journals of
our day discoveries of this universe’s secrets that otherwise would
be impossible for the unaided human mind to know. But, as evidence
of their divine guidance, the writers of the Bible have included
scientific truths in non-scientific terms; truths that for centuries
the skeptics have considered as errors because it disagreed with
their darkened understanding; truths that have come to light
recently due to painstaking and costly research; truths that without
the development of recent instruments would have been impossible for
us to know. A study of the Bible shows no reflection of scientific
error. This is the second part of the miracle I wrote about earlier.
Not only does the Bible pre-describe later scientific discoveries,
but it does so without allowing entrance of any error that was
believed in the age in which it was written.
The question confronting us now is by what means did the writer’s of
the Bible, none of whom could be considered scientists, acquire an
amazingly accurate knowledge of certain major discoveries of the
last three centuries? This study is intended to bring to your
attention the ”facts“ of these writings. The answer to the question,
“By what means?,” is for you, the reader, to ponder.
The Earth Is Spherical
Bible Writers:
1033-975 B.C.
Solomon wrote in Proverbs 8:27, “He drew a circle on the face of the
deep” (NKJV).
745-695 B.C.
Isaiah 40:22, “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, and
its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens
like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.”
(NKJV).
ANALYSIS: The Hebrew word Khug is translated “circle.” A more
exact connotation would be “sphericity” or “roundness.”
FACT: The earth was known to be “rounded” or “spherical,” including
the ocean face or water lines.
History of Science:
Although some of the early Greeks, influenced by Aristotle, believed
the earth was spherical, by 1520 A.D. the common man held the earth
to be flat until the introduction of the compass and improved
sailing vessels made possible the voyages of Columbus, Magellan, and
others. These great discoveries caused a revolution in map making,
which finally brought general acceptance of the fact that the earth
is spherical.
The Earth Is Not Supported
Bible Writers:
2000 B.C.
Job 26:7, “He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the
earth on nothing” (NKJV).
ANALYSIS: A clear statement in non-scientific terms.
FACT: Job wrote that the earth is not mechanically supported.
History of Science:
Pre-1543 A.D.
As was previously noted, the world’s scholars and scientists, with
the exception of a few early Greeks, believed in the Ptolemaic
system that the earth was rigidly supported and all movement was in
the heavens.
1687 A.D.
After the invention of the telescope in 1608, Sir Isaac Newton
discovered that the earth’s weight is not supported, but suspended
in its orbit by attraction to the sun. Newton published his findings
in Principia in 1687. In this work, Newton presented for the first
time what now is referred to as the “Law of Universal Gravitation.”
The magnitude of this issue is comprehended when one considers the
weight of the earth, which is six billion trillion tons, and
realizing that to replace the gravitational pull of our sun, it
would take the strength of a steel cable 8000 miles in diameter.
The Universe Is A Continuously Spreading Expanse
Bible Writers:
1491-1451 B.C.
Genesis 1:8, “God called the expanse ‘sky.’ And there was evening,
and there was morning—the second day” (NIV). In verses 14-19, it is
recorded that the sun and stars were “in the expanse of the sky.”
628-588 B.C.
Jeremiah 31:37, “Thus says the LORD: ‘If heaven above can be
measured,...I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that
they have done, says the LORD’” (NKJV).
ANALYSIS: What did Moses mean by the word “expanse,” or “firmament,”
as it is most frequently translated? The Hebrew word is raqiya,
and it derives its root meaning from the “spreading out of something
pounded, such as metal as it is continuously beaten with a metal
smith's hammer.” Thus the word may be defined as a “spreading out
expanse,” which is present continuous action, therefore implying no
limit has yet been reached. It should be noted that this word is
used only in connection with the physical heavens, and never refers
to the area of God’s throne. By applying the literal meaning to the
above passage, we understand Moses to be saying that “the spreading
out expanse” is called heaven, and the sun, moon, and stars are in
the “spreading out expanse” of heaven.
FACT: Moses stated that the visible heaven is made up of a
continuously spreading out expanse, while Jeremiah depicts God as
implying it cannot be measured by mere men.
History of Science:
Pre-1800 A.D.
Until the aid of modern instruments, all mankind’s theories treated
the universe as finite and limited.
1835-1901 A.D.
The leading American astronomer of his time, Simon Newcomb, believed
the most distant star to be only 3260 light-years away. A light-year
is the distance light travels in one year (approximately six
trillion miles).
1950 A.D.
In 1948, after years of planning and construction, the 200-inch
instrument at Mount Palomar reached out two billion light-years into
space. It is now thought that there are billions, perhaps trillions
of galaxies in our universe. Our own galaxy, the Milky Way, is
100,000 light-years in diameter, containing a 100 billion stars.
Further, it was learned that these galaxies were moving away from
us, the further away, the faster they are moving. Consequently,
modern-day scientific thought says our galaxy is part of a spreading
out expanse or universe.
The Stars Are Innumerable
Bible Writers:
628-588 B.C.
Jeremiah 33:22, “‘As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the
sand of the sea measured,...’” (NKJV).
63 A.D.
Hebrews 11:12, “‘...As the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable
as the sand which is by the seashore’” (NKJV).
FACT: Both writers contended that the number of stars are as
innumerable as are the sand of all sea shores.
History of Science:
150 B.C.
Hipparchus taught there were less that 3,000 stars. Ptolemy counted
1056 stars and claimed there could not be more than 3,000.
1608 A.D.
Galileo used a telescope the first year it was invented and was the
first to discover that the stars are, in fact, innumerable.
1924 A.D.
Gradually, through the invention of better instruments, modern
science says there are 100 billion stars in our galaxy and trillions
of galaxies in the universe, of which ours is the average. This
means that if a man were to count the stars in our Milky Way at the
rate of 200 per minute, it would take him 1,000 years. When we think
of this magnitude, we must think of how great our Creator is: “Lift
up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, Who
brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the
greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is
missing” (Isaiah 40:26, NKJV).
The Recesses Of The Deep
Bible Writers:
2000 B.C.
Job 38:16, “Have you...walked in the recesses of the deep?” (NIV).
1015 B.C.
In 2 Samuel 22:16, David mentioned the “valleys of the sea” (NIV).
FACT: Both Job and David spoke of “recesses” or “valleys” of the
sea.
History of Science:
1504 A.D.
Juan de la Costa made the first sounding of the oceans in this year.
They were made in shallow water near the coast and were placed on
his map. This did nothing to change the universal opinion that the
ocean floors were flat, sandy beds like our deserts.
1840 A.D.
With a weight on the end of a hemp line, Sir James Clark Rose made
the first true oceanic sounding, reaching a depth of nearly 2000
fathoms.
1873 A.D.
The H.M.S. Challenger was the first vessel outfitted solely for sea
exploration. The famous expedition of this ship (1872-76) marks the
beginning of modern deep-sea exploration. This expedition discovered
one isolated depth of 4,500 fathoms (5½ miles) in the Pacific Ocean,
and was the first to discover an underwater trench or canyon.
1945 A.D.
Before the invention of echo-sounding equipment, it was generally
thought that the bottom of the oceans would consist of plains,
plateaus, and gently rolling terrain. Now we know that it has
valleys and mountain ranges, and even canyons, to equal all the
forms we find on dry land. The echo-sounding research developed in
submarine warfare later developed into a practical scientific tool.
After the war, the Navy equipped its vessels with echo-sounding and
recording equipment. Since sounding can be taken while the ships are
moving, much of the ocean floor began to be mapped. The systematic
crisscrossing of both private and military boats using sounding
equipment has, since 1945, given us our current knowledge. We now
know that these gigantic underwater canyons circle the globe at
great depths. The Marianas Trench near the Philippines, for example,
is over 7 miles deep. The Tonga Trench is a mile deeper than Mount
Everest is high, and the Peru-Chile Trench has one wall that rises
over 42,000 feet high. When compared to these sea canyons, our Grand
Canyon is but a miniature.
1971 A.D.
For the first time in man’s history, a complete map of the ocean
floor has been compiled and was made available, showing the complete
“recesses of the deep.”
(To be continued. See the entire article at :
http://www.allanturner.com/bibleproofs.html) ~
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