1	Is The Bible Reliable Scientifically? Dr. Heinz Lycklama heinz@osta.com www.osta.com
2	Some Common Misconceptions Skeptics and unbelievers think: “The Bible is an antiquated religious book, filled with scientific fallacies and mistakes reflecting the naïve cosmology of the primitive tribes of the Near East.” Even some professing Christians think: “The Bible is a book of true religion dealing solely with spiritual subjects and that, where it seems to touch on matters of science and history, it must be interpreted spiritually or allegorically, rather than literally.
3	Can I Believe The Bible? Consider Ps. 103:12: “As far as the East is from the West, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” The psalmist used the words “East/West” not “North/South” When one travels west, one always goes west and never gets to the east When one travels south, eventually one reaches the South Pole and goes north These concepts are only true if the earth is round! How could the author have known this?
4	Can I Believe the Bible? - 2 There are many evidences for the existence of God and the truth of the Bible However, for someone committed to naturalism, no amount of evidence will do “Apologetics is not for proving the Word of God but simply for providing a basis for faith” (Josh McDowell) 1 Peter 3:15 “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” True faith satisfies both the heart and the intellect
5	The Reliability of the Bible Strong Manuscript evidence. More ancient manuscripts than any other historical book. New Testament Confirmed by secular historians Josephus (before 100 AD), Roman Tacitus (120 AD), Roman Governer Pliny (110 AD) Archaeological evidence. Countless finds of Old Testament cities Prophecy - Several hundred fulfilled prophesies including the time of Christ’s ministry, his birthplace, and method of death. Destruction of Babylon by Cyrus, Progression of Kingdoms from Babylon through Medo-Persian Empire, the Greek Empire and the Roman Empire, suffering of Jews under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Freedom for Jews under Judas Maccabeus and Israel’s rebirth as a nation in 1948
6	The Apostle Paul’s Experience Acts 28:23b-27: From morning till evening he [Paul] explained and declared to them the kingdom of God and tried to convince them about Jesus from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets. Some were convinced by what he said, but other would not believe. … (As the Holy Spirit through Isaiah said) “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.”
7	Arguments for God’s Existence The Cosmological Argument - everything has a cause; God is the initial “First Cause” The Moral Argument - our sense of moral values points to the existence of a moral Creator The Teleological Argument - evidence of design and purpose in the world point to intelligent creation, as a watch indicates a watchmaker
8	The Creation Shows God Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Knowing that there must be God obliges us to seek Him
9	What is The Absolute Truth?
10	Arguments to Support the Bible The unparalleled reliability and accuracy of the historical text of the Bible Confirmation of the events, places, nations, and people of the Bible by archaeology It is unique in many ways (written over 1,500 year span, over 40 authors maintaining harmony and continuity, survival through time, influence on society, unique teachings, etc.)
11	The Reliability of the Bible When compared against classical literature, the historical reliability of the Bible is outstanding Number of manuscripts: NT 24,000; Iliad by Homer 643 Time between when written and earliest copy: NT 25 years; Iliad 500 years OT accuracy verified by the Dead Sea Scrolls
12	It’s A Matter of the Heart Einstein said “Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.” Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”(NIV) Psalm 139:13-16 “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (NIV) John 3:16 “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”(NIV)
13	Be Sure of Your Facts There are no historical or scientific errors in the Bible There are no scientific errors because God cannot lie We believe in the full, verbal inspiration, inerrancy and infallibility of the Holy Scriptures The Bible is written in everyday language Bible writers used the language of appearance, e.g. sunrise, sunset, dew - when the sun “rises” would you say “my what a beautiful earth rotation”?
14	Be Sure of Your Facts - 2 Science has never disproved any statement in the Bible, but it has proven and demonstrated the truth of hundreds of things which the Bible anticipated, e.g. Gen. 1:1 (space, matter, time, force, action), Ps. 103:12 We must be sure of Our scriptural facts, Our scientific facts, and What we heard
15	Scriptural Facts Dr. Criswell advertised that he would give anybody $1000 if he could show him a scientific inaccuracy, mistake, or error in the Bible Woman called to say: Apples cannot grow in the Mesopotamian Valley Apples only grow in OR and WA Gen. 3:2,3 (forbidden fruit) “I know it’s true because my professor told me so!” Lesson – check your facts!
16	Scientific Facts Dan. 12:4 predicted an explosion of knowledge in the last days 90% of all scientists are living today Increased knowledge > 100K scientific periodicals, many specialties > 2000 words per minute are being added Earth satellites collecting 10^12 bits of information per day No one can claim to be an “authority” in general
17	Scientific Facts - 2 Much new knowledge obsoletes old knowledge Scientists or liberals may try to harmonize teachings of Genesis with contemporary science What if we updated the Bible in accordance with the latest scientific theories and discoveries? The Bible is constant Science changes theories based on observed events or facts
18	What Did We Hear? Communication, especially miscommunication, can lead to misperceptions Story of the cake decorator: Bride told her to put the words of 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love …” on cake Decorator heard John 4:18 and put these words on cake “you have had five husbands …”
19	Should We Change The Bible To Agree With Science?
20	Laws of Science Law of biogenesis - life can come only from life. 1^st Law of Thermodynamics - the law of conservation of mass / energy (E = mc²”). 2^nd Law of Thermodynamics - the law of entropy. In a closed or open system: Spontaneous processes lead to a decrease in order. Energy moves to a lower potential, becoming less available to do work. Things move in a direction from order to chaos. Law of Cause and Effect - Every effect must have a cause. The effect cannot be greater, in size or in kind, than the cause.
21	Law of Biogenesis Life comes only from preexisting life Experiments run over two centuries Louis Pasteur, Redi, Spellanzani Spontaneous origin of life impossible: Miller’s experiment made wrong assumptions about early earth’s environment Organic molecules oxidized by oxygen Probability of protein formation by chance is less than 1 in 10**130, i.e. ZERO/ZIP/NONE Simple cell requires 100’s of protein molecules in a specific order
22	1^st Law of Thermodynamics Gen. 2:2-3, “on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made. … in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” Neh. 9:6, “.. You have made heaven, The heaven of heavens, with all their host, … And You preserve them all. …” Col. 1:16,17, “For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on the earth … All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Heb. 1:2,3 “… by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory … and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself …”
23	2^nd Law of Thermodynamics Ps. 102:25-27, “Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; Like a cloak You will change them, And they will be changed.” Is. 51:6, “Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment, …” Rom. 8:20-22, “For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now.” 1 Pet. 1:24-25 “”All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
24	Law of Cause and Effect Gen. 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” The First Cause of the Universe must be an infinite, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, personal, volitional, holy, loving being!
25	Biblical Reliability on Science We trust the Bible for spiritual truth Do we trust it for truth in other areas? History - events corroborated by historians Archaeology, geography – verifiable facts Science - astronomy, geophysics, geology, hydrology, meteorology, biology, physics there are many Biblical references to nature and natural processes authors use everyday language amazingly accurate anticipatory scientific insights in the Bible
26	Astronomy Job 25:5 “If even the moon does not shine ...” The moon itself is not a source of light Moon rocks filled with titanium, a better reflector than diamonds Ps. 89:37 “It shall be established forever like the moon, even like the faithful witness in the sky.” The moon itself is not a source of light, but a reflector of light from the sun
27	Astronomy - 2 Ps. 136:7-9 “To Him who made great lights, ...the sun to rule by day, ... the moon and stars to rule by night ...” Scientifically accurate Ps. 74:16 “... Thou hast prepared the light and the sun.” Did God create the light separate from the sun in the beginning?
28	Astronomy - 3 Is. 55:9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, …” Job 22:12 “Is not God in the height of heaven? And see how lofty they are!” Jer. 31:37 “… If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, …” These three verses indicate the size of the universe
29	Astronomy - 4 Gen. 15:5 “... count the stars, if you are able to count them. … so shall your descendants be.” Gen. 22:17 “… and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore…” Jer. 33:22 “ … as the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured …” Ptolemy counted 1056 stars; Johannes Kepler counted 1005 Total number of stars visible to the naked eye is about 4000 These three verses seemed to be in scientific error until … … the telescope Today scientists estimate there are more than 10**25 stars (about the same order of magnitude as the number of grains of sand on the earth)
30	Astronomy - 5 1 Cor. 15:41 “One star differeth from another star in glory.” Variety of stars, no two stars alike, God calls them by name (Ps. 147:4) Jer. 31:35-36 “…Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night …” Defines the precision of orbits Ps. 104: 1-35 “… who stretch out the heavens like a curtain. … who laid the foundations of the earth …” Praise to the Creator, contains no scientific error
31	Constellations Job 38:31 “Can you bind the cluster of Pleiades, or loose the belt of Orion?” God told Job in ~ 2000 BC that the seven stars of Pleiades were bound together and the stars of Orion are not. Pleiades used to be called the “seven sisters.” We learned [20^th century] that the stars of Pleiades are gravitationally bound and the stars of Orion are not.
32	Geophysics Job 26:7,10 “He stretches out the north over empty space, and hangs the earth on nothing. … He drew a circular horizon on the face of the waters, at the boundary of light and darkness.” Indicates a round earth, not resting on a pillar, consistent with observation Written at a time when many thought the earth was flat
33	Geophysics - 2 Prov. 8:27 “... when he inscribed a circle on the face of the deep.” Indicates that the earth is a globe Is. 40:22 “It is He who sits above the vault (circle) of the earth ...” “chuwg”, Hebrew word for arc, sphere Ocean has 8 inch (20 cm.) per mile curvature Ps. 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west …” Shape of earth
34	Geophysics - 3 Job 38:12,14 “Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, … It takes on form like clay under a seal, and stands out like a garment.” The dawn rolls across the earth as it rotates A cylindrical seal rolled over soft clay -> conveys the rotation of earth on its axis Job 26:7; 38:6 “He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth on nothing.”; “To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone?” Earth out there in space, gravitation among the planets
35	Geology Job 14:18-19 “But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, and as a rock is moved from its place; as water wears away stones, and as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; … “ Rock erosion Job 28:9-10, “He puts his hand on the flint; He overturns the mountains at the roots. He cuts out channels in the rocks … Man’s efforts in mining
36	Geology - 2 Job 38:29-30 “Out of whose womb came the ice? and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it? The waters are hid as with a stone, and the face of the deep is frozen.” Glacial period 2 Pet. 3:4 “And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” Warning of Uniformitarianism?
37	Principle of Isostasy Is. 40:12, “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand … weighed the mountain in scales and the hills in a balance?” Ps. 104:5-9, “Who laid the foundations of the earth …” Principle of isostasy According to this principle, the level of the Earth's crust is determined by its density; lighter material rises, forming continents, mountains, and plateaus, and heavier material sinks, forming basins and ocean floors.
38	Hydrology Eccl. 1:7 “All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again.” [Written by Solomon in 935 B.C.] The hydrologic cycle has been understood by man only in recent years -> ~ mid-1800’s World’s food supply is made possible by the distribution of water Is. 55:10 “For as the rain comes down and the snow from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater.” Hydrologic cycle
39	Hydrology - 2 Ps. 135:7; Jer. 10:13 “… He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth, He makes lightning for the rain … ” Evaporation occurs after “a multitude of waters in the heavens” descends
40	Hydrology - 3 Job 26:8; 37:11,16 “He binds up the water in His thick clouds, yet the clouds are not broken under it. … Also with moisture He saturates the thick clouds. … Do you know how the clouds are balanced … “ Condensation from the clouds, which hold water mysteriously Job 36:27-28 “For he draws up drops of water which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man.” Precipitation explained Job 28:10 “He cuts out channels in the rocks, and his eye sees every precious thing.” Run-off explained
41	Hydrology – 4 Ps. 33:7 “He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deep in storehouses.” Oceanic reservoir Job 38:22 “Have you entered the treasury of snow or have you seen the treasury of hail …” Snow and hail Ps. 147:16 “He gives snow like wool; He scatters the frost like ashes.” Snow and frost
42	Hydrologic Balance Is. 40:12 “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?” Describes the hydrologic balance Job 28:24-26 “For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heavens, to establish a weight for the wind, and apportion the waters by measure. When he made a law for the rain, and a path for the thunderbolt.” Describes the hydrologic balance
43	Meteorology Eccl. 1:6 “The wind goes toward the south and turns around to the north; the wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit.” Circulation of the atmosphere, not discovered until much later Is. 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.” Protective effect of atmosphere
44	Meteorology - 2 Eccl. 1:7 “All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full; to the place from which the rivers come, there they return again.” Oceanic origin of rain Jer. 10:13 “… He makes lightning for the rain, he brings the wind out of His treasuries.” Relation of electricity to rain
45	Biology Gen. 1:11-12, 21, 24-25 “…herb that yields seed according to its kind, …, beast of the earth according to its kind.” Indicates stability of different kinds Biogenesis, each producing after its own kind [used 10 times] Gen. 1:26 “… let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; …” The uniqueness of man Prov. 16:24 “Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.” Psychotherapy
46	Biology – 2 Gen. 1:11,24-27; 3:19 “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground; for out of it you were taken, for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” The chemical nature of flesh is evident from this 1 Pet. 1:24-25 “… all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, and its flower falls away. But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Man returns to dust and his body is gone
47	Circulatory System Gen. 9:4 “Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” Life is in the blood, a medical statement Blood circulatory system, and importance of blood to life, were scientifically discovered by William Harvey in 1616 AD Lev. 17:11,14 “For the life of the flesh is in the blood ...” “For as for the life of all flesh, its blood is identified with its life.” [Written by Moses ~ 1400 BC.] Blood circulation, life in the blood Used to “bleed” a patient to remove a disease
48	Painless Surgery Gen. 2:21 “And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.” God knew that the key to painless surgery was to put the patient to sleep. Until the 1800’s surgery was performed without anesthesia – perfected by William Morton ~ 1846, inspired by Gen. 2:21. Anesthetic gases were discovered in early 1800’s.
49	Germs Cause Infection Lev. 11:40 “He also who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening.” God told Moses to wash after handling dead things (~ 1400 BC.) Until the 1800’s doctors handled the dead and then treated patients without washing. Phillip Semmelweiss proved that disease can be transferred by not washing after handling dead things (~ 1846 AD.)
50	Proper Nutrition Gen. 2:9 “And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” Ps. 104:14 “He causes the grass to grow for the cattle, and vegetation for the service of man, that He may bring forth food from the earth.”
51	Proper Nutrition - 2 God designed plant life to be nutritional. The Psalmist recognized the benefits of the grass and herbs. In the mid 1700’s James Lind discovered the benefits of vitamin C. In the late 1800’s Christian Eijkman discovered the benefits of thiamine.
52	Physics Heb. 1:3 “… upholding all things by the word of His power …”; Col. 1:17 “He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.” Mass-energy equivalence (First Law of Thermodynamics) Heb. 11:3 “By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.” Mass is manifestation of energy World’s basic elements are the electron, proton, neutron, neutrino (not earth, air, water, fire - as thought by the early Greeks)
53	Physics - 2 Gen. 1:14,17 “… let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years. … God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth.” Source of energy for the earth Ps. 19:6 “Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end; and there is nothing hidden from its heat.” Sun is source of energy for the earth Sun moving at 600K mph around center of Milky Way galaxy
54	Physics - 3 2 Pet. 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” Atomic disintegration Job 38:35 “Can you send out lightnings, that they may go, and say to you, ‘Here we are!’?” Radio waves, electromagnetic radiation
55	Were You There?
56	Alleged Scientific Errors in Bible 1 Kings 7:23 “And he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.” A measurement in Solomon’s Temple All engineers know that the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter is pi, i.e. 3.1415923 Within rounding accuracy, this is true!
57	Alleged Scientific Errors in Bible - 2 Rev. 7:1 “… four corners of the earth …” The phrase “four corners” in the Greek means “four quarters” Translated this way in Rev. 20:8 and other Scriptures Common language used in surveying and mapping today
58	Alleged Scientific Errors in Bible - 3 Ps. 19:6 “[The sun’s] rising is from one end of the heaven, and its circuit to the other end, …” Convention used by astronomers and cartographers even today We measure the motion of the sun, moon and stars relative to the earth All heavenly bodies are in motion relative to each other Sun moves around center of Milky Way galaxy at 600,000 mph
59	The Bible Is Unique Unique among religious books of antiquity in scientific accuracy There is no “modern science” in the Babylonian, Hindu, Islamic or Greek sacred books Even the Koran says that the moon is higher than the sun in the sky
60	Scientific Disciplines Established by Bible-Believing Scientists
61	Scientific Disciplines Established by Bible-Believing Scientists - 2
62	Notable Discoveries by Bible-Believing Scientists