One of the coolest validations of the Bible would have to be the many scientific statements it makes that secular science had no clue for many hundred, or even thousand, years after it was written. Of course, this is to be expected, since both the Bible and the universe have the same Author. Let us then examine the scientific accuracies of God's Holy Word.
- Scientific Truth: The First Law of Thermodynamics states that the total mass/energy content of the universe remains constant. Matter can be converted to energy, and vice versa, but neither can be annihilated or created from nothing.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "I am sure that whatever God creates will last forever. Nothing can be added to it or removed from it. God creates so men will submit to and respect Him." – Ecclesiastes 3:14
- Date Written: Approx. 940 BC
- Date "Discovered": 1850
- Additional Details: The Genesis account indicates that, on the seventh day, God's creation was utterly complete. Nothing new could be added to the universe. This also aligns with the First Law of Thermodynamics.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "I am sure that whatever God creates will last forever. Nothing can be added to it or removed from it. God creates so men will submit to and respect Him." – Ecclesiastes 3:14
- Scientific Truth: The earth is a sphere, not flat.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "He established the circle of the earth, and those who dwell there are like locusts…" – Isaiah 40:22a
- Date Written: Between 745 and 680 BC
- Date "Discovered": 1492 – 1522
- Additional Details: This is one of three verses that use the term "circle" in reference to an attribute of the world. When combined, they show a circular sky, a circular land mass, and a circular ocean. A bit of reasoning will show that this indicates our entire planet is a sphere, and the three circles could actually allude to the three dimensions of a sphere. Also note that, from space, odd depth perception makes the earth look like a circle as opposed to a true sphere.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "He established the circle of the earth, and those who dwell there are like locusts…" – Isaiah 40:22a
- Scientific Truth: The earth is not hung upon something or supported by anything, for it orbits the sun in free space.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "He spreads out the northern sky over the wilderness, and He hangs the earth on nothing." – Job 26:7
- Date Written: Unknown, though Job is thought to be the oldest book in the Bible.
- Date "Discovered": 1543
- Supporting Bible Verse: "He spreads out the northern sky over the wilderness, and He hangs the earth on nothing." – Job 26:7
- Scientific Truth: Winds run in cycles. In the northern hemisphere, they blow south from the Arctic Circle before warming, rising, and returning to the north.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "The wind flows south, and then turns back to the north. It whirls constantly; the wind returns according to its cycles." – Ecclesiastes 1:6
- Date Written: Approx. 940 BC
- Date "Discovered": 1500s
- Additional Details: Since the return journey of wind takes place in the upper atmosphere, above ground detection, such a statement about the wind cycles would be odd for someone to come up with on their own. Only the One who made the wind cycles would have known the details at that time.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "The wind flows south, and then turns back to the north. It whirls constantly; the wind returns according to its cycles." – Ecclesiastes 1:6
- Scientific Truth: Air has weight.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "...to set the weight of the winds, and He measures the waters by size." – Job 28:25
- Date Written: Unknown, though Job is thought to be the oldest book in the Bible.
- Date "Discovered": 1644
- Supporting Bible Verse: "...to set the weight of the winds, and He measures the waters by size." – Job 28:25
- Scientific Truth: Rivers pour into seas and oceans, but evaporation prevents the oceans from overflowing and actually returns water to the rivers' sources.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "Rivers flow into the sea, but the sea does not fill up. The rivers return to the place they come from." – Ecclesiastes 1:7
- Date Written: Approx. 940 BC
- Date "Discovered": 1500s
- Supporting Bible Verse: "Rivers flow into the sea, but the sea does not fill up. The rivers return to the place they come from." – Ecclesiastes 1:7
- Scientific Truth: The universe had a beginning.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "At the beginning of time, God created space and the earth." – Genesis 1:1
- Date Written: Between 1450 and 1400 BC
- Date "Discovered": 1929
- Supporting Bible Verse: "At the beginning of time, God created space and the earth." – Genesis 1:1
- Scientific Truth: The universe is expanding.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "He made the land with His power, set the world in place with His wisdom, and stretched out space with His intelligence." – Jeremiah 10:12
- Date Written: Between 627 and 580 BC
- Date "Discovered": 1929
- Supporting Bible Verse: "He made the land with His power, set the world in place with His wisdom, and stretched out space with His intelligence." – Jeremiah 10:12
- Scientific Truth: The universe initially consisted of an unrecognizable mass of matter and energy.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "Now the earth was shapeless and empty, and darkness covered the depths, and the Spirit of God floated over the surface of the waters." – Genesis 1:2
- Date Written: Between 1450 and 1400 BC
- Date "Discovered": 1930s
- Additional Details: The words used for shapeless and empty imply something that is utterly unformed. It seems to indicate a kind of amorphous mass of matter from which the planet earth would be constructed.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "Now the earth was shapeless and empty, and darkness covered the depths, and the Spirit of God floated over the surface of the waters." – Genesis 1:2
- Scientific Truth: According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, the universe is winding down and "aging."
- Supporting Bible Verse: "They [heaven and earth] will die, but You will remain. Yes, they will wear out like clothing. You will change them, and they will be renewed." – Psalm 102:26
- Date Written: Between 1450 and 430 BC
- Date "Discovered": 1850
- Additional Details: What does the change and renewal have to do with anything? It is a prophecy about the New Heavens and Earth.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "They [heaven and earth] will die, but You will remain. Yes, they will wear out like clothing. You will change them, and they will be renewed." – Psalm 102:26
- Scientific Truth: According to the Theory of Relativity, time moves at a relative pace depending on frame of reference.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "However, dear friends, there is one thing you should not be ignorant of: a day for the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day." – 2 Peter 3:8
- Date Written: Approx. AD 65
- Date "Discovered": 1905
- Additional Details: How old is the earth, anyone?
- Supporting Bible Verse: "However, dear friends, there is one thing you should not be ignorant of: a day for the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day." – 2 Peter 3:8
- Scientific Truth: Pork, along with many other meats, is easily contaminated and difficult to cook to sterilization.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "…and pigs, although they have a divided hoof on their feet, are unclean because they do not chew their cud." – Leviticus 11:7
- Date Written: Between 1450 and 1400 BC
- Date "Discovered": Late 1800s
- Additional Details: God provided dietary laws in the Old Testament for the protection of the scientifically primitive Israelites. However, God knew that science would discover bacteria during the time of the New Covenant, thus He lifted the restrictions for it.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "…and pigs, although they have a divided hoof on their feet, are unclean because they do not chew their cud." – Leviticus 11:7
- Scientific Truth: Hand washing is healthy.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "They must wash their hands and feet so they do not die…" – Exodus 30:21a
- Date Written: Between 1450 and 1400 BC
- Date "Discovered": 1843
- Additional Details: This is one of the many purification laws in the Old Testament, most of which involved washing in water. Water is very adhesive and good at removing germs, thus God was protecting the Israelites such as with the dietary laws.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "They must wash their hands and feet so they do not die…" – Exodus 30:21a
- Scientific Truth: It is good to avoid contact people with certain diseases, such as leprosy, because they are contagious.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "The entire time that he has the sickness he will be unclean. He is unclean, and he must live alone. His home will be outside of the camp." – Leviticus 13:11
- Date Written: Between 1450 and 1400 BC
- Date "Discovered": Early 1500s
- Additional Details: Many things made a person unclean. These included such as leprosy, other skin diseases, certain illnesses, dead bodies, excrement or certain other bodily fluids, and almost anything else that would cause us to tell someone to either wash their hands or stay away. Again, God was protecting them to compensate for their ignorance of pathogens.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "The entire time that he has the sickness he will be unclean. He is unclean, and he must live alone. His home will be outside of the camp." – Leviticus 13:11
- Scientific Truth: Evidence shows we may have a genetic tendency to do wrong.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "I was formed in wrongdoing, and in sin my mother conceived me." – Psalm 51:5
- Date Written: Between 1450 and 430 BC
- Date "Discovered": Research in progress
- Additional Details: I've seen many conservative Christians opposed to the idea that our DNA may include genetic information tied to sin. However, they assume that this removes responsibility for our actions. This is not so. The best genetics has been proven to do on many factors, especially behavioral, is push someone towards a certain tendency. Conscious decision and will, though, can override the genetic tendency. This fits perfectly with the doctrine of sinful nature. We are born with a natural inclination to sin, but we have the option of deciding not to sin. Thus, we are still responsible for our sins. An analogous situation in genetics would deal with obesity. Many people have genes that give them a tendency towards obesity. With exercise and diet, however, they can stay thin and fit.
- Supporting Bible Verse: "I was formed in wrongdoing, and in sin my mother conceived me." – Psalm 51:5
- Scientific Truth: There used to be massive, herbivorous animals with huge tails. In modern times we might call one an apatasaur.
- Supporting Bible Passage: "See now the behemoth I put with you; he eats grass like an ox. He is extremely strong in his sides, and his power is in his abdomen. He swings his tail like a cedar tree, and the muscles of his groin are tightly wrapped. His bones are strong like steel, like iron bars. He is the greatest of the path of God, and only the One who made him can attack him with a sword. The mountains make his food, where the field animals play. He rests under the shade of the lotus trees, in the cover of reeds, and in swamps." – Job 40:15-22
- Date Written: Unknown, though Job is thought to be the oldest book in the Bible.
- Date "Discovered": 1877
- Additional Details: The description of the behemoth in Job seems very similar to that of known long-necked dinosaurs. This indicates one of two things, depending on whether you believe in Young Earth Creationism or Old Earth. If YEC, then it means that Job probably lived among such creatures. If OEC, then it means that God probably revealed the behemoth to Job either in a vision or otherwise divine revelation.
- Supporting Bible Passage: "See now the behemoth I put with you; he eats grass like an ox. He is extremely strong in his sides, and his power is in his abdomen. He swings his tail like a cedar tree, and the muscles of his groin are tightly wrapped. His bones are strong like steel, like iron bars. He is the greatest of the path of God, and only the One who made him can attack him with a sword. The mountains make his food, where the field animals play. He rests under the shade of the lotus trees, in the cover of reeds, and in swamps." – Job 40:15-22
- Scientific Truth: Blood caries all of the essential nutrients for life.
- Supporting Bible Passage: "For the vital substances for life of the body are in the blood…" – Leviticus 17:11a
- Date Written: Between 1450 and 1400 BC
- Date "Discovered": 1616
- Supporting Bible Passage: "For the vital substances for life of the body are in the blood…" – Leviticus 17:11a
- Scientific Truth: All of the basic elements that compose man can be found in soil.
- Supporting Bible Passage: "So Yahweh God molded a man from the dust of the soil, and breathed into his air passages the breath of life, and the man became a living soul." – Genesis 2:7
- Date Written: Between 1450 and 1400 BC
- Date "Discovered": Early 1900s
- Supporting Bible Passage: "So Yahweh God molded a man from the dust of the soil, and breathed into his air passages the breath of life, and the man became a living soul." – Genesis 2:7