The Bible - Science or Fiction?

There are many today who would hold the view that the Bible is a good Book, possibly a Holy Book, but certainly not a scientific Book. Is this a fair view of the Bible, or could it be that it is a far more scientific Book than we give it credit for?

Certainly, if the Bible is what it claims to be, then there is every chance that it is indeed a scientific Book. Consider the following verses concerning what the Bible says about itself:

2Timothy 3:16 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:”

Psalm 12:6-7 “The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.”

John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”

Very briefly, from these verses, we can see that the Bible claims to be the inspired word of God, the preserved word of God, and the truth. Therefore, if God wrote it (which He did…2Peter 1:19-21), and He cannot lie (which He can’t…Titus 1:2), then we can expect it to contain things which are as relevant today as they ever have been, and as truthful today as they ever have been. All too often the problem isn’t with the Book, the problem is with our understanding of it.

In his first letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul writes in chapter 1 Timothy 6:20, “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:”

Note here the careful wording “oppositions of science falsely so called:” I believe that this is worded in this way because true science will never oppose the Bible; it will always support it.

The Bible tells us in the book of Genesis that in the beginning everything was created by God in six days. I believe that these were six literal twenty four hour days. I believe the theory of evolution is just that, a theory, and will never ever be proven. There are those today that try to tell us how things began, how they evolved, and how we ended up where we are today. They take us back over a time period ranging over millions or billions of years.

My thought on these things is found in the Bible in Romans 3:2 “…let God be true, but every man a liar;” With this verse in mind, consider the following clear questions that God asks us all in the book of Job chapter 38 verses 2-7;

2 “Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?"

3 "Gird up your loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me."

4 "Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding."

5 "Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?"

6 "Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who hath laid the corner stone thereof;"

7 "When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?”

As one preacher has put it, when God created all things…were you there?

We can see that the Bible is the word of God, the word of the Creator, the word of the One who made science itself. Therefore it must surely be a scientific Book!

Consider the following scientific insights and the scriptural references supporting them.

Ocean Currents

Psalm 8:8 “The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.”

Isaiah 43:16 “Thus saith the LORD, which maketh a way in the sea, and a path in the mighty waters;”

The Hydrologic Cycle

Ecclesiastes 1:7 “All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.”

Job 36:27-28 “For he maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof: Which the clouds do drop and distil upon man abundantly.”

Proverbs 3:20 “By his knowledge the depths are broken up, and the clouds drop down the dew.”

Amos 9:6 “It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.”

The Jet Stream

Ecclesiastes 1:6 “The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.”

Dinosaurs

Job 40:15-24 “Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox. Lo, now, his strength is in his loins, and his force is in the navel of his belly. He moveth his tail like a cedar: the sinews of his stones are wrapped together. His bones are as strong pieces of brass; his bones are like bars of iron. He is the chief of the ways of God: he that made him can make his sword to approach unto him. Surely the mountains bring him forth food, where all the beasts of the field play. He lieth under the shady trees, in the covert of the reed, and the fens. The shady trees cover him with their shadow; the willows of the brook compass him about. Behold, he drinketh up a river, and hasteth not: he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth. He taketh it with his eyes: his nose pierceth through snares.”

Consider the following verses from Job 41 regarding leviathan

verses 14-15 “Who can open the doors of his face? his teeth are terrible round about. His scales are his pride, shut up together as with a close seal.

verses 18-21 “By his neesings a light doth shine, and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning. Out of his mouth go burning lamps, and sparks of fire leap out. Out of his nostrils goeth smoke, as out of a seething pit or cauldron. His breath kindleth coals, and a flame goeth out of his mouth.

verses 24-29 “His heart is as firm as a stone; yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone. When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid: by reason of breakings they purify themselves. The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold: the spear, the dart, nor the habergeon. He esteemeth iron as straw, and brass as rotten wood. The arrow cannot make him flee: slingstones are turned with him into stubble. Darts are counted as stubble: he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.”

Psalm 74:14 “Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.”

Psalm 104:25-26 “So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there is that leviathan, whom thou hast made to play therein.”

Mountains Under the Sea

Jonah 2:5-6 “The waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about, the weeds were wrapped about my head. I went down to the bottoms of the mountains; the earth with her bars was about me for ever: yet hast thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.”

The Earth Hangs Upon Nothing

Job 26:7 “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.”

All Things are Made of Things Which are not Visible to the Naked Eye

Hebrews 11:3 “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.”

Individual Fingerprints

Job 38:19 “Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,”

Light is Always Moving – It has no Dwelling Place

Job 38:19 “Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,”

The Earth is Round

Isaiah 40:22 “It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:”

Springs in the Sea

Job 38:16 “Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?”

Air Pressure

Job 28:25 “To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure.”

The 3 Purposes of Rain

Job 37:13 “He causeth it to come, whether for correction, or for his land, or for mercy.”

There are more I’m sure, but you can see from these references that there are scientific truths recorded in the Bible written long before man discovered them. Have you ever considered how this can be so? How could the writers of these books of the Bible have known these things when they weren’t commonly known to man? The answer is as we’ve already said…..the Bible is the word of God and He created all things so He could and did record these things for us. True science will always confirm the scriptures, and the scriptures will always confirm true science.

Knowing the Bible can be trusted on such subjects as science ought to make us consider what it says about other things as well…such as life and death. The Bible tells us that through the fall of man, sin came into the world, and death by sin. Therefore all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The only way we can be right with God is to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider the words of John 3:16:

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

How do you stand before God today? I would urge you to accept the Lord Jesus Christ as your own personal Saviour today before it’s too late.

Jonathan Hewett

Learn The Bible