Science & The Bible

Are the findings of science in conflict with the Scripture? Are there any material in the Bible which provide adequate basis for doing science?

Kenny Barfield

Every ancient civilization and culture embraced scientific misconceptions in varying degrees, and Biblical writers avoided those errors at a time when they were prevalent in secular documents. - why the Bible is number one

William Cairney
By prescience we mean the occurrence, in Scripture, of accurate statements reflecting an in-depth knowledge of scientific concepts far before mankind had laid the technological base for such things to be known. -Biomedical Prescience 1 in Evidence for Faith: Deciding the God question

Key pre-scientific statements in the Bible

A universe that is not fixed but immense and capable of expansion

Gn 1:14 Jer 31:37 Job 26:7 Zech 12:1 (The universe was thought to be limited by a solid barrier, enclosed)

Key pre-scientific statements in the Bible

Universe is not eternal and is changing Gen 1:1

In ancient times the universe was believed to be eternal and unchanging. Even modern scientists like Einstein wanted a steady state universe.

Key pre-scientific statements in the Bible The earth Hangs upon nothing! Job 26:7 (Ancient authors wrote of earth resting on all kinds of foundations: Back of elephants Top of a turtle or catfish Floating in a primal ocean)

Key pre-scientific statements in the Bible

The Ocean floor is not smooth Valley of the sea- 2 Sam 22:16 Recesses of the deep- Job 38:16

The ocean floor was thought to be smooth, sandy and lacking any geographical features.

Not Until the voyage of HMS Challenger in 1873 was the existence of underwater canyons documented by scientific research. - Barfield

Key pre-scientific statements in the Bible Only rain and rivers filled the ocean -Chinese, Babylonian, Assyrian and Egyptian Authorities Springs or fountains of the deep also contributed to the filling of the ocean - Moses, Job, Solomon - Gen 7:11, Job 38:16, Proverbs 8:28

Law of causality
Genesis 1:1 In the Beginning(Time) God created the heavens(Space) and the earth(Matter).

Implications for science

This verse declares that time, space and matter was created by God. The physical universe is a caused entity and hence it is finite. It is therefore a legitimate pursuit to look for secondary causes in the space-time realm

Law of conservation of mass

Gen 2: 2,3 :

I Law of Thermodynamics God rested from the work.

This means that the total energy inputs He provided was finite. That is the reason why the total energy in the universe remains a constant.

Law of universal decay

Gen 3:17,18 : The effects of the fall.

II law of Thermodynamics
The universe is running out of energy. The entropy is on the increase. The available energy is on the decrease.

The second law & The historic Fall

There is always a difference between input and output. As energy came into existence due to Gods creative work, when mankind rebelled against the creator, the law of decay was kick-started. It is reasonable to believe that the 2nd Law is at work since the fall of man in Gen3.

Law of Uniformity
Gen 8:22 :

The context is Gods covenant with Noah immediately after the flood.

The promise to Noah

Noah would have wondered whether the flood has disturbed all regularities of the universe (after all the flood was a punishment) will engineering, physics and chemistry work from next day onwards?

Foundations for uniformity Gods promise!

The promise is that As

long as the endureswill cease .

earth never

Like Noah we can also expect uniform behavior by nature without which all scientific exploration would come to a stand still.

Specified complex information in DNA

Psalms 139 : 13-16 :

Energy, time and chance alone cannot produce specified complexity. The additional inputs that are needed are intelligence and a ordering mechanism to specify the information content.

The psalmist knew better!

The psalmist declares that God has made us fearfully and wonderfully. When we see the complexity of information in the DNA, it points to the source of that information a God who is Infinite and personal.

Cause for the cosmos !

Hebrews 11: 3

the universe was formed at Gods command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.

The implications.

Primary cause is outside the domain

space-time

This verse explains that the cause for the cosmos is outside the cosmos. If we look for causes inside it we can find only secondary causes. Nature itself is not natural! There is a supernatural cause for the nature.

Bible Anticipates Technology

Raw materials in abundance

Genesis : In the garden : Raw materials eg Gold

Streets of Gold !
Revelation : Finished products Streets of gold

Reversing the effect of the fall Through Technology

As the context moves from a garden (of Eden) to a city (new heaven & new earth), the Bible gives ample room for exercising human stewardship of nature. Efforts to reverse the effect of fall is God-honoring.