The Bible Scoops
the Scientists - It turns
out many of our “new” scientific discoveries were actually always right under
our noses—in the Bible. By Watch
Jerusalem Staff • November 7, 2017
This is a great way to begin the new year looking at how the Bible matches with science!
They are so often seen as two opposing
sides: science on the one hand and the Bible on the other. The Bible is
consistently considered as being anathema to science. But is that really the
case? Is it fair to label the Bible as a scientifically backward text of
religious dolts?
Actually, upon
closer inspection—with regard to science—the Bible was thousands of years ahead
of its time. Many scientific principles described millennia ago in the
Scriptures have only recently been “discovered” and explained by science.
Listed below are a sampling of them.
The Water
Cycle - Ancient
intellectuals believed all water originated below the Earth’s surface. Around
800 B.C., Homer said a huge cavern inside Earth supplied all river water. By
the fourth century B.C., Greek philosophers hypothesized that the hydrologic
process was cyclical, and that Homer’s theory had not been correct. Yet it
wasn’t until 1580 that a full scientific explanation of the cycle was delivered
by Bernard Palissy—about 2,500 years after King Solomon had described it in
detail. Solomon said it: Ecclesiastes
1:7, c. 950 B.C. All the rivers
run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the
rivers come, there they return again. Man
“discovered” it: 1580
Man Made From
Dust - Scientists believe
that the human body is made up of 25 elements, each essential for human life.
Each one of these is found in the Earth’s crust. The Bible indicated this
roughly 3,400 years prior to 1982, which is when researchers at NASA’s Ames
Research Center confirmed that every element in man is found in the soil,
prompting one scientist to famously remark: “[T]he biblical scenario for the
creation of life turns out to be not far off the mark.” Moses said it: Genesis 2:7, c. 1400 B.C. And the LORD God
formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life, and man became a living soul. Man “discovered” it:
late 1800s
There are
COUNTLESS Stars - Before
the 1608 invention of the telescope, scientists such as Ptolemy (A.D. 150)
taught that the stars in the heavens numbered 3,000 or fewer. Today astronomers
say the Milky Way galaxy alone contains 400 billion stars. They estimate that
the observable universe contains more than 170 billion galaxies, many of which
contain trillions of stars. The universe beyond that is unknown. As Jeremiah
said 2,500 years ago: “[T]he host of heaven cannot be numbered.” Jeremiah
said it: Jeremiah 33:22, c. 580
B.C. As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the
sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the seed of David my slave and the
Levites that minister unto me. Man “discovered” it:
1608 (See also Job 9:8; Zechariah 12:1)
Earth Is
Suspended in Space - Most
ancient cultures believed the Earth was supported by giant animals, men or
pillars. Greece’s Anaximander (611-547 B.C.) was one of the first known
intellectuals to posit the idea that it is suspended in space. Later in the
sixth century B.C., Pythagoras conducted astronomical studies, which he said
proved Anaximander’s theory. This came 1,000 years after Job had spoken of it
as a fact. The explanation of how the Earth “floats” in space didn’t come about
until the late 1600s when Isaac Newton posed the theory of gravity. Job
said it: Job 26:7, c. 1550 B.C. He stretches out
the north wind over the empty place and hangs the earth upon nothing. Man “discovered”
it: late 1600s
Quarantine and
Sanitation - Throughout
history, even advanced cultures understood nothing about bacteria. The Black
Death of the 1300s killed 50 million in Europe alone—over half the population.
During this plague, Jews (who obeyed biblical instructions on quarantine and
hygiene) experienced far lower infection rates. Only in the 1800s did advances
in bacterial study give researchers understanding of the importance of
quarantine, sanitation and hygiene. This was 3,200 years and millions of lives
after these principles were outlined in Moses’s writings. Moses said it:
Numbers 19:3-22, c. 1400 B.C. Man
“discovered” it: 1800s (See also Leviticus 11, 13, 14 and 22)
Life Is in the
Blood - For thousands of
years, people practiced bleeding as a means of treating diseases. This medical
practice caused countless deaths because it failed to understand that life is
in blood. When the blood is removed, the life ends. Around 1628, William Harvey
accurately described the function of the heart and the circulation of blood
around the body. It wasn’t until 1840 that the oxygen-carrying protein
hemoglobin was discovered in the blood. The Bible specified that the “life is
in the blood” more than 3,000 years beforehand. Moses said it: Leviticus 17:11, c. 1400 B.C. For the soul (or
life) of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you to reconcile
your persons (or souls) upon the altar; therefore the same blood reconciles the
person. Man “discovered” it: 1628
Ocean Currents
- An intricate network of
currents flows through the oceans, heavily influencing Earth’s weather. The paths
of these currents change little. Medieval sailors mentioned ocean currents, but
understood very little about them. In 1770, Benjamin Franklin mapped out parts
of the Gulf Stream, but the big picture remained obscure until Matthew Maury
(1806–1873) revolutionized sea travel by charting winds and currents. His quest
was to find the “paths of the seas” that King
David had written of 2,800 years earlier in Psalm 8. David
said it: Psalm 8:8, c. 1000 B.C. The birds of the
heavens, and the fish of the sea, and whatever passes through the paths of the
seas. Man “discovered” it: 1800s
Washing With
Running Water - In 1846
Ignaz Semmelweis realized that unwashed hands spread diseases. Before him,
doctors would routinely handle dead bodies and then, without washing, treat
expecting mothers. This sent women’s death rates soaring. Semmelweis convinced
many doctors to wash their hands between procedures, but most only washed in a
bowl of water. It wasn’t until late 1800s that Joseph Lister realized they
needed to wash with running water. Moses had made this clear some 3,200 years
earlier. Moses said it: Leviticus
15:13, c. 1400 B.C. And when the one that has an issue is cleansed of his
issue; then he shall number to himself seven days from his purification and
wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in living water, and he shall be clean. Man “discovered”
it: late 1800s
Expanding
Universe - In the fourth
century B.C., Aristotle said the universe was finite in size and had remained
unchanged throughout eternity. This theory prevailed until 1576, when English
astronomer Thomas Digges posited the idea that the stars extend to infinity.
This theory was solidified in the 17th century by René Descartes and Isaac
Newton. In 1929, by measuring the redshifts of a number of distant galaxies,
Edwin Hubble conclusively proved that the universe
is indeed expanding. Without the benefit of telescopes, Isaiah, Job and
Zechariah had recorded the same fact centuries earlier. Isaiah said it: Isaiah 45:12, c. 720 B.C. I have made the
earth, and created man upon it, I, even my hands, have stretched out the
heavens and I have commanded all their host. Man “discovered”
it: 1929
These are just
some of the scientific concepts revealed by the Bible—long since ignored or
forgotten, only to be proved true millennia later. Imagine the time and effort
that could have been saved!
Actually, many
early scientists—throughout the 16th and 17th centuries—held the Bible in high
regard. Apparently, they even went into their scientific observations with the
aim of observing how science glorifies God! Today, the opposite is true.
Yet to simply dismiss the Bible, as is the common modern view, isn’t
scientific. It is anti-science. And frankly, it exposes a deeper and
more sinister motive. Instead of objectively trying to find truth,
science is degraded to the level of mere personal bias.
So the question
remains: How could this kind of biblical information have been known so
early on? For the nonbeliever, the answer is a conundrum. But for the
Bible-believer, it is clear: The Creator of the universe has understood every
detail of how His universe works since He first brought it into being. He revealed
a certain amount of those truths to Bible writers long before scientists came
to understand them.
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