does science disprove the bible? -...

document.docx Last Updated: 09/16/2012

“We can trust the Bible because…”Does science disprove the Bible?

Times & Locations Preached:Scripture Reading: 1 Cor. 3:18-20Accompanying Song: # “We Have an Anchor”Subject: Bible, apologetics, scienceObjective: To demonstrate the scientific accuracy and reliability of the Bible, showing it to be evidence that it is the word of GodLocation: /tt/file_convert/5a776ca07f8b9a4b538dfaea/document.docx

Introduction: 1. Our Topic of Study: (Title Slide)

2. Ever heard one of these claims? Perhaps you’ve even said one yourself. Over the years, we’ve heard them all: 1

a. Common claims by non-Christians:2

i. “Science proves the Bible is wrong.”

ii. “Evolution is science, but the Bible is religion.”iii. “Evolutionists believe in science, but creationists reject science.”

b. Common claims by Christians: 3

i. “I believe the Bible over science.”

ii. “Creation is religion, but evolution is religion, too.”

iii. “Creationists believe in the Bible and reject science.”

3. Those who believe evolutionary scientists often reject the Bible because its claims of things such as miracles and the origins of life cannot be tested in a laboratory whereas (they believe) evolutionary science can.

1 http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n3/science-or-the-bible2 http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n3/science-or-the-bible3 http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n3/science-or-the-bible

Michel D. Mahler of 14


4. For instance they point to mutated fruit flies or a development of a new species of mosquito, a mutated virus or even a fish.

5. But this is where people get confused: what is science and what is scientific.

6. We need to begin by…

Body: I. Defining “Science”

A. Some who reject the Bible do so because they believe that, in order to have faith in it, they would have to become irrational and reject proven scientific principles.1. Webster’s: “from Latin scientia, from scient-, sciens ‘having knowledge,’ from present

participle of scire ‘to know.’”2. Science: “the knowledge gained by the study of the physical world”4

3. So science is knowing something as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding.

B. There are two basic types of science:1. Operational science uses observable, repeatable experiments to try to

discover truth.a. Science that can be tested and repeatedb. Examples: test the laws of physics, study the spread of disease, study chemistry,

biological combinations and mutations, study of geology and the makeup of certain rocks and minerals, zoology (study of animals) or botany (study of plants).

c. Both creationists and evolutionists use this type of science.

2. Origin science relies on relics from the past and historical records to try to discover truth.a. Study of evidences.b. Look at geology, study the rocks and interpret how these rocks formed in nature, the

formation of canyons or how certain items came to be found within the rock itself. c. Archaeology falls into this category as well. Though it is a science without reliable

eyewitness testimony, it is debatable as to how these things came to be.

3. Different approaches to interpreting the data.a. Because the past cannot be observed directly, assumptions greatly affect how these

scientists interpret what they see.

4 (Microsoft)



b. For example, one who rejects God or the Biblical account will seek only to describe the evidence they observe through some natural phenomenon. One who believes in God and the Bible seeks to harmonize the evidence with the biblical account.

4. Main Difference: Operation science is based upon the present whereas origin science is based upon the past.

5. Some have been led to believe that one cannot be a scientist and believe in the creation account of Genesis. This is not true. There are thousands of scientists who believe in the Biblical account of creation and even more who consider it a possibility. One such scientist is “Dr. Raymond Damadian who is a young-earth creationist who is also credited by many as “the man who invented the MRI scanner.” He has received numerous awards for his work and in 1989 was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame.”

Dr. Raymond Damadian. Photo courtesy Fonar Corp.

6. Many people have been led to believe that most scientists agree that evolution has been proven as a fact. The truth is, there are many scientists on both sides of this debate.

7. So which worldview is correct?

“When our research is based upon biblical truths about the past, we find that our interpretations of the biological and geological facts make sense of what we see in the real world, whereas evolutionary interpretations don’t really fit what we see.”5

C. I think it is proper that I begin what I’m about to say by saying that the Bible was not written with the intention of being a book about science. That having been said, if the Bible is indeed the word of God and is as accurate as it claims to be we should expect that statements made in the Bible related the science would be accurate.

D. I would also like to say I do not believe many of these verse are specifically speaking about scientific facts per se, so some of the verses taught may seem a bit out of context.

5 http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n3/science-or-the-bible



However, if the Bible does contain some references to scientific facts, here are some examples that may or may not allude to them. You be the judge…

E. Let’s consider some statements the Bible makes about science…

II. GeologyA. Until recently, most scientists often used theories of slow processes of erosion over millions

of years to explain how sedimentary rock layers were formed.

B. In the past few decades, “geologists have begun to recognize that catastrophic processes are a better explanation for many of the earth’s rock layers.”6

C. A layer “11 feet wide fossilized oyster shells can be found on top the mountains in Peru”7 – atop Mt. Everest!

1. How did oysters get there?a. Too high for birds to fly – no other living creatures there. b. Why would any creature carry so many of them there?

2. They were deposited, rather than carried Gen. 7:19

III. Cosmology/AstronomyA. Time/The Universe Had a Beginning

1. Steven Hawking has gotten a lot of attention for his work. Though not a creationist, Hawking admits, "The conclusion of this lecture is that the universe has not

6 http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n3/science-or-the-bible 7 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081215214021AAZlD77


http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/am/v2/n3/science-or-the-bible


existed forever. Rather, the universe, and time itself, had a beginning…"

Stephen Hawking (1942- ), “The Beginning of Time”

2. 1 Corinthians 2:7

B. The Universe is Expanding

1. A long-held belief among scientists that the universe was static and unchanging: “The Universe is one, infinite, immobile.” - Giordano Bruno, an Italian philosopher, astronomer, satirist, occultist, mystic, and martyr (1548-1600 - He died by being burned at the stake.)

2. Astronomer Edwin Hubble's landmark paper on the rate of expansion of the universe was published in 1929.a. Job 9:8, Psalm 104:2, Isaiah 40:22, Isaiah 42:5, Isaiah 44:24 (NOTE: “Stretches”),

Isaiah 45:12, Isaiah 48:13, Isaiah 51:13, Jeremiah 10:12, Jeremiah 51:15, Zechariah 12:1

C. The Cessation of Creation

1. "Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing," he writes. "Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist.” - Stephen Hawking, http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2010/sep/02/stephen-hawking-big-bang-creator



2. The Bible teaches that the creation of matter and energy has ended in the universe (refutes steady-state theory) Genesis 2:3

D. Number of Stars 1. For centuries, scientists and astronomers thought they could count the precise

number of stars in the universe.a. Brahe, for example, said there were 777.b. Kepler claimed the total was 1,005.c. Hipparchus said there were 1,022 stars.d. Ptolemy raised the number to 1,056. e. Today many scientists have admitted, “Space is probably infinite…” -

Francis Halzen, professor of physics

2. Genesis 22:17; Jeremiah 33:22

E. Astronomical Foreknowledge 1. Every Star is Different (1 Cor. 15:41) – centuries before telescopes or other

advanced methods of studying the stars.

2. Pleiades and Orion (Constellations) gravitationally bound star groups

3. (Job 38:31)

F. The Earth is Controlled by the Heavens 1. Job 38:33



2. Sun:a. Gravitational pull of sun keeps the earth in its orbitb. Solar wind affects the Earth's radiation belts and the shape of the Earth's magnetic

fieldc. Heat from the sun brings about temperature changes, causing movement of windsd. Charged particles from the sun’s solar wind upsets the structure of the ionosphere and

creates the Aurora Borealis

3. Moon: Gravitational pull of the moon creates the rising and lowering of the tides.

4. Other Planets: The gravitational pull of other planets have a small impact upon the earth as well.

G. Earth is a Sphere 1. It was commonly taught and believed that the earth was flat until Christopher

Columbus proved otherwise in 1492 when he sailed to America.

2. Isaiah 40:22; Job 26:10

H. Earth Suspended 1. Ancients believed earth held up by God Atlas or upon backs of elephants who stood on

back of a giant tortoise:



2. Earth is suspended in space (Job 26:7)

IV. PhysicsA. Thermodynamics

1. Evolutionary thought describes a universe that is evolving and becoming more highly organized and complex.

2. Yet operational science has discovered the second law of thermodynamics which teaches that the universe is winding down and will "wear out" (second law of thermodynamics ensures that the universe will run down due to "heat death"-maximum entropy). It is the observation that all of the heat in the universe will eventually equalize.

3. Psalm 102:25-26

B. Movement of Light

1. Sir Isaac Newton (1642 – 1727) is accredited for having discovered the movement of light

2. Job 38:19-20

V. OriginsA. Order of Creation



1. Evolution teaches that various life forms on the planet evolved in a progressive order. For example this drawing represents how the horse’s hoof is believed to have evolved:

Evolution of the horse hoof

Another example:

Evolution of Wing Into Reptile Foot

2. The problem with modern convergent evolutionary theory is that the fossil record contains a great deal of evidence that refutes these theories. The patterns expected from the Darwinian model of evolution are not seen in most instances. On the other hand, evidence does seem to confirm the creationist model of a common Designer, the Creator God of the Bible as described in Genesis 1.

VI. OceanographyA. The Bible tells us that earth began as a “water world.”

1. The formation of continents by tectonic activity possibly alluded to (Genesis 1:2-9, Psalm 104:6, Proverbs 3:19, Proverbs 8:27-29, Job 38:4-8, 2 Peter 3:5)

B. Alfred Wegener discovered Pangaea in 1915. After discovering the idea of tectonic plates.



Alfred Wegener

C. Valleys & Springs Exist on the Bottom of the Sea1. “ (1872-1876) “…British scientists aboard HMS Challenger, a sailing vessel that was

redesigned into a laboratory ship… is credited with providing the first real view of major seafloor features such as the deep ocean basins.” 8

HMS Challenger

2. Job 38:16

D. Ocean Currents & Channels exist in the Sea 1. Matthew Fontaine Maury (1806-1873) United States Navy was an American

astronomer, historian, oceanographer, meteorologist, cartographer, author, geologist, and educator… nicknamed "Pathfinder of the Seas" and "Father of Modern Oceanography and Naval Meteorology" and later, "Scientist of the Seas,"9

2. “Matthew Maury's seagoing days came to an abrupt end at the age of 33 after a stagecoach accident broke his right leg. Thereafter, he devoted his time to the study of naval meteorology, navigation, charting the winds and currents, seeking the "Paths of the Seas" mentioned in Psalms 8:8 "10

Statue of Matthew Fontaine Maury at Richmond, VA - Bible Beside L. Leg

8 http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/deepsea/level-2/tools/history.html9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Fontaine_Maury10http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Fontaine_Maury



3. 2 Samuel 22:16; Psalm 8:8; Ecclesiastes 1:6

VII. Hydrologic (Water) Cycle

Bernard Palissy

A. Was discovered slowly over a period of painstaking years. However, Bernard Palissy is credited in the 16th century to be the scientist who compiled the theories that existed for years and "wrote" our modern hydrological cycle 11

B. Job 36:27-28

VIII. ChemistryA. Weight of Air

1. Evagelista Torricelli (1608-1647) discovered that air has weight in 1640.2. Job 28:25

IX. Biology A. Life is in Blood

1. "Bleeding" a patient to health was modeled on the process of menstruation. Hippocrates believed that menstruation functioned to "purge women of bad humors. Galen of Rome, a student of Hippocrates, began physician-initiated bloodletting… after he discovered that not only veins but also arteries were filled with blood, not air as was commonly believed at the time.”12

William Harvey11 http://www.iwaponline.com/ws/00701/0023/007010023.pdf12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloodletting



2. William Harvey “The blood carries water and nourishment to every cell, maintains the body’s temperature, and removes the waste material of the body’s cells. The blood also carries oxygen from the lungs throughout the body. In 1616, William Harvey (1578-1657) discovered that blood circulation is the key factor in physical life—confirming what the Bible revealed 3,000 years earlier.” 13

3. George Washington, our first president died as a result of having too much blood removed during this practice.

4. Lev. 17:11

B. Infectious Diseases

1. Louis Pasteur (1822-1895) proved way beyond doubt that certain diseases are

caused by infectious agents.2. Lev. 13:463. The Bible demonstrates foreknowledge of how important it was to be sanitary

a. Numbers 19, Deuteronomy 23:12-13, Leviticus 7-9

C. Source of Life 1. Evolution teaches:

a. That life originated from nonliving matter without intervention from any intelligent being.

13 http://www.clarifyingchristianity.com/science.shtml



b. That different species have a common ancestor.c. It is noteworthy that this has never been observed anywhere in nature! This is

significant to determining which world view is correct – creationists or evolutionists.

2. The creationist view, the biblical view is observed constantly nearly everywhere every day:Ge 1:11 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb [that] yields

seed, [and] the fruit tree [that] yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed [is] in itself, on the earth"; and it was so.

Ge 1:21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that

moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that [it was] good.

Ge 1:24 Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature

according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the

earth, [each] according to its kind"; and it was so.

Conclusion: A. Let me conclude by asking this simple question: Which have you observed?

1. Life coming from nonliving matter? (This is the evolutionary model.)2. New species developing from other species – in other words is there any evidence that

the puppies your dog gives birth to are becoming some new species of animal other than another kind of dog? (That is what evolutionists will tell you is happening so slowly you can’t see it. Problem is it is happening so slowly they can’t see it either. [or could it be it can’t be seen because IT IS NOT HAPPENING?)

3. Or have you observed that life gives birth – each according to its kind?4. Have you observed that life does not begin without the intervention of an intelligent,

living being? (If so, you agree with creationists and the Bible).

B. Yet another piece of the puzzle that demonstrates how trustworthy the Bible is!

Invitation: A. The Bible is trustworthy in matters of science. Will you trust its words regarding matters of

salvation?



Works CitedMicrosoft. Encarta Dictionary.

Slide logo: # (indicates an accompanying Power Point Slide is available, slide number following.)


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