Foundations of Faith
THE DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES (IV)
8. The Bible is consistent with scientific findings. If the Bible were just another collection of ancient history and literature, we would expect to find in it many of the ancient world’s myths and superstitions concerning nature. But we don’t find this in the Bible. There is no mention of the ancient art of alchemy (the attempt to change ordinary metals into gold); no mention of the longstanding idea that all matter consisted of different proportions of four elements–earth, air, fire and water; no mention of the notion of spontaneous generation (for example, that maggots were produced from decaying meat, and mice from pieces of old bread and cheese). Rather, we find that many scientific discoveries and conclusions made within the past few centuries were already anticipated in the Scriptures thousands of years previously. This only confirms what the Bible states about itself, namely, that the greatest Scientist of all time–the Creator of the universe–is the author of the Bible.
Let us consider a few examples of the harmony of the Bible and modern science.
a. The sphericity of the earth. “It is He [God] who sits upon the circle of the earth” (Isa. 40:22; see also Prov. 8:27). Enemies of the Bible take verses that refer to “the four corners of the earth” (Isa. 11:12; Ezek. 7:2) and claim, “The Bible teaches that the earth is flat.” However, in Rev. 7:1 the “four corners of the earth” are associated with “the four winds of the earth” (that is, N, S, E, and W), and obviously is a metaphor for the extremities or farthest reaches of the earth. The expression is used today in everyday speech, such as, “His reputation extends to the four corners of the earth.”
b. The number of the stars. “The host [that is, stars] of heaven cannot be numbered” (Jer. 33:22). As late as the 17th century, the great astronomer Johannes Kepler gave the number of stars in the sky to be 1,005, while a contemporary astronomer, Tycho Brahe, counted only 777. Today, it is estimated that there are 100 billion stars just in our own galaxy (the Milky Way), and that there are 100 billion galaxies in the universe.
c. The importance of blood. “The life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11).
d. The importance of a low cholesterol, low animal fat diet. “You shall eat no manner of fat of ox, or of sheep, or of goat…. And the priest shall burn the fat upon the altar” (Lev. 7:22-34). Note:Only within the past 40 years or so has this become appreciated by health scientists.
e. Good public health measures:(1) washing after handling the carcass of an animal (Lev. 11:27,28); (2) quarantine of people with contagious diseases (Lev. 13:45,46); (3) washing and bathing if contaminated by an issue of blood, etc., from the human body (Lev. 15); (4) burying human waste (Deut. 23:13).
f. The importance of “safest sex”–that is, total sexual abstinence except within the marriage relationship (Exod. 20:14; 1 Cor. 6:18; etc.).
g. Description of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, namely, that the amount of available and useful energy is decreasing. Another way of expressing this law is that everything, left to itself, tends to run down and decay and deteriorate. “Of old hast Thou laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure; yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment” (Psa. 102:25,26).
h. Forces that scientists cannot explain but only describe (for example, the force of gravity and the so-called “strong force” that keeps positively-charged protons in the nucleus of an atom from repelling one another) can be explained by the truth of Scripture that our Creator also sustains or holds together the universe (Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3).
(Note:Space does not permit us at this time to take up the very complex issues of the conflict between the theory of evolution and the biblical truth of creation of the universe. Perhaps we can take this up in later issues of Growing. Meanwhile, an outline on this topic is available from the editor upon request.)
This concludes this series in which we have presented eight different lines of evidence to support the claim that the Bible is the Word of God. In summary, these lines of evidence are:(a) the Bible’s own claim to be inspired of God; (b) the realistic view of man given by the Bible; (c) the consistency of the Bible’s teachings from Genesis to Revelation; (d) the acknowledgment by the Lord Jesus of the authority of the Old Testament Scriptures; (e) the fulfillment in New Testament times of a large number of Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ and concerning the nation of Israel and other nations; (f) the uniqueness of the Bible compared with other religious writings; (g) the consistency of the Bible with archaeological findings; and (h) the consistency of the Bible with scientific findings. To these we might add one more line of evidence–subjective but nevertheless real:millions of lives have been wonderfully changed by the power of the Scriptures (see Assignment 14). Taken together, these lines of evidence provide a strong foundation upon which the reader of the Bible can rest assured that this, indeed, is the Word of God.
Running the Race
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDYING THE BIBLE (IV)
8. Memorize the names and order of the 66 books of the Bible; this will make it easier to follow along in Bible studies and to look up cross references to related passages.
9. Don’t just read, but take time to think about and to meditate on what you have read. Ask your yourself: (a) what does the passage say to me? (b) what stands out in my mind as I read it? (c) what does it teach me about God? (d) what does it teach me about myself? (e) how can I apply this to my life? (f) in what ways does this passage merit the response of praise and worship and thanksgiving to God on my part?
10. As a follow-up to meditation, make sure that you act upon what you have read. According to John 7:17, “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine,” the Lord will not give us new light and understanding of the Scriptures if we are not living out what we have already learned. (See Assignment 15)
Assignment 14: Find and write out verses in 1 Thessalonians 1 and 2 and Hebrews 4 that speak of the power of the Word of God on people’s lives.
Assignment 15: What does chapter 1 of James say about this?