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The Bible and Science

Earlier centuries saw little conflict between the Scriptures and science. It was common for scientists and churchmen alike to view the Bible and science as in complete agreement. If an apparent discrepancy came to light, the Bible was considered more trustworthy, but the two were widely accepted as harmonious.

But the harmony that once existed between the Bible and the scientific community largely dissolved. As biblical misinterpretations and assumption —along with religion in general-have been discredited, people have increasingly turned almost exclusively to science and human reasoning for answers. As a result, people in general have much more confidence in science and scientific pronouncements—verified or not-than in God's Word.

A brief look at the world around us shows us that science has indeed been enthroned in our culture. Religion, in comparison, has been forcibly dethroned. A recent demographic study concluded that of the 40 hours a week of free time the average American is said to have, a typical woman allots about 15 hours to television and only a single hour to religion; among men the time devoted to religion is even less. Technology and entertainment have conspired to knock religion off its pedestal.

Where the usual approach in the past was to let the Bible take precedence over scientific discoveries, now the situation is reversed. "There developed in the nineteenth century what has been called 'scientism.' This holds that only science has the key to truth and that whatever is not scientific is false" (Hitchcock, p. 44). Today the typical academic will elevate a biology text or theory far above the Bible.

What are the implications of this approach?

One significant reality is that science alone can offer no law or moral standard to tell us how to live. Instead, it teaches only that man is ultimately only another animal and that the survival of the fittest is the rule in nature.

We have seen this approach tragically played out in history. Genocide has been perpetrated more than once in this century. Our scientific achievements now make widespread genocide a terrifying possibility. Conventional, nuclear, chemical and biological weapons can annihilate entire populations.

When the scientific community replaced the church in the pantheon of humanity's gods, it promised a utopia of peace, prosperity and plenty that religion had failed to bring about. But, sadly, the scientific world has provided its share of frightening contributions to the witches' brew of world troubles. Not only has it failed to produce a peaceful world, but it has given us the nightmarish problems of industrial, chemical and nuclear pollution, among many others. Scientific technology has indeed benefited us in many ways. But it has contributed immensely to the frightening array of stresses, sicknesses and fears we face today.

Basic biblical solutions to human problems

The Bible describes the wrong type of fear as a form of enslavement. It also reveals how we can be freed from fear (Hebrews 2:14-15). It tells us that there is no fear in love (1 John 4:18). The book of Psalms depicts God's servants turning to Him to calm their anxiety. "In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul" (Psalm 94:19). King David took his anxieties to God (Psalm 139:23-24).

The Bible shares many examples of people who found comfort during their disquiet in the face of death and other sorrows because they found in the Scriptures the solution to these problems. The Bible is a practical book, and it addresses our greatest needs and weaknesses.

God's Word provides answers to the greatest of problems. We have already seen that the Bible has an excellent track record in its historicity and accuracy. But how about its instruction, which, if followed, affects our everyday lives? How do we know that the information in the Bible is true? Must we take it on faith alone?

The Bible is certainly to be understood and accepted by faith. However, it is not an unreasoning, blind faith. The Bible nowhere requires us to commit intellectual suicide to be able to believe it is God's Word. When properly understood, the Scriptures are eminently sensible, consistent and logical.

This booklet provides compelling evidence that the Bible is true, and many other books offer additional evidence in much greater detail. Belief in God's Word doesn't have to be mere hope; it can be based firmly on fact when all the evidence is considered.

Andrew Dickson White, 19th-century historian, took issue with those who would assert that the Bible is a scientific text. Mr. White was correct in that the Bible is not a scientific textbook. But it contains scientific truth. It is scientifically accurate.

Sadly, many people have come to view science and the Bible as contradictory. Although at times they appear to disagree, when we carefully weigh all the evidence before reaching a conclusion, scientific discoveries often verify the biblical account. We must keep in mind that science itself is far from perfect; new discoveries regularly modify and in some cases overturn assumptions previously regarded as fact. Scientists have long proven other scientists to be wrong.

A close look at the evidence shows that the Holy Scriptures proclaim and impart knowledge that man, through his own scientific research, has only recently discovered. This knowledge is basic, but it would have vastly improved humanity's lot had it been properly understood and applied.

Let's consider some truths that were recorded in the Bible thousands of years ago but that were only recently rediscovered and confirmed by other sources as being scientifically supportable.

Health and medicine

Although the Bible contains relatively little that pertains to health and medicine, it does give fundamentally sound advice that is taken for granted by most people.

The foundation of good health is an adequate sanitary code. The Bible reveals the fundamentals of such a code in the book of Leviticus. This book "deals with public hygiene, water supply, sewage disposal, inspection and selection of food, and control of infectious disease" (New Bible Dictionary, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Ill., 1996, s.v. "Health, Disease and Healing"). Although we take this knowledge for granted, these principles came to be understood and accepted by scientists only in recent centuries.

Most of these principles were disregarded during the Middle Ages in Europe. Why? Simply because the Bible was not generally available. The consequences of so few people having the knowledge it offered were catastrophic.

The dreaded black death of the Middle Ages thrived in the unsanitary conditions of medieval Europe. The plague first appeared there in 1347 "when a Genoese fleet returning from the Orient staggered into Messina harbor, all members of its crews dead or dying from a combination of bubonic, pneumonic, and septicemic plague strains" (Manchester, p. 34). The resulting plagues of that century are estimated to have killed up to a fourth of the Continent's population.

The plague revisited Europe periodically for several hundred years. It was common practice in the cities of the Middle Ages to allow garbage and sewage to accumulate on the streets. This filth provided an abundant food source for a burgeoning rat population, which served as host to the fleas that bore the plague organisms.

The people who practiced the sanitary guidelines described in the Bible were affected much less severely. The Jewish population, which was much better acquainted with the Scriptures during that time, suffered far less because of its practice of biblical principles of cleanliness. One of the Jews' saving practices was that of quarantining those suspected of being infected with the disease.

In fact, "the origin of the word 'quarantine' is the Jewish use of the period of 40 days of segregation from patients with certain diseases . . . adopted by the Italians in the 14th century because of the relative immunity of Jews from certain plagues . . . The biblical outlook on the sick, and on health in general, . . . , is perhaps more up to date than is generally realized" (New Bible Dictionary, s.v. "Health, Disease and Healing").

Had people known and used the biblical principles of public health when the black death struck, the epidemic could have been controlled or eliminated. Fatalities would no doubt have been only a fraction of what they were. Hundreds of thousands of lives could have been saved.

The Bible contains other practical health guidelines. For example, it shows by example how a wound should be treated and dressed. The story of the Good Samaritan tells us that he applied wine and oil to the victim's wounds, then bound them up to protect them while they healed (Luke 10:34). The wine served as a disinfectant and the olive oil as a soothing lotion.

As The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia observes, "Olive oil has certain curative qualities and is still used in modern medicine." The mixture of the wine and oil provided a disinfectant with which the Samaritan treated the victim (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1986, s.v. "oil"). These procedures were largely forgotten for centuries until rediscovered in recent decades.

If similar techniques had been known and used even as recently as the American Civil War, the death rate could have been much lower. In that war "more than one half of the men who died were not killed in action; they simply died of camp diseases: typhoid fever, pneumonia, dysentery, and childhood diseases like measles and chicken pox." Thousands perished from relatively minor battle wounds that became infected. "Nothing was known about how and why wounds became infected . . . The number of men who simply got sick and died, or who got a minor scratch or cut and then could do nothing to check the infection was appalling" (Bruce Catton, Reflections on the Civil War, Berkeley, New York, 1982, p. 43).

Numerous other examples bear out the truth of biblical principles recorded thousands of years ago. Proverbs 17:22 tells us that "a merry heart does good, like medicine." A generally cheerful and optimistic outlook promotes good health. Scientific research verifies this simple truth. A 27-year study conducted by Duke University "found that people who reported . . . despair, low self-esteem, lack of motivation . . . were 70 percent more likely to have a heart attack" (Portland Oregonian, June 20, 1996). Additional studies have shown that prolonged unresolved hostility is a significant contributor to heart attacks.

Men of God and science

True science and the Bible do not conflict. There is no need for advocates of either side to engage in a protracted war with the other. Open-minded study reveals that science and Scripture complement and often uphold each other, as the examples in this booklet demonstrate.

Humankind has a need for the Bible and science. We can discover certain tenets of truth only from the source of divine revelation, the Bible. We should also study to increase our scientific knowledge to improve our lot and better understand our world.

Some scientists and theologians have recognized that the two disciplines need not stand in opposition. Several centuries ago, when modern science was still in its infancy and before some of its overzealous proponents declared war on the Bible, many reasonable men saw the value of both. During that time "proponents of scientific inquiry would often argue that God had revealed Himself in two books-the book of His words (the Bible) and the book of His works (nature). As one was under obligation to study the former, so too there was an obligation to study the latter" (John Hedley Brooke, Science and Religion: Some Historical Perspectives, Cambridge University Press, 1995, p. 22).

A study of one-the Bible-is essential. A study of the other is helpful. Men of God have always exalted the Word of God first, but they have not feared science. They knew that the creation and the existence of physical laws were proof of God's handiwork.

Solomon, king of Israel, was a man of remarkable learning. The Bible describes him as having great interest and understanding in scientific disciplines. Solomon understood the movement of the prevailing winds about the earth and the hydrological cycle that brings rain (Ecclesiastes 1:6-7). He was a horticulturalist, creating a great assortment of vineyards, gardens and orchards (Ecclesiastes 2:4-5). He was something of a botanist and zoologist, understanding plants, animals, birds, insects and fish (1 Kings 4:33). He was a student of psychology, sociology and human relations, as demonstrated by the subject matter of the book of Proverbs.

But Solomon eventually realized that all his scientific, material knowledge did not bring him satisfaction. His life grew hollow and unsatisfying. His concentration on scientific knowledge, without proper emphasis on God's spiritual knowledge and understanding, rendered life meaningless (Ecclesiastes 1:16-18). He concluded, after much retrospection, that a man must put the knowledge of God first: "This is the end of the matter: you have heard it all. Fear God and obey his commandments; this sums up the duty of mankind" (Ecclesiastes 12:13, Revised English Bible).

Moses and Daniel

Moses is another example of a man trained in the physical sciences but blessed with spiritual understanding. Moses was educated "in all the wisdom of the Egyptians" (Acts 7:22). With the guidance of God he could separate the good from the bad, and undoubtedly his early education was of great help in his life of fulfilling God's calling to lead his fellow Israelites out of Egyptian slavery and to govern a nation.

Other men of God were educated in the intellectual pursuits of their day. The prophet Daniel was a brilliant student brought up in the royal academy of the Babylonians (Daniel 1:4). The Babylonian Empire of Daniel's day dominated the world and was scientifically advanced, particularly in astronomy.

Daniel apparently saw no conflict between the scientific truths the Babylonians had discovered and the knowledge of God that he had held from his youth. Indeed, he thrived, serving rulers of the Babylonian and Medo-Persian empires as a high-ranking government official. Daniel's education did not undermine his faith in God.

He knew God's Word to be true and inviolable and saw no conflict between scientific knowledge and Scripture. We must study the Scriptures to gain eternal life (John 5:39). But, as time and inclination allow, we should study the physical sciences as well. In so doing we will gain a deeper appreciation of the world our Creator has made and increase our faith and understanding of Him.

The apostle Paul understood that man stands to learn a great deal about His Creator by observing His creation: "Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible nature-his eternal power and divine character-have been clearly perceptible through what he has made. So they have no excuse . . ." (Goodspeed's American Translation)] The Wall Street Journal put it this way: "If a little science takes one away from God, a great deal of science brings one back to him" (October 10, 1994).