Why isn't there more science in the Bible?

[Science Teacher]

If God created the whole universe and also wrote the Bible (perhaps indirectly through people), then how come the Bible doesn't contain more scientific facts that were unknown at the time it was written?

Genesis talks of the firmament and the greater light and the lesser light, etc. But what if Genesis read something like this: "And God made the spiral galaxies and the elliptical galaxies, and at the center of each he put a large black hole. And in these galaxies God made billions of stars and clouds of dust and gas and dark matter to bind them together. And God saw that it was good."

I realize that there weren't words for concepts like galaxies when the Bible was written, but surely God could have either described them or coined the terms.

I would find such a Bible to be a lot more convincing. If it described the universe accurately before humans had the technology to observe it, that would be saying something about the knowledge and power of the author. As it is now, I don't see anything in the Bible that couldn't have been written by humans and humans alone.

Why is that? Why didn't God describe his creation in any significant detail?

[Pilgrimtozion]

Hey mate,

The primary question I ask in response to your post is "Why was the Bible written?". If the Bible was written to inform us about scientific facts then yes, the Bible would fall short. The Word of God doesn't give extensively detailed descriptions on what happened when God created the universe and such. Then again, I don't think it was meant to do so in the first place. When I look at the Bible, I see a book in which God reveals Himself to mankind. God wants an intimate relationship with mankind and seeks to communicate His plan for salvation and His heart for mankind through the Bible. What you are asking is for a love letter to give an accurate scientific description of the feelings of the person writing the letter. Such a thing is not to be expected.

You might also consider your own limited point-of-view. Your cultural perspective heralds the scientific approach as the most reliable one and the litmus test of truth. Many if not most cultures do not approach reality that way. Even from a atheistic point of view, therefore, it is not fair to expect a collection of books that was primarily written by people from a Near-Eastern culture to meet the standards as created by a Western culture.

But in the end, I think you expect something from the Bible that it was never meant to do in the first place. Hebrews 11 says that 'by faith we know that what is visible did not come forth from that which can be seen'. A book that makes such a statement - implying that we know these things not because of scientific evidence but because of faith - can hardly be expected to give cold, hard scientific facts.

[markdrums]

If God created the whole universe and also wrote the Bible (perhaps indirectly through people), then how come the Bible doesn't contain more scientific facts that were unknown at the time it was written?

Genesis talks of the firmament and the greater light and the lesser light, etc. But what if Genesis read something like this: "And God made the spiral galaxies and the elliptical galaxies, and at the center of each he put a large black hole. And in these galaxies God made billions of stars and clouds of dust and gas and dark matter to bind them together. And God saw that it was good."

I realize that there weren't words for concepts like galaxies when the Bible was written, but surely God could have either described them or coined the terms.

I would find such a Bible to be a lot more convincing. If it described the universe accurately before humans had the technology to observe it, that would be saying something about the knowledge and power of the author. As it is now, I don't see anything in the Bible that couldn't have been written by humans and humans alone.

Why is that? Why didn't God describe his creation in any significant detail?

Well, here's a "scientific" tidbit you may have overlooked;

Gen 1:24¶And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Gen 1:25And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that [it was] good.


For something that was written thousands of years ago, before there were high powered microscopes, we have an accurate descriprion of the "reproductive limits" of species. There was no information of DNA available at the time; Yet, DNA dictates that two different species of life CAN NOT bring forth new life. Also- that no species can become a different species.
Dogs can't breed with cats. People can't breed with primates... etc.
DNA will not allow it to happen. If by chance there was a "successful fertilzation", the offspring would most likely miscarry, or would be severely deformed, with no reproductive capabilities. Either way, there would be no coninued progression of that genetic defect. PERIOD.

As a Science Teacher, I'm sure you're fully aware of the STRICT biological "laws" that are in place through DNA.

So for a book written that many years ago to tell us that every species can only bring forth life after it's OWN KIND, is a pretty solid statement.

Just wanted to share that with you.

[markinro]

If God created the whole universe and also wrote the Bible (perhaps indirectly through people), then how come the Bible doesn't contain more scientific facts that were unknown at the time it was written?

Genesis talks of the firmament and the greater light and the lesser light, etc. But what if Genesis read something like this: "And God made the spiral galaxies and the elliptical galaxies, and at the center of each he put a large black hole. And in these galaxies God made billions of stars and clouds of dust and gas and dark matter to bind them together. And God saw that it was good."

I realize that there weren't words for concepts like galaxies when the Bible was written, but surely God could have either described them or coined the terms.

I would find such a Bible to be a lot more convincing. If it described the universe accurately before humans had the technology to observe it, that would be saying something about the knowledge and power of the author. As it is now, I don't see anything in the Bible that couldn't have been written by humans and humans alone.

Why is that? Why didn't God describe his creation in any significant detail?

I don't recall the chapter/verse - pride goeth before the fall. Why do people insist on God making sense to their (comparatively) tiny little minds ??
He proved Himself at Calvary - beyond anything we can rationalize. That event is WELL documented - even in secular writings. I remember in
our ancient history class on Rome - Jesus is in the text. If you really want to set out to disprove the existence of God, go after the crucifixion/resurrection
because honestly - the creation of the universe (not just earth) PALES in comparison.

[KingFisher]

If God created the whole universe and also wrote the Bible (perhaps indirectly through people), then how come the Bible doesn't contain more scientific facts that were unknown at the time it was written?

Genesis talks of the firmament and the greater light and the lesser light, etc. But what if Genesis read something like this: "And God made the spiral galaxies and the elliptical galaxies, and at the center of each he put a large black hole. And in these galaxies God made billions of stars and clouds of dust and gas and dark matter to bind them together. And God saw that it was good."

I realize that there weren't words for concepts like galaxies when the Bible was written, but surely God could have either described them or coined the terms.

I would find such a Bible to be a lot more convincing. If it described the universe accurately before humans had the technology to observe it, that would be saying something about the knowledge and power of the author. As it is now, I don't see anything in the Bible that couldn't have been written by humans and humans alone.

Why is that? Why didn't God describe his creation in any significant detail?

Hi Science Teacher,

I'd like to echo what Pilgrim said about faith.

Those scientific terms you used like "black holes, dark matter...etc", well
you take those things with a certain amount of faith that they do exist.
I don't want to argue the existence of galaxies, or even dark matter.

In trying to be honest I think you have to admit that these are just the
latest theories to explain something that we've only begun to perceive.
These theories are certainly going to be revised, changed or altogether
dropped with the discovery of new evidence. I'm really not the least bit
surprised that the latest scientific theories aren't mentioned in the Bible.

The Bible isn't devoid of any knowledge that can be tested by science
though. I'd like to share a few. These are given by inspiration from the
Lord to the perspective of men who had or shouldn't have had any
understanding of these things. Yet here they are.

Air Has Weight
From earlier centuries until rather recently, the scientific world believed
that air lacked weight. The Bible indicates otherwise. The book of Job,
written as early as 2000 B.C., indicates that air has weight.

"God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof.
For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole
heaven; To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters
by measure." Job 28:23-25

Torricelli discovered that air has weight in 1643 A.D., and applied it to the
discovery of barometric pressure.

Light Moves
People once thought that light was instantaneous. After all, the
tremendous velocity of light certainly made it appear in an instant. We now
realize not only that light moves, but also that its' movement and velocity
are critical to the existence of earth. The book of Job implied that light
moves:

"What is the way to the abode of light? And where does darkness reside?
Can you take them to their places? Do you know the paths to their
dwellings?" Job 38:19,20

The Hydraulic Cycle
Water comes down to earth as rain, runs down hills into rivers, back into
the oceans, where it evaporates, eventually to form clouds and fall to
earth again. We understand this concept and take it for granted. This
concept was not properly identified in the scientific community until the
1700's. The Bible very clearly explained this as follows:

"He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; the
clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind." Job 36:27,28

Currents in the Oceans
Matthew Fontaine Maury was a man who recognized the accuracy of
scripture. Maury reasoned that the "pathways in the seas" in the book of
Isaiah had to be correct.

"This is what the LORD says-- he who made a way through the sea, a path
through the mighty waters.." Isaiah 43:16

Maury proved this theory of ocean currents and spent his life studying and
mapping ocean currents. He is considered the "father of oceanography".

The Roundness of the Earth
Misconceptions about the shape of the earth existed as late as the time of
Columbus. Isaiah, speaking about 700 B.C., correctly identified the shape
of the earth.

"He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like
grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads
them out like a tent to live in." Isaiah 40:22

The Earth is Suspended in Space
The Chinese thought the earth was square. The Egyptians thought it was
rectangular with a "starry" goddess arching her body over the earth while
the sun and the moon massaged her arms and legs. About 2000 B.C. the
Bible indicated that the earth hangs on nothing but space.

"He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the
earth over nothing." Job 26:7

The Universe is Expanding
Recent discoveries verify the "certainty" that the universe is expanding.
Although such an idea was not popular scientifically until the twentieth
century, several places in the Bible describe the concept of an expanding,
or stretched-out universe. The Psalm and Isaiah references below, written
about 1000 B.C. and 700 B.C. respectively demonstrate God's wisdom and
control of all the universe.

"...He wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the
heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their
waters..." Psalm 104:1,2

"...he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out
the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and
life to those who walk on it:" Is 42:5

The Ark of Noah
The detailed design of the ark is an example of an engineering design far
ahead of its' time. Naval engineers now know that the length-to-width
ratio specified in the Bible is ideal for the stability of a barge-like ship
(non-propelled) designed for rough seas.

"This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be 450 feet long, 75 feet
wide and 45 feet high. Make a roof for it and finish the ark to within 18
inches of the top. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle
and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to
destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of
life in it. Everything on earth will perish." Genesis 1:15-17

Life
Leviticus 17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it
to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood
that makes atonement for the soul.'

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 discovered that blood circulation is the key factor in
physical life-confirming what the Bible revealed 3,000 years earlier.
From www.clarifyingchristianity.com

If you enjoyed that here is an article that goes into some more...
http://apologeticspress.org/articles/3159

For anyone out there seeking the truth, it's right there in the Word of God.
God has made it plain for everyone.

Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all
the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their
wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them,
because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the
world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have
been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that
men are without excuse.

Hope this helps,
KingFisher

[Literalist-Luke]

If God created the whole universe and also wrote the Bible (perhaps indirectly through people), then how come the Bible doesn't contain more scientific facts that were unknown at the time it was written?

The Bible is not a science book, yet it is scientifically accurate. I have listed statements here that are consistent with known scientific facts. Many of them were listed in the Bible hundreds or even thousands of years before being recorded elsewhere.

Statements Consistent With Paleontology

Dinosaurs are referred to in several Bible books. The book of Job describes two dinosaurs. One is described in chapter 40 starting at verse 15, and the other in chapter 41 starting at verse 1. 2 chapters about dinosaurs is a lot — especially when most people do not even realize that they are mentioned in the Bible.

Statements Consistent With Astronomy

The Bible frequently refers to the great number of stars in the heavens. Here are two examples.

Genesis 22:17
Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies.

Jeremiah 33:22
“As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.”

Even today, scientists admit that they do not know how many stars there are. Only about 3,000 can be seen with the naked eye (away from a city). There have been estimates of 10-to-the-21st-power stars. (That’s a one followed by 21 zeroes. It’d be nice to get a check in the mail for that amount, huh?) The number of grains of sand on the earth’s seashores is estimated to be 10-to-the-25th-power. As scientists discover more stars, wouldn’t it be interesting to discover that these two numbers match? How could the ancient Biblical author have known the two numbers were even that close? They didn’t even know about the American continents’ existence yet, much less be able to accurately estimate the number of sand grains on even just one beach.

The Bible also says that each star is unique.

1 Corinthians 15:41
There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

Most stars look alike to the naked eye. Even when seen through a telescope, they seem to be just points of light. However, optical analysis of their light spectra reveals that each is unique and different from all others. How could somebody know about this before telescopes were even invented, not to mention spectral analysis technology?

The Bible describes the precision of movement in the universe.

Jeremiah 31:35,36
Thus says the Lord,
Who gives the sun for a light by day,
The ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night,
Who disturbs the sea,
And its waves roar
(The Lord of hosts is His name):
“If those ordinances depart
From before Me, says the LORD,
Then the seed of Israel shall also cease
From being a nation before Me forever.”

The Bible describes the suspension of the Earth in space, long before the ancient Greeks began theorizing that the earth is round and even longer before Copernicus published his “On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres”, the first serious consideration that the earth is not the center of our solar system.

Job 26:7
He stretches out the north over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.

The Bible described the shape of the earth centuries before people thought that the earth was spherical.

Isaiah 40:22
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,
And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.
The word translated “circle” here is the Hebrew word chuwg which is also translated “circuit,” or “compass” (depending on the context). That is, it indicates something spherical, rounded, or arched—not something that is flat or square.

The book of Isaiah was written sometime between 740 and 680 BC. This is at least 300 years before Aristotle suggested that the earth might be a sphere in this book “On the Heavens”.

This brings up an important historical note related to this topic. Many people are aware of the conflict between Galileo and the Roman Catholic Pope, Paul V. After publishing “A Dialogue on the Two Principal Systems of the World”, Galileo was summoned to Rome, where he was forced to renounce his findings. (At that time, “theologians” of the Roman Catholic Church maintained that the Earth was the center of the universe, and to assert otherwise was considered heretical.)

There is no place in the Bible that claims that the Earth is flat, or that it is the center of the universe. (Note: References to the “ends of the earth” in the Bible are consistently used in a metaphorical sense and nothing to do with the Bible taking a stance that the earth is flat.) History shows that this conflict, which took place at the time of the Inquisition, was part of a power struggle. As a result, scientific and biblical knowledge became casualties—an effect we still feel to this day.

Statements Consistent With Physics
The Bible suggests the presence of nuclear processes like those we associate with nuclear weaponry. This is certainly not something that could have been explained in 67 AD using known scientific principles (when Peter wrote the following verse).


2 Peter 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.


The television is a practical (if not always worthwhile ) device that uses electromagnetic waves (which transmit its video signal). The Bible contains passages that describe something like television—something that allows everyone on earth see a single event. (Note: such passages typically refer to the end of time. It may not be long before all of us learn for sure whether the Bible is true or not.)

Matthew 24:30
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.


Revelation 11:9-11
Then those from the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations will see their dead bodies three-and-a-half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be put into graves. And those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them, make merry, and send gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. Now after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.

Consider that the Bible was written over a period of well over 1000 years by dozens of different authors in locations as varied as the Sinai wilderness and the imperial capital city of Babylon. It was written by men who made their living as sheep herders, by kings, by priests, by tax collectors, by theologians, and more. Even with these vast differences, there is not one shred of the Bible that is in conflict with another passage. The message of the Bible is presented with complete consistency and unity throughout its pages.

Statements Consistent With Meteorology
The Bible accurately describes the circulation of the atmosphere.

Ecclesiastes 1:6
The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit.

The Bible includes principles of fluid dynamics.

Job 28:25
To establish a weight for the wind,
And apportion the waters by measure.

The fact that air has weight was proven scientifically only about 300 years ago. The relative weights of air and water are needed for the efficient functioning of the world’s hydrologic cycle, which in turn sustains life on the earth. (If you are a physics enthusiast, please ignore the omission of the terms mass, gravity, and density from this comment.)

Statements Consistent With Biology
The book of Leviticus (written prior to 1400 BC) describes the value of blood.


Leviticus 17:11
‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

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 discovered that blood circulation is the key factor in physical life—confirming what the Bible revealed 3,000 years earlier.

The Bible describes biogenesis (the development of living organisms from other living organisms) and the stability of each kind of living organism.

Genesis 1:11,12
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. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Genesis 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.

Genesis 1:25
And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

The phrase “according to its kind” occurs repeatedly, stressing the reproductive integrity of each kind of animal and plant. Today we know this occurs because all of these reproductive systems are programmed by their genetic codes in DNA.

The Bible describes the chemical nature of flesh.

Genesis 2:7
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 being.

Genesis 3:19
In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread ‘till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken; For dust you are, and to dust you shall return.


It is a proven fact that a person’s mental and spiritual health is strongly correlated with physical health. The Bible revealed this to us with these statements (and others) written by King Solomon about 950 BC.

Proverbs 12:4
An excellent wife is the crown of her husband,
But she who causes shame is like rottenness in his bones.

Proverbs 14:30
A sound heart is life to the body,
But envy is rottenness to the bones.

Proverbs 15:30
The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
And a good report makes the bones healthy.

Proverbs 16:24
Pleasant words are like a honeycomb,
Sweetness to the soul and health to the bones.

Proverbs 17:22
A merry heart does good, like medicine,
But a broken spirit dries the bones.

Statements Consistent With Anthropology
We have cave paintings and other evidence that people inhabited caves. The Bible also describes cave men.

Job 30:5,6
They were driven out from among men,
They shouted at them as at a thief.
They had to live in the clefts of the valleys,
In caves of the earth and the rocks.

Note that these were not ape-men, but descendants of those who scattered from Babel. They were driven from the community by those tribes who competed successfully for the more desirable regions of the earth. Then for some reason they deteriorated mentally, physically, and spiritually. (Go into a bad part of your town and you will see this concept in action today.)

[ServantofTruth]

Science teacher - most people find 929 chapters in the Old Testament and 260 in the New Testament a huge book. Now you consider how many books you studied to get the level you are at. Consider how big the bible would have to be to include all your knowledge.

Now think of all the different sciences/ fields of specalism and what would satisfy each of those experts - to prove God knew more than them. Then do the logical quick calculation for everyother area of human knowledge to satisfy every human being.

Your error, i believe, is that you want a bible targeted at you and to decide what goes in. Sorry you only get the first! The bible is targeted straight at YOU. It is perfect to explain all God wishes us to know in this life/ body - mainly but not exclusively - that he sent his son Jesus Christ so You personally can have your sins forgiven and enter the kingdom/ have eternal life.

Let's share just one verse please.

John 3:17 God did not send his Son into the world to condem its people. He sent him to save them!

We can read the bible like a text book and remain unaffected. Or it can bring us to tears as it makes us realise our many sins and how God lovingly always from the begining had a plan to reconcile us to him.

God has a right to condem us. He could have sent Jesus Christ on just that mission. Instead he loved us so much, that he gave his only Son, to save us.

It is certainly not bad to study God's creation and teach the wonderful things you discover. But never forget the 'hands' that threw stars into space. Love SofTy.

[Sold Out]

alone.

Why is that? Why didn't God describe his creation in any significant detail?

There's so much more to the creation story than you can discern on the surface. If you want, I can email you the book of Genesis from my pastor's study bible. It will blow your mind. Just PM me your email address.

[moonglow]

http://www.forerunner.com/forerunner...cientific.html
Scientific Accuracy of the Bible
David M. Skjaerlund

http://www.carm.org/issues/science.htm
Christianity and Science

Its hard to read the bible and not see the science in it...


God bless

[DanDMan64]

If God created the whole universe and also wrote the Bible (perhaps indirectly through people), then how come the Bible doesn't contain more scientific facts that were unknown at the time it was written?

Genesis talks of the firmament and the greater light and the lesser light, etc. But what if Genesis read something like this: "And God made the spiral galaxies and the elliptical galaxies, and at the center of each he put a large black hole. And in these galaxies God made billions of stars and clouds of dust and gas and dark matter to bind them together. And God saw that it was good."

I realize that there weren't words for concepts like galaxies when the Bible was written, but surely God could have either described them or coined the terms.

I would find such a Bible to be a lot more convincing. If it described the universe accurately before humans had the technology to observe it, that would be saying something about the knowledge and power of the author. As it is now, I don't see anything in the Bible that couldn't have been written by humans and humans alone.

Why is that? Why didn't God describe his creation in any significant detail?

Hello there Science Teacher, by now you have received enough information from other members here to show that in fact there is a lot more "science" in the Bible that perhaps you were aware of, so I'm not going to add any more to what has already been said, but I will address your question from a different stand point.

In my experience, most "non Christians" wouldn't have a problem with the Bible even if it didn't declare in any way that the universe we live in was created by "a god", if it didn't seek to impart a set of rules or morals on people, that those who were created by that god were expected to abide by in order to be "at peace" with that god. In other words, if God had a "whatever" kind of attitude and just let people do whatever they wanted, they wouldn't have a problem with Him/Her.

However, because God is not a "whatever" type of God, and has rules, and has morals, and values, and rightfully demands that we, His creatures, His children, abide by those rules, and morals, and values, and has revealed to us what those are in a book which also declares among other things that He was in fact our Creator, then people do have a problem with it.

And because they have a problem with it, they figure that by discrediting the Bible and dismissing it as just a fable, and making light of any scientific statements that it makes as "not real science" but only statement of faith, then they can get rid of God altogether and be free to live in anarchy and not be held accountable to no god for anything.

My point being that even if the Bible did have, say, four times more science in it that it currently does, still there would always be some "school teacher" somewhere saying, "but that's not enough, I need more proof." So the way I see it, there is just enough science there, and prophesy, and art, and philosophy, and what ever you want to find there, to let you know that THERE IS A GOD that loves us and wants us to get to know Him in a personal way, even if it is by faith. But those who chose to ignore all that will continue to ignore it no matter what, because they don't like the idea of giving-up control to someone else, basically the "rebel" attitude I would say.

Besides, science is knowledge, and if everybody knew everything, there would be no need for teachers would it? I think science is fun, and what makes it fun is the discovery of the secrets, wouldn't you agree?

[dljc]

Hi ST!


Just some things for you to ponder.

John 1:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 21:
24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.

25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.

If we knew everything He ever did, the world would be full of books. More than we have now. Would you have time to read every one before you died?

[BroRog]

In my experience, those who write history are left with a choice of what to leave in and what to take out of their treatise. The purpose and theme of the work informs the choice as the author edits out what is unnecessary superfluous detail, leaving in the text ideas that help the reader understand the central theme and the significant moments that develop the theme.

The Genesis account of creation, in my opinion, is purposefully brief and succinct because the purpose is to show God's relationship to his creation and especially his relationship to men and women. It's enough to make the point to map out the act of creation in general, broad-brush strokes without going into specific detail about the process. The author of Genesis isn't trying to give us a recipe for how to create a universe. Rather, his purpose is to define our existence in terms of where we came from and to whom we relate as creature to creator.

Thus, the initial passages of Genesis become the "establishing shot" for the rest of the account of God's purpose for human kind. As the book progresses, it moves from the universe, to the earth, to human kind, to a family, to a person, the scope of the book moving from the "cosmopolitan" to the "parochial", so to speak.

I believe the biology, the astronomy, the physics, and etc. of the Bible will prove to be true and accurate within the precision required to make the points it wants to make. If the Bible describes the physical world, it only does so as a secondary, not a primary point.

[markedward]

If God created the whole universe and also wrote the Bible (perhaps indirectly through people), then how come the Bible doesn't contain more scientific facts that were unknown at the time it was written?

Because it's not a science book.

...

It's a book on the relationship between God and mankind (and sometimes God and individual men). It's not the same thing as The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy or Wikipedia, though many people assume as much.

[tango]

Why is that? Why didn't God describe his creation in any significant detail?

You've had lots of good answers already about the level of science there is in the Bible if you only look for it.

Another thing to think about is that God wanted his word to be available to us thousands of years down the line. For the word given to mankind to be preserved for so long it had to be something that the people of the day could see as relevant, in other words something that they could understand and accept as a useful text to keep.

The people of the day could see the stars in the sky, but didn't know how many there were and wouldn't have known anything about them at all. So all they needed to know was "God created the stars". If the early words given to Moses had gone into great detail about spiral galaxies, black holes, supernovae etc it is entirely possible that somewhere along the line someone would have regarded it as gibberish and not bothered keeping it.

Now our understanding of science is so much greater we can see just how much detail was known during Biblical times, despite the fact we didn't scientifically prove it for thousands of years. So even here we can see evidence of God's hand at work.

[TrustGzus]

Hey ST,

As Tango, said, there's been lots of decent replies. I'll echo one thing and state something I haven't seen (maybe someone said it and I overlooked it).

The one thing people said that I want to echo is that it's not a science book or text book. That's not its goal. Frankly, out of the general populace how many would want to read a religious science text book. However, as others have pointed out, it touches science at points.

The point I'd like to add is that if it were as scientifically accurate in regard to things discovered in this century, while that might be good for you, it might have caused people prior to that to reject it. Some truths we know now, if they were just stated as fact to people 2500 years ago, they would see it as science fiction. So a Bible that was very detailed in scientific issues could actually cause people prior to the discoveries to reject the Bible as ridiculous.

Try writing a text book that people in 1500 B.C. could accept along with people from 2000 A.D. and all agree that it's valid.

Grace & peace to you,

Joe