FROM airplanes and atom bombs to genetically manipulated cells and the cloning of sheep, our 20th century has been an age dominated by science. Scientists have landed men on the moon, eradicated smallpox, revolutionized agriculture, and brought instant, worldwide communication to billions. So, it is not surprising that when scientists speak, people listen. But what, if anything, do scientists have to say about the Bible? And what, in turn, does the Bible tell us about science?
Are Miracles Unscientific?
“Scientifically minded people believe in a ‘cause-and-effect’ relationship. They feel there is a perfectly natural explanation for everything,” states a contemporary encyclopedia. Students of the Bible also accept established scientific principles. They recognize, however, that the Bible often discusses miraculous events that cannot be explained scientifically according to present knowledge. Examples are the sun standing still in Joshua’s day and Jesus’ walking on water. (Joshua 10:12, 13; Matthew 14:23-34) However, these miracles are presented as resulting from God’s power acting in a supernatural way.
This point is crucial. If the Bible asserted that people can walk on water without divine assistance or that the sun’s apparent motion across the sky can be interrupted for no reason, it might seem to contradict scientific facts. However, when it attributes such events to God’s power, it does not so much contradict science as lead the discussion into an area where science cannot yet follow.
Does the Bible Contradict Science?
On the other hand, what of those instances where the Bible discusses ordinary events in people’s lives or speaks in passing of plants, animals, or natural phenomena? Interestingly, there is no proved example of the Bible contradicting known scientific facts in such cases when the context of the remarks is taken into account.
For instance, the Bible often uses poetic language that reflects the perceptions of people living thousands of years ago. When the book of Job speaks of Jehovah beating or forging the skies “hard like a molten mirror,” it well describes the skies as a metal mirror that gives off a bright reflection. (Job 37:18) There is no need to take the illustration literally, any more than you would the illustration of the earth having “socket pedestals” or a “cornerstone.”—Job 38:4-7.
This is important because numerous commentators have taken such illustrations at face value. (See 2 Samuel 22:8; Psalm 78:23, 24.) They have concluded that the Bible teaches something like the following, quoted from The Anchor Bible Dictionary.
“The earth on which humanity dwells is seen as a round, solid object, perhaps a disk, floating upon a limitless expanse of water. Paralleling this lower body of water is a second, similarly limitless, above, from which water descends in the form of rain through holes and channels piercing the heavenly reservoir. The moon, sun, and other luminaries are fixed in a curved structure which arches over the earth. This structure is the familiar ‘firmament’ (rāqîa‛) of the priestly account.”
Clearly, this picture disagrees with modern science. But is this a fair assessment of the Bible’s teaching regarding the heavens? Not at all. The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia states that such descriptions of the Hebrew universe are “in reality based more upon the ideas prevalent in Europe during the Dark Ages than upon any actual statements in the O[ld] T[estament].” Where did those medieval ideas come from? As David C. Lindberg explains in The Beginnings of Western Science, they were largely based on the cosmology of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, whose works were the basis of much medieval learning.
It would have been pointless and distracting for God to couch the Bible in language that would appeal to a 20th-century scientist. Instead of scientific formulas, the Bible comes alive with vivid illustrations taken from the everyday life of the people who first wrote them down—images that crackle with timeless power even today.—Job 38:8-38; Isaiah 40:12-23.
Knowledge From a Higher Source
Interestingly, however, some Biblical references do appear to reflect scientific knowledge that was not available to people living at that time. Job describes God as “stretching out the north over the empty place, hanging the earth upon nothing.” (Job 26:7) The idea of the earth being suspended “upon nothing” was far different from the myths of most ancient peoples, who placed it upon elephants or sea turtles. The Mosaic Law contains requirements for hygiene far in advance of the medical knowledge of the time. Regulations for the quarantine of people suspected of having leprosy and the prohibition against touching dead people doubtless saved many Israelite lives. (Leviticus 13; Numbers 19:11-16) In sharp contrast, the medical practices of the Assyrians are described as “a mixture of religion, divination, and demonology” and included treatments with dog dung and human urine.
As one might expect from a book inspired by the Creator, the Bible contains scientifically accurate information clearly ahead of its time, though it never gets bogged down in scientific explanations that would have been meaningless or confusing to ancient people. The Bible contains nothing that contradicts known scientific facts. On the other hand, the Bible contains much that disagrees with unproved theories, such as the theory of evolution.
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