Did you know the Bible is full of scientific facts that even predate all the fields of science?
Physics says that the whole universe is made up of four things; time, space, matter, and energy. This is something that even Albert Einstein believed in and was even his foundation for his theory of relativity. But he was not the first person to write about this. Genesis 1:1-3 says:
- 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- 2 And the earth was waste and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep: and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
- 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
The very first thing the Bible says in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. So what right? When the Bible says "in the beginning" it is talking about time. Before the creation there was no time. He created the heavens (space), and the earth (matter). Then later God created light. Light is a form of energy. So the Bible has proven the ideas of Einstein, or maybe Einstein has given scientific validity to the Bible.
Geology says that the all the world's land masses were once connected called Pangaea. If you look at any map of the world you could see how that works. Move Africa and South America closer and closer and you can see how the pieces of the puzzle fits. Alfred Wegener was the first person to have a complete study done on this topic. But he was not the first person to actually write this idea down. Genesis 1:9-10 says:
- 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
- 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.
Still in the same passage as the ones above Genesis explains the beginnings of the tectonic plate theory. The whole world was one land mass. Now, how we got to seven continents is where science and the Bible may disagree but remember which one explained it first. History says that usually the first source is the best source. And the Bible says the world was flooded by an underground fountain (the deep) and also rain from the atmosphere. If the water burst through the ground that would leave voids and breaks in the plates allowing them to slide and collide. Water is the most destructive force upon the earth, worse than wind or fire. Water would change the landscape and God would do the rest.
Physics also says that light travels. Again, another idea of Einstein who borrowed the ideas of Ole Roemer, a Danish astronomer in 1675. James Maxwell from Scotland then discovered that light moves as a wave. And that this movement is constant. Light is a form of energy and moves at a constant rate. Were these people the first to write this idea down? No. Job 38:19-20 says:
- 19 Where is the way to the dwelling of light? And darkness, where is its place,
- 20 That you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home?
Light has a path? Light has a home? Yes, because if you go back to the 3rd verse of the whole Bible God created the light. It had a beginning and has been moving ever since. The home of light is from God. The light spiritually speaking is Jesus. He is the beginning. It comes form Him.
Geography (and satellites) tells us the earth is round. Well, duh, we can see that now. But many people from the past, and some may have been believers, had thought the earth was flat. But, that was mostly a theory by seafarers and not the average person. But that's not the point. Galileo and Copernicus were two scientists who first started to publish their ideas about this topic. Unfortunately, there were many religious leaders who denied this claim and punished Galileo and they were wrong to do so. If the religious leaders really knew what the Bible said Galileo may have made even more discoveries. But was he the first to write this all down? No. Job 26:7-10 says:
- 7 He stretches out the north over empty space and hangs the earth on nothing.
- 8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds, and the cloud does not burst under them.
- 9 He obscures the face of the full moon and spreads His cloud over it.
- 10 He has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters at the boundary of light and darkness.
There was a circle on the surface of the waters. This circle is referring to the rest of the earth and its atmosphere. The boundary of light and darkness shows the separation between the atmosphere of the earth and the rest of space. But what about the earth's location compared to the rest of the universe? Verse 7 says the earth hangs on nothing. Sure sounds like space. And later on in Job it even names two specific stars, Pleiades and Orion.
Chemistry says that all matter has weight and mass. Mendeleev put together our first periodic table labeling the elements in order of mass in 1869. He claimed all elements had an atomic weight based on protons and neutrons. Even air, or oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen if you will. Was he the first to say that air has mass? No. Job 28:25 says:
- 25 When He imparted weight to the wind and meted out the waters by measure
God gave weight to air and He set the gases into motion. We all know from meteorology and Frances Galton in the 1860's that air masses move in two patterns; high pressure systems and low pressure systems. One moves clockwise, the other moves counter clockwise. Was he the first to say this? No. Are you seeing a pattern here? Ecclesiastes 1:6 says:
- 6 Blowing toward the south, then turning toward the north, the wind continues swirling along; and on its circular courses the wind returns.
Oceanography says the ocean currents moves in circular patterns such as clockwise and counterclockwise. called sea currents. Well guess what? Psalms 8:8 says:
- 8 The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.
The seas have paths. Matthew Maury in 1825 discovered this. But not before the Bible mentions it.
There is even more that can be added, such as the Bible stating there are physical laws of the universe, explains the 2nd law of thermodynamics, that we are in a 3 dimensional existence, there are seasonal changes, and last but not least even explains the big bang. Genesis 1:1 says that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. But where and from what? The answers are from somewhere in His power and from nothing. All of a sudden there was light, time, matter, space, motion, energy, laws, everything we know...from nothing, hence a big bang.
And get this, most of this is found in the Old Testament in either Genesis or Job, the two oldest books written. Almost 3500 years before Newton wrote his laws. Before any field of science was developed. Before we knew anything about the stars and gravitational pulls God had already written down or explained these things to us. All we need to use is trust the Bible is real because if it isn't then neither is science. So the answer to the title question is the Bible, but don't exclude science.
