@Adam Bing,
Why should anyone believe in the truths of the Bible and the self professed statement contained therein that states, "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works"? (2 Tim. 2:16-17).
HOW ABOUT THE SCIENTIFIC FOREKNOWLEDGE IN THE BIBLE.....of things that man did not even consider to be facts until hundreds and sometimes thousands of years in the future. Here a few examples of such foreknowledge and the fact that they are true, even though they were written hundreds of years before man even considered them.
Psalm 147:5 says, "Great is our Lord, and of great power; his understanding is infinite."
God indeed is the God of all knowledge and his knowledge is infinite. While the Bible is designed to reveal spiritual truths, it sometimes deals in scientific facts. Where it comments on those facts, we can expect it to be correct because of God's infinite understanding. While man's knowledge of science has been rather limited until just recent years, the Bible' handling of scientific facts is accurate despite man's ignorance.
Here are but a few of the scientific facts that was written with foreknowledge of man wisdom and ability to comprehend.
The water cycle (Ecclesiastes 1:7) states, "All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again." This is the basic understanding of the modern "water cycle". Waters from rivers flow into the ocean. The Mississippi alone dumps 6,052,500 gallons of water per second into the Gulf of Mexico. Yet the sea is not full. The ocean evaporates. Water returns to the land in the form of clouds. The water returns to the rivers in the form of precipitation, the idea of a complete water cycle. This idea was not developed by the scientific community until the 16th and 17th century. First proposed by Pierre Perrault and Edme Mariotte. Just how could the writers of the Bible know 2000 years prior to this scientific work?
Noha's ark (Genesis 6).....the size and design of the ark was as such, 300 cubits long by 50 cubits wide by 30 cubits high. This would be a ratio of 30 to 5 to 3. It was about 450ft long by the conservative estimate of using a cubit....the length from a man's elbow to the end of his outstretched fingertips. It was the largest sea going vessel ever recorded prior to 1885. In "modern" shipbuilding we find that in 1844 Isambard K. Brunnel built the "Great Britian". It's dimension as measured by the best engr's available at that time to be perfect for the open seas....30 to 5 to 3. These dimensions are 'perfect' for a seaworthy vessel. Shipbuilders during the 2nd world war used these dimensions to build battle ships. Just how did Noah gain insight to have the perfect dimensions for such a large vessel considering, he had no previous experience upon which to draw as his design was the first and "only" design before modern times?
The Springs of the Sea and Recesses of the Deep (Job 38:16)....God told Job, "Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the search of the depths?" Modern science now maps these underwater geographical features as Oceanographic maps show springs in the ocean. How could the writer of the book know? They had no instruments, equipment, or devices to discover such. The recesses/trenches of the deep, were never considered until just in recent years as they believed the oceans to be quite shallow. Today, we know that the Atlantic and Pacific oceans have trenches in them. How could the writers have known in Biblical times of such without the means to discover such?
Mans life is in the Blood (Levitcus 17:11-14)....Moses wrote to the children of Israel that the life of the flesh was in the blood. This is "literally" true. Our blood carries oxygen, removes waste, carries nutrients and many other things that sustain man's life. Yet, in this nation the men and women who founded this country thought that men could be cured from disease by bleeding them. Many died from bleeding to death, not having enough blood to sustain their own life. Yet the answer was in Leviticus all the time. How did Moses know of such things?
The Bible proclaims in Genesis 3:15 that women has a "seed". In past years many Doctors thought that the woman was no more than an "incubator" for the seed of man. We know today that man's sperm just contributes to the fertile process of a woman's "egg".
The prohibition of eating certain foods mandated by Law (Deuteronomy 14:8).....The Israelites were forbidden to eat the flesh of swine. This was one of their dietary laws. Pigs indeed are scavengers; they eat just about anything they come across. In doing so they pick up different organisms that are pathogens toward man. Trichinella spiralis, which is the cause of trichjinosis. The tapeworm Taenis solium. The parasite Echinococcus granulosis, which causes tumors in the liver and lungs. Uncooked pig flesh can be very harmful to people. The Mosaic dietary restrictions were remarkable in their preventative abilities. How did Moses know to compile such a list of dietary restrictions of preventative powers?
The Burial of human waste (Deuteronomy 12:12-14)....the common practice of the people before the law was given was to just throw the waste into the street or elsewhere that one could find. We know that such unsanitary acts was one of the factors that led to the great bubonic plague outbreak that nearly wiped out Europe, as this attacked vermin that carried the fleas that spread the disease. Today there are strict laws that cover such in every modern society on earth, but Moses knew that many years prior to modern man gaining this knowledge. How?
Circumcision (Genesis 17:12)....God commanded circumcision to be on the 8th day after birth, why not sooner or later? It now has been shown that it is on the 8th day that a child starts developing Vitamin K, which incidentally starts the process in the blood of starting to develop platelets or that part of the blood which causes wounds to clot. If that vitamin was not present, then the child would bleed to death. But it is on this day "exactly" that the level of the vitamin is naturally the highest due to the action of naturally occurring bacteria in the intestinal tract. It is on that day that God said to circumcise. Kind'a handy for someone that is going to have open surgery to have the ability for ones blood to clot, is it not? How would Abraham have known this? He could not, only the creator of all life could have known such at that time.
There are many more items that we could show and talk about, but these few should be sufficient to show that when the Bible states scientific facts that they are accurate even when man's knowledge of such things is deficient. RD
