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Chapter 5: The Bible and Science
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 (1John 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).
©1999 United Church of God, an International Associtaion
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