Scientific Facts and Principles in the Bible

FACTS OF ASTRONOMY

The field of astronomy is one of our most ancient disciples. It has only been within the last century, however, that our technology has allowed close observation of our environment in space. As recently as the 15th century man was not even sure that the Earth was round, and the last planet to be discovered was found in the early 1930s. In spite of all this the Bible is completely accurate in its description of the Earth and its orientation in space. In the space below are some of the facts of astronomy that can be found in the pages of God's Word.

Scientific Fact or Principle	Bible Passage
The Earth is round	Isa. 40:22; Prov. 8:27
Day and Night occur simultaneously on the earth	Luke 17:34
The Earth is suspended by force-nothing physical. Hindus say four elephants; and Greeks said a man, Atlas.	Job 26:7
The North is empty. The north pole of the Earth points out of our galaxy, where there is nothing but empty space.	Job 26:7
Space is too large to be measured or the stars to be counted. Number of known galaxies is over a billion, with over 100 billion stars in each galaxy.	Gen. 15:5; Jer. 33:22
Stars give off interpretable frequencies other than light. All stars give off mechanical shock waves in the audio part of the spectrum.	Job 38:7
The Earth was in a nebulous form early in its creation.	Gen. 1:2
Dust is important to our survival as a shield in our upper atmosphere	Isa. 40:12; Prov. 8:26
Air has weight.	Job. 28:25
Light can be parted into colors.	Job 38:24
Constellations possess force and influence on other objects in space.	Job 38:31
The continents have floated away from each other.	Gen. 1:9; 10:25
Arcturus and other stars move through space.	Job 38:32
Sunlight and moonlight did not get to the surface of the Earth until sometime after the beginning of Creation.	Gen. 1:14-16
Matter is made up of invisible particles.	Rom. 1:20; Heb. 11:3
The Earth has four topographic highs or "corners."	Rev. 7:1
The oceans have natural lanes in them, which are used for shipping to this day.Matthew Maury discovered them by reading the Bible and searching for them.	Psalm 8:8
The age of everything in our galaxy is the same.	Gen. 1:1

Many of these ideas are quite subtle, and many of them might be accidental; but the point needs to be kept in mind that there are no Biblical statements, which contradict scientific fact. A further excellent resource is Kenny Barfield's book, Why the Bible is Number One.

The Medical Accuracy of the Bible

A good source of information on this subject is S. I. McMillen's None of These Diseases. The Medical book of the Egyptians was a book called "Payrus Ebers," written about 1552 B.C. The following are quotes from this book, which represent the knowledge of medicine in Moses' time:
"To prevent hair from turning gray, anoint it with the blood of a black calf which has been boiled in oil, or with the fat of a rattlesnake."
"When hair falls out, one remedy is to apply a mixture of six fats, namely those of the horse, the hippopotamus, the crocodile, the cat, the snake, and the ibex. To strengthen it, anoint with the tooth of a donkey crushed in honey."
"To remove embedded splinters apply worm's blood and asses' dung."

Now let's consider some Biblical statements related to medicine and sanitation.

Scientific Fact or Principle	Bible Passage
Blood is necessary for life to exist.	Lev. 17:11-14
Both man and woman possess the seed of life	Gen. 3:15; 22:18
Eating the blood of animals is not a good practice.	Lev. 17:12,14
Eating an animal that died naturally is dangerous.	Lev. 17:15
How to diagnose leprosy.	Lev. 13
The principles of quarantine to cure contagious disease.	Lev. 13-15 (13:46)
The wisdom in not eating certain animals that carry disease.	Lev. 11
Circumcision of males should be done eight days after birth. They would bleed uncontrollably if done sooner.	Gen. 17:12
Principles of bacterial contamination from person to person and how to avoid this contamination.	Lev. 15:19-33
Certain insects can be eaten safely.	Lev. 11:22
The human body can be opened for surgery.	Gen. 2:21
Human waste products should be buried.	Deut. 23:12-14
Burning, washing of self and clothes after coming in contact with possible diseased animal or man.	Num. 19:5-22
The seeds of plants cannot be contaminated by contact with diseased animals.	Lev. 11:37

There are other principles found in Scripture. God gave Israel a system of hygiene that not only distinguished them from their neighbors but also prevented the diseases and plagues of their day. A number of these practices are still used today, and none have been shown wrong. Isn't this quite a record for a man who studied the "Papyrus Ebers"? God inspired Moses and gave him wisdom unavailable otherwise.

How Did the Bible Writers Know These Scientific Principles?

How did the Bible writers know these things centuries before science discovered them? The answer is that God told them.

Scientific Fact or Principle	Date Discovered	Scripture
There is a place void of stars in the North	19th Century	Job 26:7
Earth is held in place by invisible forces	1650	Job 26:7
The earth is round.	15th Century	Isa. 40:22
Day and night occur simultaneously on earth	15th Century	Luke 17:30-35
Early diagnosis of leprosy	17th Century	Lev. 13
Quarantine of Disease Control	17th Century	Lev. 13:1-46
Blood of animals carries disease.	17th Century	Lev. 17:13-14
Blood necessary for survival of life	19th Century	Lev. 17:11
Oceans have natural paths in them.	1854	Psa. 8:8
Most seaworthy ship design is 30:5:3 ratio	1860	Gen. 6
Radio astronomy (stars give off signals)	1945	Job 38:7
Oceans contain fresh water springs	1920	Job 38:16
Infinite number of stars	1940	Gen. 15:5
Air has weight.	16th Century	Job 28:25
Matter is made up of invisible particles	20th Century	Heb. 11:3
Arcturus and other stars move through space	19th Century	Job 38:32
Water cycle	17th Century	Eccl. 1:7
Man was the last living being created	15th Century	Gen. 1