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Author
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Topic: The Bible and Science
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Eduardo Grequi
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Member # 3984
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When scientific minds clash. Last night at work in the hospital, I heard an heated discussion between a Doctor of Medicine (MD if you will) and a Doctor of Divinity (Rev Dr. if you will). It was so funny but serious. The Doctor was commenting why don't people do what I say, and the Chaplain, why don't people do what I preached to them. And then came this lady probably about 100 yrs old and told them both "The God who created you Doctor is the same God who created the Rev Dr. but you two how long has it been since you prayed to the Lord in your closets. The MD said, I believe in Science and the Reverend said, I have to call my mom. The old lady was a World War I retired nurse who was married to a retired physician who went on to be a baptiste minister. That old lady name is Teresa Marie Burkett, She was my patient. When I was walking past the little chapel, I saw the Doctor praying and Chaplain blessing him- Go figure Science and the Bible.
Posts: 771 | From: Belvidere, IL | Registered: Oct 2004
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Eduardo Grequi
Advanced Member
Member # 3984
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posted
I have been enrolled in a Post Graduate Diploma Program from this school and I just thought I would sure this subject and along with the study of the book of Jude.- Eduardo Grequi
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Bible And Science 1
What Is The Current Status Of The Assumed Bible/Science Conflict ?
Dr. Johnson C. Philip
Lesson 1
The Problem
Everyone knows that we are living in a period of explosively growing scientific knowledge. Tens of thousands of scientific journals are published all over the world to report scientific discoveries. In spite of this large number, these publications are struggling under the weight of information sent for publication.
SCIENCE is the result of man's quest for truth. The dazzling performance of science and the resulting technology has made science a synonym for truth in our generation. Many have been quick to use this atmosphere to attack the Bible in the name of science. These people claim that Christians have always been anti-scientific.
An example quoted frequently is that of Galileo Galilee. The Church forced him to renounce his scientific discoveries. This, they claim, is an example of the "warfare" between Bible and Science. Further, many of them claim that the twentieth century science has completely disproved the Bible, and that the theory of evolution has completely negated the possibility of creation.
Most people don't know that many arguments brought against Bible or Christianity are artificially forged by people interested in discrediting Bible. Even in the case of Galileo, many historians of science have demonstrated that, it was the scientific and political community that punished him. The reason was pure professional jealousy that was aggravated by Galileo's uncontrolled sarcastic speeches and writings. The Bible was an innocent victim in this drama.
The Historical Background:Attacks directed against the Bible are not new. Since this is the only book in the world that teaches the total depravity of man -- who cannot in any way save himself -- this book has received much opposition for thousands of years. However, this opposition gained momentum only in the last two hundred years.
A key factor that united the critics is the Theory Of Evolution. The opposition was divided before Darwin proposed his theory, but his hypothesis gave them a common ground to come together. This coming together had a snowball effect with each anti-Bible movement strengthening the other. Today thousands of organizations and publications around the world are devoted to some kind of attack or other against the Bible. This is the reason why even in the most unlikely place you keep hearing that "Science has discredited the Bible". It is only a propaganda, and not a fact, and you will discover that as you continue with this course.
Present Situation Of The Attacks:The Theory Of Evolution has infiltrated education systems all over the world. This hypothesis is being taught as a fact in schools at an ever earlier stage. Almost all textbooks -- science, commerce, humanities -- have been written with this theory serving as the foundation.
Rationalist and atheistic organizations and publications have come up everywhere. More and more influential writers and thinkers are spreading the message. Various movements, even if not directly teaching atheism, are joining hands with atheistic philosophies for their selfish goals.
The world of knowledge (research, publications, textbooks) and the world of communication (periodicals, radio, TV, movies) are now dominated by these people. They aggressively use their authority and position to propagate their views, but do not allow anyone else to present the other side.
Young people brought up in this atmosphere know only one side of the picture -- that science and evolution have discredited the Bible. They are never told that there is another side to this picture -- a shocking one indeed. They are never shown the two sides and therefore they are deprived from choosing the one that better fits the facts.
Response of Christians: The situation definitely needs a response from Christians. After all, when there is such an aggression against them, they cannot remain silent. Over the years, the community has split up into three groups.
One group of Christians continues in their commitment to the Bible with no question whatsoever about its reliability. They were never affected by all this noise, and they have never tried to see any of the sides. They are not at all interested in the question and therefore they lead quite stable lives. However, they have one handicap -- usually they are unable to help or sympathize with another believer who might be struggling with these problems.
The second group consists of those people who have clearly understood that both sides stand upon conflicting grounds. But they are not interested in studying the subject further. They usually take refuge behind statements like, "scientists teach evolution while Bible teaches creation. I believe in the Bible." This is spiritual escapism, and these people -- due to their awareness of the real conflict -- remain in a perpetual state of tension. After all, no person can continue to believe peacefully in two mutually conflicting ideas. When a seeker approaches this kind of a person, he is told to behave in the same way -- run away from your problems, lest it start troubling both of us.
The third group consists of seekers. They don't want to run away. They want to know the truth. They believe that knowing the truth will only strengthen them and make them more secure in their faith. Usually they are able to find a believer or writer who belongs to this very group -- sometimes in the past these people struggled with their faith, then saw both the sides, evaluated them, made their choices, and are now fully assured about their stand. These people, since they intimately know the emotions of a searching soul, are able both to sympathize with the inquirer and also to guide them in their quest for truth.
The Purpose Of This Course: This course has been prayerfully prepared by people in the third category mentioned above. Scholars and researchers all over the world have spent hundreds of thousands of hours in experimental, theoretical, and library research into the relationship between Bible/Science/Evolution. Enough course material is available today to offer University level Bachelors to Doctorate level courses. But since most people are interested only in knowing what is just sufficient for their needs, we are offering this brief six-lesson course for them. If this does not meet your needs, we can always guide you to more advanced courses, books, and library-research.
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Lesson 2
What Is Science ?
Right from the beginning of this study you should understand the difference between science and technology. Science deals with the study of the physical world while technology deals with application of scientific knowledge. For example, studying the effect of combustion is science, while using internal combustion to make cars is technology. Technology can sometimes make great progress without understanding the underlying scientific principles.
Many ancient civilizations made tremendous progress in their technology -- this includes the ancient Egyptians, Chinese, and the Indians. The incredible constructions left by the ancient Mayas, Incas, and Aztecs surprises everyone even today. But very few of these civilizations developed sciences. Many are amazed that those who developed technology failed to develop science.
The present-day science is hardly four hundred years old. Historians of science have repeatedly pointed out that the present-day science has its roots in the Protestant Reformation. A few hundred years ago some Protestant church fathers, because of their biblical convictions, formed the first society dedicated to promote systematic investigation of Nature. This became the model for all Royal Societies and other institutions devoted to the spread of science.
This history in itself is sufficient to tell any a sincere inquirer that modern science is the offspring of people's commitment to Bible. If Bible gave birth to modern scientific activities, it is inconceivable that this activity would in turn refute the Bible.
What Is Science: Science is a tool developed for the systematic and objective study of nature. "Systematic" means that all facts are considered, compared to superstition where only facts supporting the superstition are taken into account. "Objective" means that scientific interpretations give no place to feelings and emotions.
Contrary to what many people believe, the opposite of 'science' is not 'faith'. Faith is an important part of science, as pointed by almost every philosopher of science. The opposite of science is 'superstition'. Superstition is a faith, but all faith is not superstition. When a student accepts Newton's laws of motion, he accepts them on faith, not based on experiments performed by him. This faith is not superstition, and this kind of faith plays an important role in the growth of science.
The aim of science is to study the physical world with the help of repetitive experiments. This repetitiveness gives it the objectivity and correctability needed to arrive at objective conclusions. Roughly speaking, scientific investigation goes on in this way :
Experiments --> Observations --> Analysis --> Deductions --> Verification -->
Further Experiments --> Refinements --> Better Deductions --> Further Study -->
Better Overall Understanding Of Nature
Experiments are performed, observations are taken, deductions are made, and these deductions are verified with the help of further experiments. Thus repetitive experimentation is the soul of scientific investigation.
If a particular subject cannot be brought to laboratory for repetitive experimentation, then studying it is beyond the scope of science. The subject might be real, but does not come under the jurisdiction of empirical sciences.
The Categories Of Information: Science aims to study nature, but this world is so complex that one has to pass through various stages of information-collection and analysis. This means that at any given time the available scientific information will be made up of different categories of information -- some fully certain and others less than certain. These categories are expressed with the help of terms like :
Hypothesis, Assumptions, Theories, Observations, Facts, Laws, Interpretations, Schools Of Opinion, Models, Deductions, Inferences, etc.
Obviously, an assumption is not as reliable as an observation, and a theory is not as reliable as a fact. And here is the crux of the matter -- we need to distinguish between types of information found in the world of science. For the sake of convenience these terms can be grouped into two broad categories : Theories of Science and Facts of Science.
THEORIES Of Science represent all that information that is not certain yet. This category of information is necessary for the development of science, but it does not represent the final truth in a particular subject. Theories of science undergo a lot of change -- very few theories survive for more than one generation. Most of them are severely modified or even thrown out soon.
FACTS Of Science represent all that information that is known with certainty. There are no exceptions to them, and they are not modified further.
At any given time, most of the prevailing scientific information is in a theoretical stage while only a small percentage represents facts. Thus, today the Second Law of Thermodynamics is a fact of science while the Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe is a theory. The Law of Biogenesis is a fact, while the Theory of Evolution (as the name itself implies) is a mere theory or assumption.
The Domain (Territory) Of Science:Every tool has a purpose. It is best utilized for that purpose within a given territory. Science is a tool designed for studying nature. It does the job very well within the territory assigned to it, but fails to do the job outside its domain.
Science was designed to study Nature -- made up of matter and energy. Repetitive experiments and observations are essential. Mass, weight, velocity, density, refractive index, and other physical quantities are measured. But if a particular reality in nature is not made up of matter or energy, and if it does not have these measurable physical quantities as its properties, then that subject cannot be studied with the help of science.
For example love is a reality. Everyone craves for love, feels fulfilled when it is obtained, and gives out love in turn. We who experience love are made up of matter and energy, but the love experienced by us is not made up of matter or energy. It has no mass, no refractive index, and no density. No scientific instrument can measure love. But this does not negate the existence of love.
One should understand very clearly that truth exists in many forms. Physical truth can be investigated through empirical sciences, but not historical truths. Historical truths are investigated with the tools of historical sciences, legal truths with the tools of legal sciences, and personal truths are investigated with the help of relational investigations.
This means that empirical sciences can examine only a few statements in the Bible. They cannot deal with a historical subject, say the historicity of Lord Jesus. That question can be examined only with the help of historical sciences. This further implies that statements like, "science has disproved the Bible" are the result of haste. One has to specify what kind of science has disproved what kind of records.
If someone claims that physics has disproved the existence of Lord Jesus, or his resurrection, he is expressing his ignorance. Physics can be used only to test things related to physics. Other types of truths need tests suitable for their own category. Considering the historicity of Lord Jesus, for example, one can claim that "historical investigations have demonstrated that Lord Jesus was/wasn't a historical person". This kind of a statement makes sense, and it can be investigated by anyone who is competent in historical sciences.
What About Bible And Science: It is clear by now that physical sciences deal only with matter and energy. Historical sciences deal with historical truths, and relational knowledge deals with things like love, hatred, anger, etc. that can be known only through relationship.
The aim of scientific investigation is to discover truth, but one does not arrive at all truth immediately through science. Instead, truth is discovered step by step and much theorizing is needed in this process.
Theories of science are a necessary part of scientific investigation, but they do not represent final or confirmed truth. Rather, a theory represents something that is not yet known for sure. Theories barely last for one generation. Most of them are modified severely or even thrown out completely.
Facts of science represent that information that is known for sure. There are no exceptions, and there is no more chance of it being modified or rejected.
This means that whenever the question of Bible and Science comes up, only the FACTS OF SCIENCE can be used in this connection. Since a theory has not permanent existence, and since a theory does not represent confirmed knowledge, it is not legitimate to use a theory to examine any statement in the Bible.
So What Is It To The Reliability Of The Bible: Intense examinations over the past five decades (by believers as well as non believers) have shown that whenever a FACT of science is used to examine the Bible, it never contradicts the Book ! NO fact of science has ever contradicted any statement of Bible.
On the other hand, NO statement of Bible has ever contradicted any fact of science. Statements of Bible are not inconsistent with the facts of science.
There is no end to the making of theories. They are necessary for the growth of science, but they do not represent definite knowledge. Many theories have come in direct conflict with the Bible, but these theories are after all only theories -- mere assumptions. Whoever in his right senses tries to contradict anything with the help of mere assumptions ? This is contrary to logic, science, and the standards laid down for legal investigation.
Only a FACT of science can be used to investigate the relationship between Bible and Science. When that is done, we find that:
Established facts of science have never contradicted any statement of the Bible, and no statement of the Bible has ever contradicted any established fact of science. Any Christian believer can silence critics with the above information -- simple yet having serious implications for anyone who wishes to think objectively about the Bible.
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Lesson 3
Bible And The World Of Science
In the previous lesson you saw that the present-day science developed as a direct cause of the Protestant Reformation, as recognized even by non-Christian historians of science.
Science is a tool for the systematic and objective study of the material world. Every branch of science, in every generation, is made up of the theories of science and the facts of science. Theories of science are temporary entities, and most of them are modified or reject in the course of time. Facts of science are things more fully and accurately known. Compared to theories, facts represent definite knowledge.
Bible And Science: Facts of science have never contradicted any statement in the Bible, and statements of Bible have never contradicted any fact of science.
Bible contains numerous statements related to the natural world. The purpose of Bible is not to teach us science, still when it makes a statement related to science it is fully accurate. Hundreds of statements in the Bible anticipate scientific information much before scientists could discover them. Let us pick up some examples :
1--The Finite Age Of The Universe: "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth". This implies that the universe is not infinitely old. This is interesting because most religions and most scientists (till recent times) maintained that the universe is infinitely old.
The second law of thermodynamics, however, suggests that the universe is not infinitely old. It has a definite and finite age.
2--Conservation Of Agricultural Land: Man in his greed for profit has been cultivating land mercilessly, only to find that it is no longer fertile. Artificial fertilizers help for some more years, but then the land becomes terribly barren.
The same God who asked man to "subdue the earth" also has given some instructions related to conservation. Exodus 23:10-11 says "And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof; but the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still... In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard."
Agricultural scientists have found that no chemical treatment can restore the original fertility and vitality to the ground, but one thing can -- allow the land to rest once every seven years !! This is exactly what Bible says with one difference : the statement in Bible came 3500 years before scientists discovered it !
3--Washing For Cleanliness: It is widely held today that cleanliness is next to godliness. In spite of this belief, most people don't know the importance of washing with water for cleanliness. If you are not convinced, all you need to do is to take a trip through any city street or village with an open eye. Except for few developed countries, the level of personal cleanliness is very bad among the masses.
The word of God, however, lays great stress on washing for cleanliness. Dozens of verses are spread all over, and let me quote just one of them. "And he that is to be cleaned shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be CLEAN...".
The instructions for washing came 3500 years ago, and they should be compared with the ignorance of masses, even in this enlightened and educated twentieth century, to realize how modern the Bible is in comparison to the "modern" man !
4--Blood Is Carrier Of Life: Today most of us know that blood has got an intimate connection with life. If a significant amount of blood is lost, a person might die. However, this knowledge is only very recent. Till the seventeenth century people used to view blood as a minor, or even useless, component of body.
Some maintained that blood is merely a liquid meant to cool the head, while others felt that it is a reservoir of wastes that has to be let out to purify the body. Consequently, patients suffering from all kind of ailments -- from minor headaches to major health problems -- were "bled" to cure them. As recently as 1799 the American president George Washington died when he was "bled" to cure a mere cold ! Interestingly, even in the twentieth century India many people still practice this technique of cutting and bleeding as a cure for all kinds of diseases.
The function of blood, as carrier of life, was identified only as late as 1616 AD by William Harvey. But several verses in the Bible say that "The life of the flesh is in the blood". (See Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:11, 14, etc.). The biblical statements came more than 3300 years before the medical community discovered these truths.
5--Geometrically Accurate: In I Kings chapter 7 we read about a huge hemispherical water-tank constructed by the order of king Solomon. Several pieces of information are given about the dimension of this vessel.
Using the data given here, one can calculate the value of 'pi' used in geometry. ('pi' = circumference/diameter) It comes out to be 3.14, accurate up to two decimal points. This is in striking contrast to the value recorded by other civilizations of that time. Egyptians used a value of 3.16, while Babylonians used a value of 3.125. The correct value was calculated by Greeks centuries after this period.
6--Embryology: Embryology is a very recent science. It is less than one hundred years since people started to understand things related to embryos. But an interesting discussion is found in Psalms 139:13-16. You should read this passage from a modern Bible translation to understand the full significance of these statements.
These highly accurate embryological statements were recorded in the Bible about 3000 years ago !
7--The Earth Hanging In Space: It was difficult for the ancient man to imagine anything hanging in space without support. He thought that stars were studded in solid skies and that the earth was supported similarly. The Greeks thought that god Atlas supported the earth on his shoulders, and that earthquakes happened whenever he moved. (The name Atlas for world-maps comes from this myth !).
Other ancients thought that the earth is supported by a giant snake with thousands of hoods. Still others thought that it is supported by four elephants, that stand upon a turtle, and that in turn swims in a cosmic ocean.
All this should be compared with Job 26:7 which says that God "hangeth the earth upon nothing" !! Interestingly, Job is one of the oldest books in the Bible. Most probably Job was a contemporary of Abraham, taking this story back to 4000 years before present !!
8--The Spherical Earth: For thousands of years people believed the earth to be flat, and they considered it foolish to sail into unknown seas lest the ships fall into the abyss where the earth ends. In the light of this it is interesting that the Bible does not teach anything like that.
In Isaiah 40:22 there is a reference to the "circle of the earth". It is interesting to note that the word translated "circle" had connotations of a spherical body also.
Further, Luke 17:34 to 36 says, "I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; the one will be taken, and the other left". It is interesting to note that noon, night, and early morning are said to occur at the same moment on the earth. This is possible only on a spherical earth !
Conclusion
So now we can come to the following safe deductions:
1-Though the Bible is a very ancient book, and though it is not meant to be a science textbook, the statements it makes about nature are all accurate.
2-No FACT of science has ever contradicted a statement of the Bible. On the other hand, statements of the Bible have never contradicted any facts of science.
3--Bible contains several hundred references that touch upon scientific topics. These are not only accurate, but also came thousands of years before moderns science discovered them.
4--If someone says that a particular statement of science has contradicted the Bible, you should immediately ask whether that statement is a FACT or a mere THEORY !
5--When you read statements like the "four corners" of the earth you should check what kind of text it is -- prose or poetry. (This particular reference is from Psalms, which is poetry).
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Lesson 4
Bible And Evolution
The Theory Of Evolution is everywhere today, and no one can escape it by simply ignoring it. The idea of evolution is as old as human civilization itself is, but it became powerful only after Charles Darwin proposed his theory in the last century.
On receiving the impetus from Darwin, people started using this theory to explain everything -- from the origin of the universe to the origin of life, and from the evolution of religion to language. Education systems all over the world have become so much permeated with this theory that it is now impossible to separate between evolution and truth. This is the reason why everyone must definitely confront this subject.
Within the Christian world one can see three approaches to the subject of Bible and Evolution :
Approaches To Bible And Evolution: There are mainly three approaches
1--Some people accept the Theory of Evolution as a fact, and completely reject the account of creation recorded in the Bible.
2--Others accept both Evolution as well as Creation as a fact, and try to reconcile them with each other.
3--The third group accepts the record of creation as true, and points out that Evolution is only a theory of science.
The first group -- which accepts evolution and rejects Bible -- stands on a shaky and false ground. They forget that evolution is only a theory, as implied even by the name : Theory of Evolution. No one in his right mind should use a theory or hypothesis to reject something else -- specially if that thing already stands on good ground. As far as the Bible is concerned, it has such authority and reliability (as demonstrated by scientific and historical researches) that one needs more than a hypothesis or theory to reject the accounts given in it.
The second approach, that tries to reconcile evolution and creation with each other, exposes their ignorance of the issues involved. Evolution is only a theory, and therefore trying to reconcile it with Bible (or trying to reconcile the Bible with evolution) is not logical. A theory is, after all, only a theory. It is not an established fact, and therefore it is a lack of understanding that prompts many to synthesize it with Bible. Any synthesis between a theory and Bible is a foolish attempt because the theory has no permanence !
The third approach is the most logical, reasonable, and scientific. It starts with the recognition that the Theory of Evolution is still a THEORY, a mere hypothesis. Over one and a half century of investigations have not brought forward any proof for it, so that it remains only a hypothesis even today. Further, many things that were considered as proofs of evolution have now been discredited. This is the reason why some time ago the Readers' Digest published an article, "Why Darwinists Are Abandoning Darwinism". This article is a non-technical reflection of what is going on in the scientific world.
Several people, most of whom were originally dedicated to Darwinism or other forms of evolution, have started publishing books attacking it all. The titles are too numerous to list in a small lesson like this, but some of the noteworthy ones are: Implications Of Evolution by G. A. Kerkut, Evolution: A Theory In Crisis by Michael Denton, and The Mystery Of Life's Origin by Thaxton, Bradley, and Olsen.
The Theory Of Evolution is only a THEORY, and that also a theory facing serious crisis. As long as it continues to be a supposition -- that also a shaky one -- there is no need to reconcile the record of creation with the theory of evolution.
What About The Fossils: At this point many might wonder, "then what about the fossils". Fossils are remains of life in the past. Most writers on the Theory Of Evolution directly or indirectly imply that numerous fossils are available to demonstration that life has evolved. Since fossils are remains of life from the past, they ought to demonstrate evolution -- if it has ever taken place.
According to the theory of evolution, all living creatures have gradually developed from primitive life forms through gradual changes. Thus each new form must be preceded by numerous intermediate forms, having part the characters of the primitive form and part the character of the final form. Numerous "intermediate fossil" candidates were advanced by Evolutionist, but today not even a single one of them is accepted by the scientific community as intermediate.
This information is not mentioned in the elementary textbooks of biology. Yet you can verify this to yourself by referring to advanced textbooks, research publications, and scientific encyclopedias. The information is available so easily -- from the world of science itself -- that you need not depend upon our words. Investigate it yourself ! Truth cannot be hidden from searching eyes !
Let me mention some of the alleged fossil-proofs and their present status :
Most Biology textbooks mention the "Horse Evolution". They claim that a chain of fossils is available to document the evolution of modern horse from its humble ancestor that lived millions of years ago. Pick up any of the more recent research monographs on fossils, and you will be told that this is false. There is no such chain. Many of the fossils in this series, mentioned in school and college textbooks with confidence, do not even exist !
Other textbooks will tell you about archaeopteryx, the first bird ancestor from reptiles. Unfortunate to the book-writers and the theoreticians who believed all this, recently these fossils were exposed to be fakes ! They were manipulated artificially to make you believe in the theory of evolution.
Still other textbooks mention the evolution of man in no uncertain words. They parade names of fossil-men one after another to convince you that the evolution of man from monkeys is an established fact. Who has not heard the name of Neanderthal Man ? But did you know that the evolution of man is a great myth of the twentieth century ! You can check it for yourself by referring to standard scientific journals and reference books !
A great property of science is its in-built process of reexamination and revaluation of every statement. Nothing is above it. Every generation will reexamine the statements of the previous generations -- and that also in the light of increased knowledge and better testing equipment. The fossils used to demonstrate the evolution of man from monkeys are no exception. The scientific community has been reexamining all these bones, and has been discovering information that is shocking for most adherents of evolution !
According to the latest finds, fossils discovered in support of human evolution so far can be placed into four categories :
1--Misunderstood Fossils
2--Fake Fossils
3--Suppressed Fossils
4--Genuine Fossils
Misunderstood Fossils: This includes a lot of notable names like: Nebraska Man, South Colorado Man, and the elder Java Man. These "fossil-men" were created on the basis of insufficient bits and pieces of bones -- scanty evidence for any serious work. The evolution-believing scientists went ahead anyway with their version because this is what they are used to doing in the study of "prehistoric man" -- as pointed out by many encyclopedias and research monographs.
But eventually it was revealed that the first of the above fossil-men was created from pig teeth, the other from horse bone, and the last one from elephant bone. None of them was genuine !
Fake Fossils: Many well known names like Piltdown Man, Java Man, and China Man are connected with some kind of fake or forgery. The first one was created by mixing human and monkey bones, burying them, and then by "discovering them". Over 500 learned publications appeared on it before this deception came to light.
The second one was discovered from three different trenches far apart and then put together to make one "ape-man". Two skulls of modern man found at the same layer were locked up for two decades to deceive the world into accepting this ape-man as genuine.
The third one was described in great detail by its discoverer, but he never allowed any other scientist to handle the original bones -- a practice not in keeping with the spirit of open, honest, and unprejudiced scientific investigation. Some scientists expressed misgivings about it, but having no access to the original fossils they could not check it for themselves. And finally it disappeared in mysterious circumstances !!
Suppressed Fossils: Most scientists are honest researchers, and they do not allow their prejudices and philosophies to interfere with their discoveries. Consequently, most of them make the results of their researches known to others as soon as something is discovered.
Over the course of years, dozens of human fossils have been discovered by scientist and placed in museums around the world, only to the embarrassment of evolution-advocates. Though genuine, these fossils contradict the theory of evolution.
There are many examples of genuine fossils, that were later suppressed by the evolution propagators. The saw to it that in the case of embarrassing fossils, their previous exhibit positions in Museums are changed. Many fossils have even been removed and confined to inaccessible storerooms to save embarrassment. But information about them is coming out gradually.
Genuine Fossils: A few of the fossils discovered so far are genuine, and after revaluation the scientific community has stated that the genuine fossils contain both cent per cent monkey-like creatures and also cent per cent humans -- but NO intermediate fossils or fossil-links.
There is no "ape-man", missing-link, or intermediate fossils among the genuine discoveries. The notion of man's evolution from monkeys is only an unproven hypothesis or a wishful thinking. The missing links are still missing !
Conclusion
The Theory Of Evolution is only a THEORY, a hypothesis, of science. Theories are necessary for the growth of science, but they do not represent facts or laws. They represent information that has not been verified or confirmed yet.
Since the idea of evolution is still a hypothesis, and since most of the presumed proofs have vanished, and since many well-informed evolution-believing scientists have abandoned this theory, there is no need to worry about this assumption. It does not contradict the account of creation recorded in Genesis.
Lesson 5
Bible And Archeology
Archaeology is the science of excavating and studying remains from past civilizations. Using these remains, it reconstructs the past history as accurately as possible.
Bible contains a lot of history, specially about civilizations in which present-day archaeology is also interested. Consequently, everyday they bring up more and more information about these civilizations.
Radical critics of the last two centuries were convinced that this branch of learning will prove to be their greatest tool for demolition. Some of them even went so far as to claim that the historical narratives in the Bible will be discredited in less than one century.
Archaeology, however, turned out to be the greatest friend of Bible. Whenever its finds could interact with the Bible, there it has only confirmed the reliability of the Biblical narratives. So much so that some unbelieving researchers even became believers in Bible after they saw these wonderful confirmations. Today there is no ancient book that stands vindicated like the Bible.
Bible And Archeology
Archaeology in the Biblical lands often gives us new insights into the civilization which existed at the same time as the Old Testament people. Bible critics used to claim that Moses could not have been the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of Bible) because people were illiterate at that time. But archaeological discoveries confirmed that not only was writing widely diffused long before Moses, but also that the Egyptians who trained him were highly skilled in Mathematics, Astronomy, Architecture and many other related disciplines.
The investigations of Sir Leonard Wooley at the Ur of the Chaldees has shown that Abraham's mother town was highly civilized. Ur was a brick-built Sumerian town dominated by a huge temple-mound, built of bricks and called a Ziggurat. This tower, patterned after the Tower of Babel is now the tallest mound and in Abraham's time it was the most conspicuous building in the city.
A good amount of information has been discovered about the cities, roads, streets and houses of the Old Testament times. Clay images have been found in private chapels, that might explain the family gods such as the teraphim that Rachel had stolen from her father.
Clay tablets have been found which contain common laws and legal decisions, receipts for business transactions, temple hymns, mathematical tables with formulae for calculating square and cube roots, problems for students, and writing exercises. In the temple storehouse receipts were found for countless objects, including sheep, cheese, wool, copper ore, oil for lubricating hinges, and payrolls for the female employees.
It is also evident from documents discovered that merchants kept a record of their business and many educated people had personal libraries of religious works. All of this indicates how literate the people of Abraham's times were.
Many times sculptures and pictures are discovered which even tell us what those people looked like and what types of cloths they wore. A picture of Jews was discovered which dates back to about 1892 B.C. (probably from the era of Abraham). According to it, men wore woolen tunics made by sewing strips of coloured cloths together, leaving one shoulder bare. The women's garments were very much longer and they wore sandals.
Collecting all the available archaeological data has helped historians to construct a very detailed history of the lands of Egypt, Babylon, and Assyria.
Also, we now know of a large number of kings belonging to various dynasties. Some of them like Shishak of Egypt, Sennacherib of Assyria, and Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon are well known to the Bible readers. Several kings of Israel like Omri, Ahab, Menahem, Pekah, and Hosea are mentioned in Assyrian records. Reference are also found about kings of Judah like Hezekiah, Manasseh, and Jehoiachin etc.
The order in which metals have been mentioned in the Bible, and the order in which they have been found in archaeological discoveries is strikingly similar. Gold and silver were plentiful from very early times, but iron came into use only after 1400 B.C. The same is the order seen in the Bible.
According to archaeology, sheep and cattle were domesticated in Neolithic times, and asses were used for transport from the beginning of the early Bronze age. Horses came to man's service later. Bones and teeth of camels have been found at several sites, dating from the Middle Bronze Age. All of this sequence is in the same order as they are mentioned in the Bible.
The order in which a certain thing appears in history, and the order in which the same thing is mentioned in historical documents is a good test of the accuracy of these documents. Biblical history passes this test in every narrative that archaeology is at present capable of testing.
This limited discussion cannot look into all the archaeological details pertaining to the Bible, but what has been mentioned above is enough to point out the general confirmation of Bible by archaeology. Much more information is available in many excellent treatises and technical journals devoted to Biblical and Middle Eastern archaeology. Anyone with special interest in this subject can refer to these publications.
New Testament Archeology
Compared to the four thousand years of history recorded in the Old Testament, the New Testament touches less than one century. Consequently it has fewer references to persons, places, and events. Still an unbelievable amount of information has come up related to New Testament.
There are numerous references to the Lord Jesus in secular literature -- writings that do not have any connection with the Bible. In our library, we have at least 35 such references to Lord Jesus discovered from non Biblical sources. Then there are numerous stories and places discovered by archaeologists that attest to the Lord Jesus and disciples as historical persons.
The writer of the world famous book BEN HUR had originally set about to disprove the existence of Lord Jesus. But in the process of his investigations he was so much overwhelmed with proofs for the existence of the Lord Jesus that he became a Christian, and then put down his historical discoveries in the form of his well- known novel BEN HUR.
Similar is the story behind the book WHO MOVED THE STONE, the writer of which started his investigation in order to disprove the story of resurrection of Jesus. But his careful investigations convinced him that if the matter of resurrection were brought before a court for examination then there is sufficient evidence to accept the resurrection as a fact testified by numerous eyewitnesses. Thus convinced of the truth of resurrected Jesus, he wrote down the above mentioned book about the open grave of Lord Jesus.
It has now been established with sufficient authority that the books of the New Testament are definitely as ancient as are believed by Christians, and that they were indeed written by the persons whose names are connected with these books.
In the last century it was the fashion of the times to claim that the New Testament books were written a long time after the time that Christians usually assign to these books. This implied two things : these books were not written by authors like Paul whose names are connected with these books. Secondly, since the books were written very late after the time of Lord Jesus their reliability was highly suspect. But today we know that all the books of New Testament were complete by 90 A.D.
Manuscript fragments are available that indicate that some of the books were written before 50 AD when the eyewitnesses were still alive so that sufficient historical facts were available to the writers. Further, some of the eyewitnesses were hostile to Christians, and therefore when they were alive it was impossible for Christians to circulate false documents about Lord Jesus.
Miniature images of Diana, that are mentioned by Dr. Luke in the book of Acts, have been found. The Areopagus, or Mars Hill, where Paul gave his discourse in front of the intellectuals can still be seen in quite a good condition. The alter dedicated to the "unknown god" has also been discovered !
Coins used for taxation, imprinted with the likeness and image of Caesar, have been discovered among numerous other Roman coins. This is the coin about which the Lord had said "Render to Caesar, that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's" (Mark 12:17). Names similar to many of those mentioned in the New Testament have been found in abundance. Many of the persons mentioned there have been found mentioned in historical sources also.
The census at the time of Lord Jesus' birth was disputed by many who maintained that censuses were neither customary nor known at that time. But discoveries that followed not only disproved this position, but have also provided a good amount of information about the actual census mentioned in the Gospels.
Many attacked the Gospel of John on the ground that such profound theology was not possible at that time, and that it must have taken it a long time to grow into this mature form. But manuscripts of this Gospels have been discovered that show that the gospel was indeed written in the same mature form in the first century itself.
The Greek language used in the New Testament was the subject of speculation for a long time because this variety of Greek language was not discovered anywhere else. But in the last two centuries tens of thousands of manuscripts have been discovered that have revealed the secrets of this language -- a dialect that was spoken by the common man at the time of the Lord Jesus. Known today as the Koine Greek, these finds have produced such insight into this language that one can understand the New Testament better than any other book from the ancient world.
Every God-fearing Christian should know at least something about the logical foundations of the Christian faith. We live in the age of reason, and it is natural for people to ask reasons for our faith. You should be ready to reply before they fire the question at you. The Christian can rest assured that an unprejudiced investigation of Biblical history will always come out in favour of this Book !
Lesson 6
Conclusion !!!
A course like this became necessary because a determined crowd all over the world is making a lot of noise against the Bible, confusing those people who have not seen both the sides of the picture. This crowed is made up of many scientists, philosophers, thinkers, educators, writers, rationalists, atheists, and special-interest groups. Some of these people are basically sincere, but delusioned into believing a lie. On the other hand, many in this group are highly prejudiced against Bible, and are determined to spread their doctrines using subtle techniques of mind-alteration.
Tens of thousands of individuals and thousands of organizations around the world know that if their way of life is to find acceptance then their philosophy as to triumph. This is the reason why they are using techniques of propaganda to alter the minds and attitudes of entire generations. They work through the education system, video, audio, and print media. They are systematically exploiting all available channels of propaganda to impress their false philosophy upon people. The results are obvious.
Today many educated people are confused about the relationship between Bible/Science/Evolution. Books attacking Bible become bestsellers; Christian students face strong attacks and mockery from their teachers and fellow students. This is all because they have been shown only one side of the reality. In this course, however, we have shown you the other side so that you can see through all this deception.
Science has NOT discredited the Bible. Evolution is NOT an established fact of science. Archaeology demonstrates that Bible is the most reliable ancient book.
What Did We Study: We studied four main things, and let us review them
1--What Is Science: We saw that science is the result of man's quest to explore the Universe. It is the objective and systematic study of matter and energy.
Modern science came into existence as a direct consequence of the Protestant Reformation, as recognized even by Non Christian scholars. Therefore only a blind person will claim that there is a conflict between Bible and science.
Physical sciences deal only with things that are matter and energy. Biological sciences deal only with biology, and historical and sociological sciences with history and sociology. Every branch has its own methods of proving/disproving information, but the same techniques are inadequate when used in other branches of learning.
Science is made up of facts as well as theories. Both are necessary for the growth of science, but of these two only FACTS are known for sure. Theories keep changing, and many of them even get abandoned in the course of time.
2--Bible And Science: Statements of Bible have never contradicted any fact of science. On the other hand, no fact of science has ever contradicted any statement of Bible.
Further, hundreds of statements in Bible contained scientific truth thousands of years before the scientific establishment discovered them.
3--Bible And Evolution: The theory of evolution is only a THEORY as the name itself suggests. About two centuries of investigations have not succeeded in establishing it as a fact.
Billions of fossils have been discovered, but they have not provided even a single intermediate form. At the same time, whatever fossils were thought to be intermediate (less than two dozen) have vanished from these scene due to recent investigations.
Man's evolution from monkeys or monkey-like creatures is only a supposition, and there is NO fossils proof for it. Rather, recent findings have shown that modern man is as old as monkeys in the fossil record.
Since Evolution is only a hypothesis, there is no question of reconciling it with the record of Creation. Let it first become a fact of science, and then one can think further.
4--Bible And Archaeology: Archaeology is the science of excavating and studying remains from past civilizations. Using these remains, it reconstructs the past history as accurately as possible.
Bible contains a lot of history, specially about civilizations in which current archaeology is also interested. Everyday they are bringing up more and more information about these civilizations.
Radical critics of the last two centuries were convinced that this branch of learning will prove to be their greatest tool of demolition. Some of them even went so far as to say that the historical narratives in Bible will be discredited in less than one century.
Archaeology, however, turned out to be the greatest friend of Bible. Wherever its finds could interact with the Bible, there it has only confirmed the reliability of the Biblical narrative. So much so that some unbelieving researchers even became believers in Bible after they saw these wonderful confirmations. Today there is no ancient book that stands vindicated like the Bible.
The first thing to remember is not to waste your time on those who desire only to argue but have no spirit of inquiry. You will never be able to convince them because they are not interested in facts.
On the other hand you can help a sincere person in many ways. The first is to share your insights with that person. You might find it difficult in the beginning, but the more you do it the more your communication skills will develop -- and the more convincingly you will be able to explain.
The next is to introduce this course to them. This might turn out to be a milestone in their lives. We will be happy to send it to them free of cost, exactly as we sent it to you.
Further, if you are facing these questions frequently, then you might want to stock some of the simplest books/booklets on these topics.
May God bless you !
Tests
Choose the correct answer
Lesson 1
Q1--There is a systematic effort worldwide to attack and discredit the Bible.
True/False
Q2--Galileo's views opposed the Bible.
True/False
Q3--There is no use discussing Bible/Science/Evolution because that will only destroy our faith.
True/False
Q4--Almost no material is available to throw light on subjects related to Bible and Science.
True/False
Q5--No committed believer ever wonders about these subjects, and asking questions is a sign of rebellion against God.
True/False
Lesson 2
Q1--Since Bible is an ancient book, it has no connection with the development of modern science.
True/False
Q2--Science is a tool for studying matter and energy.
True/False
Q3--Faith is the opposite of Science.
True/False
Q4--Scientific information is made up only of facts.
True/False
Q5--Statements of Bible do not contradict known facts of science, and known facts of science do not contradict statements of Bible.
True/False
Lesson 3
Q1--Bible contains almost no references related to the world of science.
True/False
Q2--When THEORIES of science contradict the Bible, there is cause for worry.
True/False
Q3--Numerous statements in Bible gave scientific truths thousands of years before they were discovered by scientists.
True/False
Q4--Science has proved that God does not exist.
True/False
Q5--The Biblical laws of health and hygiene are good if observed today.
True/False
Lesson 4
Q1--Evolution is an established FACT of science !
True/False
Q2--The best strategy is to maintain that the biblical story of creation and the theory of evolution are two sides of the same coin.
True/False
Q3--Plenty of fossils are available that prove the theory of evolution.
True/False
Q4--Man's evolution from monkeys is an established fact of science.
True/False
Q5--The story of creation recorded in the Bible is only a poem, and is not to be taken literally.
True/False
Lesson 5
Q1--Archeology has no connection with the Bible.
True/False
Q2--Archeology contradicts Biblical history in many places.
True/False
Q3--The history of Jewish and gentile kings recorded in the Bible is nothing more than imaginary stories.
True/False
Q4--Almost no name, place, or person mentioned in the Bible is found in secular sources.
True/False
Q5--Since the main purpose of Bible is spiritual instruction, one should not worry about the historical accuracy of its stories.
True/False
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
We encourage you to use these courses for self-study. However, if you wish to know how we answer these questions, send your answers to Answers@ApologeticsCourses.Com
You must include the following information: Your Name, Course Name, Your Email Address. We will send you the correct answers as soon as we hear from you.
We expect to provide certificates: Certificate In Theology to those who complete 10 courses together, and Diploma In Theology to those who complete 20 courses together. For more information contact us via email.
If Answers@ApologeticsCourses.Com does not work due to any reason, send all mail to calvin@satyam.net.in
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About The Author
Dr. Johnson C. Philip is a Christian Apologist based in Kochi, India. He received the degree of Th.D. in Apologetics in 1984 and Ph.D. in Physics (Quantum Chromodynamics) in 1991. At present he is working on his DSc in Alternative Medicine, and DNYS in Naturopathy. So far he has authored more than 2000 popular articles and research papers and more than 50 books in the fields of physics, communication, apologetics, and theology.
He is a voting member of numerous professional societies including: Creation Research Society, American Scientific Affiliation, The Society Of Christian Philosophers, Indian Physics Association, etc. He is a founder and life member of the Indian Association Of Physics Teachers.
Calvin School, Trinity School, Indus School, and Philip Communications, founded by him, offer External training programmes in Theology, Apologetics, Counseling, Communications, etc.
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