What does the Bible say about science?
What do we mean by science? Science is the knowledge of the physical world and its observable facts and events. It includes general truths about our world based on observation, investigation, and testing. It also includes understanding general laws, such as Newton’s law of universal gravitation or Archimedes’ buoyancy principle.
Science is a rapidly developing study as new facts emerge all the time in all branches of science: biology, astronomy, genetics, and more. The scientific method includes a lot of theories that aren’t proven. Thus, we should be careful not to trust theories that might be disproven ten years from now as new evidence comes to light. A scientific theory is not fact.
The importance of science
Science is fundamental because it informs decisions about our health, environment, and safety. As new research comes to light, we learn how the foods we eat, types of exercise, or various medicines affect our health and well-being. The more we understand the complexities of our environment, the better we can be good stewards of the world God gave us to live in. Science informs us on safety – such as how to protect ourselves from viruses or to wear seatbelts and maintain a safe distance from the car in front of us when driving.
Science drives innovation. If you’re over 40, you might remember a time when no one had mobile phones – telephones were attached to the wall or sitting on the desk at home! Back then, it was hard to imagine using a phone to take pictures or read the news. As technology studies develop, our tools rapidly change.
1. Psalm 111:2 (NIV) “Great are the works of the Lord; they are pondered by all who delight in them.”
2. Psalm 8:3 “When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place.”
3. Isaiah 40:12 (KJV) “Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?”
4. Psalm 92:5 “O LORD, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts.” (Powerful God quotes about life)
5. Romans 11:33 “O, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and untraceable His ways!” – (Wisdom comes from God Bible verses)
6. Isaiah 40:22 (ESV) “It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in. – (How to get to heaven Bible verses)
Is Christianity against science?
Absolutely not! God created the natural world we live in, and He made its laws. Science is all about learning more about the amazing, intricately connected, elegant world around us. Our bodies, nature, the solar system – they all point directly to the Creator!
Some agnostics or atheists think that science disproves God, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, two million Christian scientists in the U.S. identify as evangelical Christians![i]
Throughout history, many scientific pioneers were firm believers in God. The French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur, who developed the process of pasteurization to prevent milk from spoiling and developed vaccines for rabies and anthrax, said: “The more I study nature, the more I stand amazed at the work of the Creator. I pray while I am engaged at my work in the laboratory.”
Ian Horner Hutchinson, Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, notes that many people believe the myth that science conflicts with religion. He said the opposite is true, and that faithful Christians are “over-represented” in places like MIT and other academic centers of scientific study.
Recent discoveries in physics and astronomy point to the universe having a definite beginning. And physicists admit that if it had a beginning, it must have a “Beginner.”
“The laws of physics that govern the universe are exquisitely fine-tuned for the emergence and sustenance of human life. The slightest changes in any number of physical constants would make our universe inhospitable. The most compelling and reliable explanation for why the universe is so precisely fine-tuned is that an Intelligent Mind made it that way. The vast amount of information (including DNA) contained in living organisms points to an Information Giver.”[ii]
7. Genesis 1:1-2 (ESV) “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”
9. Colossians 1:16 (KJV) “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him.”
10. Isaiah 45:12 (NKJV) “I have made the earth, And created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, And all their host I have commanded.”
11. Psalm 19:1 “The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship.”
Scientific facts in the Bible
- A free-floating earth. Up until around 500 BC, people didn’t realize the earth is a sphere that is free-floating in space. Some thought the world was flat. The Greeks believed the god Atlas held up the world, while the Hindus thought a gigantic turtle supported it on its back. But the Book of Job, probably written between 1900 to 1700 BC, said: “He hangs the earth on nothing.” (Job 26:7)
The Bible stated the scientific fact of the earth free-floating in what was probably its first written book. The rest of the world thought something was holding the world up for at least another thousand years.
- Evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. The oldest book in the Bible also clearly states the process of rain and evaporation. Humans didn’t grasp this concept of the water cycle – evaporation, condensation, and precipitation (rain or snow) – until about four centuries ago. “For He draws up the drops of water; they distill rain from the mist, which the clouds pour down. They drip upon mankind abundantly.” (Job 36:27-28)
- The earth’s molten core. Scientists now know that our earth has a molten core, and part of the heat comes from frictional heating caused by denser core material sinking to the center of the planet. Once again, the book of Job mentioned this about 4000 years ago. “From the earth comes food, And underneath, it is turned over [transformed] like fire.” (Job 28:5)
- Human waste management. Today, we know that human excrement carries bacteria like E Coli that can sicken and kill people if they come into physical contact with it, especially if it makes its way into streams and ponds that people drink from. Thus, today we have waste management systems. But over 3000 years ago, when about 2 million Israelites had just left Egypt and were traveling through the desert, God gave them specific directions for what to do with their poop to keep everyone healthy.
“You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement.” (Deuteronomy 23:12-13)
- Springs in the sea. Researchers discovered hot springs in the Pacific Ocean near the Galapagos Islands in 1977 using Alvin, the world’s first deep-sea submersible. They were about 1 ½ miles under the surface. Since then, scientists have found other springs in the Pacific Ocean that appear to be an intrinsic element of the deep-sea ecosystem’s food chain. Scientists only found these springs 45 years ago, but the book of Job mentioned them thousands of years ago.
12. Job 38:16 “Have you entered the springs of the sea, And walked in the depth of the ocean?”
13. Job 36:27-28 “He draws up the drops of water, which distill as rain to the streams; 28 the clouds pour down their moisture and abundant showers fall on mankind.”
14. Deuteronomy 23:12-13 (NLT) “You must have a designated area outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. 13 Each of you must have a spade as part of your equipment. Whenever you relieve yourself, dig a hole with the spade and cover the excrement.”
15. Job 26:7 “He stretches out the north over empty space; He hangs the earth upon nothing.”
16. Isaiah 40:22 “He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in.”
17. Psalm 8:8 “the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas.”
18. Proverbs 8:27 “When He established the heavens, I [Wisdom] was there; When He drew a circle upon the face of the deep.”
19. Leviticus 15:13 “When the man with the discharge becomes cleansed from his discharge, he shall count off seven days for his purification; he shall then wash his clothes and bathe his body in running water and will become clean.”
20. Job 38:35 “Do you send the lightning bolts on their way? Do they report to you, ‘Here we are’?”
21. Psalm 102:25-27 “In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. 26 They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment. Like clothing you will change them and they will be discarded. 27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end.”
22. Matthew 19:4 (ESV) “He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female.” – (Male vs female traits)
Does faith in God and science contradict?
No, there is no contradiction. New scientific evidence continually emerges that backs up the Biblical narrative, such as the abovementioned items. God is delighted when we explore His creation through all sorts of scientific research because the intricate complexity of life points to a purposeful God. Faith and science are not in conflict but complement each other. Science deals primarily with the natural aspects of God’s creation, while faith includes the supernatural. But neither are contradictory – they coexist – just like we have a human body but also a spirit.
Some people say that science contradicts a Biblical creation model and that everything around us – and us – just randomly happened with no plan in mind. They believe that undirected natural causes produced life’s full diversity and complexity. But we must understand that people who hold this idea put their trust in an unproven theory. Theories are not facts – they are simply attempting to explain something. Quite frankly, it takes more faith to believe in evolution than to believe in creation. Evolution is an unproven theory. We must realize the distinction between theory and fact in the scientific realm.
“Undirected natural causes can place scrabble pieces on a board but cannot arrange the pieces as meaningful words or sentences. To obtain a meaningful arrangement requires an intelligent cause.”[v]
23. Isaiah 40:22 “It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.”
24. Genesis 15:5 “He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Can science prove the existence of God?
Interesting question! Some would say no because science only studies the natural world, and God is supernatural. On the other hand, God is the supernatural Creator of the natural world, so anyone studying the natural world can freely observe His handiwork.
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20)
Overwhelming scientific evidence demonstrates our universe had a definite beginning. Astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe is expanding. That requires a single historical point in time for the expansion to begin. Since our universe had a definite starting point, that requires a “starter” – a cause that transcends time, energy, and matter: God!!
The expansion rate of our universe also factors in! If the pace at which our universe is expanding were infinitesimally slower or faster, our universe would have imploded or spun out so fast that nothing would have formed.
Some doubters ask, “Well, where did God come from?” They’re making the mistake of trying to categorize God with creation. God transcends time – He is infinite, with no beginning or end. He is the uncreated Creator.
The magnetic force on our earth also proves the existence of God. Life requires the presence of molecules: a group of atoms bonded together, representing the smallest fundamental unit of a chemical compound. Molecules require the existence of atoms – and atoms must bond together. But they won’t bond together without the perfect amount of electromagnetic force. If the earth’s magnetic force was only 2% weaker or 0.3% stronger, atoms could not bond; thus, molecules could not form, and our planet would have no life.
Other scientific examples prove our Creator God, such as our planet being the perfect distance from the sun, having the correct amount of oxygen, and the hundreds of other parameters needed for life to exist. All of this couldn’t have possibly happened by random accident. It all proves God exists.
25. Hebrews 3:4 (NASB) “For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.”
26. Romans 1:20 (NASB) “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
27. Hebrews 11:6 (ESV) “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
28. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”
29. 1 Corinthians 8:6 “yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” – (Is there evidence for the existence of God?)
The universe is intelligently constructed
In September 2020, the Journal of Theoretical Biology published an article that explicitly supports the intelligent design of the universe. It used statistical models to replicate “fine-tuning,” which the authors define as objects unlikely to have occurred by chance (judging by relevant probability analysis). They argue that the universe was designed with a specific plan rather than the product of chance.
The article stated, “Humans have a powerful intuitive understanding of design” (which points to a designer – or God). When we see patterns in nature, we recognize that they are the product of intelligent construction. Biology points to intelligent design – or creation – with properties such as irreducible complexity. Our existing biological systems cannot have evolved from a simpler, more primitive system because a less complex system could not function. No direct, gradual route exists to these irreducible complex systems.
“These structures are biological examples of nano-engineering that surpass anything human engineers have created. Such systems pose a serious challenge to a Darwinian account of evolution, since irreducibly complex systems have no direct series of selectable intermediates.”
There’s also the issue of whether the fossil record allows enough time for a Darwinian model of complex systems to arise – the “waiting-time problem.” Was there enough time for photosynthesis to originate? For the evolution of animals flying or complex eyes?
“The laws, constants, and primordial initial conditions of nature present the flow of nature. These purely natural objects discovered in recent years show the appearance of being deliberately fine-tuned” (i.e., created).
“Intelligent Design begins with the observation that intelligent causes can do things which undirected natural causes cannot. Undirected natural causes can place scrabble pieces on a board but cannot arrange the pieces as meaningful words or sentences. To obtain a meaningful arrangement requires an intelligent cause.”
30. John 1:3 “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.”
31. Isaiah 48:13 “Assuredly My hand founded the earth, And My right hand spread out the heavens; When I call to them, they stand together.”
32. Hebrews 3:4 “Of course, every house is constructed by someone, but the one who constructed all things is God.”
33. Hebrews 3:3 “For Jesus has been counted worthy of greater glory than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself.”
What does the Bible say about creation vs. evolution?
The Bible begins with the account of creation: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1)
The first two chapters of the first book of the Bible (Genesis) give a detailed account of how God created the universe and the world and all the living organisms on the earth.
The Bible clarifies that creation points to God’s attributes, such as His eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20).
How does our created world point to God’s divine attributes? Our universe and world follow mathematical laws, pointing to God’s eternal power. Our universe and earth have a definite plan and order – a complex design – that could not possibly have come about by random chance in evolution.
The rational, unchanging laws that rule our universe and world could only exist if created by God. Evolution can’t produce the ability of rational thought or the intricate laws of nature. Chaos cannot deliver order and complexity.
34. Psalm 19:1 “The heavens tell of the glory of God; and their expanse declares the work of His hands. – (To God be the glory Bible verses)
35. Romans 1:25 (ESV) “because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.”
36. Romans 1:20 “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”
37. Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”
Is the scientific method biblical?
What is the scientific method? It is the procedure of investigating our natural world by systematically observing, measuring, and experimenting. This leads to forming, testing, and modifying hypotheses (theories).
Is it biblical? Absolutely. It points to an orderly universe and an intelligent Creator God. Men like Rene Descartes, Francis Bacon, and Isaac Newton – who formed the beginnings of the scientific method of inquiry – all believed in God. Their theology might have been off, but God was definitely in the scientific method’s equation. The scientific method is a formula to bring us closer to truth in a broad range of categories. It all points to orderly natural law, which flows from a Creator and not the chaos of evolution.
One of the fundamental aspects of the scientific method is testing. You can have a theory, but you’ve got to test it in various situations to confirm that your theory is a fact. Testing is a Biblical concept: “Test all things. Hold fast to what is good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
Yes, the context here has to do with prophecy, but the fundamental truth is that things need to be proven true.
The stability and coherence of creation reflect God’s orderly, intelligible, and reliable nature; thus, the scientific method is perfectly compatible with a biblical worldview. Without God-given logic, we couldn’t comprehend our logical universe and would have no inkling of the scientific method. God gave us the ability to classify and systematize things, ask questions, and devise ways to prove them true or not. Jesus said, “Consider the lilies,” to prove God’s existence and loving care.
38. Proverbs 2:6 “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”
39. Colossians 1:15-17 “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
40. 1 Thessalonians 5:21 (NLT) “but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.” – (Bible verses about goodness)
41. Romans 12:9 “Love must be sincere. Detest what is evil; cling to what is good.” – (What does the Bible say about good and evil?)
Conclusion
Science is knowledge. The Bible encourages us to “look at the stars” and “consider the lilies” – in other words, to investigate and explore our world and universe. The more we learn about nature and all the divisions of science, the more we understand God. Scientific methodology supports a Biblical worldview and the Bible’s account of creation. God created us with the ability to conduct scientific inquiry. He wants us to know more about His creation and about Him!
[i] https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/february-web-only/study-2-million-scientists-identify-as-evangelical.html
[ii] https://www.josh.org/christianity-science-bogus-feud/?mwm_id=241874010218&utm_campaign=MW_googlegrant&mwm_id=241874010218&gclid=CjwKCAjws–ZBhAXEiwAv-RNL894vkNcu2YcKaA_b8aqW0xhDGi4xZzOyRnB0u2t9CRqODIZmQw9qhoCXqgQAvD_BwE
