We are all aware of the ideas, opinions, and theories of some
scientists which contradict portions of Scripture, but if we
are careful to separate that which is established fact from
that which is merely theory, we find that there are no contradictions
between the facts of science and the Bible. We must be careful,
of course, that our interpretation both of the Scriptures and
of nature is correct.
The Second Law of Thermodynamics Confirms Psalm 102:26
First, let us consider the science of thermodynamics: In Psalm
102:25,26, we read, "Of old hast Thou laid the foundation
of the earth: and the heavens are the work of Thy hands. They
shall perish, but Thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall
wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt Thou change them,
and they shall be changed."
In verse 25, we find, restated, the fact that God is the Creator
of all that exists. Verse 26 then tells us something highly
significant, not about the initial, created state of the universe,
but about the present state of the universe. According to this
Scripture, written three thousand years before the dawn of modern
science, we learn that the universe is like a suit of clothes
that is wearing out. In other words, the universe is running
down, deteriorating, constantly becoming less and less orderly.
That is not what most people believed when this Scripture was
recorded. According to human observations, the universe was
unchangeable. The statement that the universe is constantly
becoming more random, less orderly, is a scientifically testable
statement. The fact that the universe, in its present state
is deteriorating, has been fully verified by modern science.
Everywhere we look, from the scale of the galaxies down to the
scale of the atom, we find a universal, natural tendency of
all systems to go from order to disorder; from complexity to
simplicity. Thus, clusters of galaxies are dispersing as the
galaxies move away from one another.
The rotation of the earth is slowing; the magnetic field of
the earth is decaying. Erosion constantly wears down the features
of the earth. Our bodies wear out; we die and decay to a pile
of dust. Our houses, our machines wear out and are finally abandoned
and replaced. Many atoms decay to simpler products, and it is
even being postulated that sub-atomic particles, such as the
proton, decay, though ever so slowly, into energy.
Each star, including our own sun, is constantly burning up
billions of tons of fuel every second. Eventually, every star
in the universe, unless God intervenes (which we are certain
He will), will exhaust its fuel and become dark and cold. The
universe would then be cold and dead, and, of course, all life
would have ceased long before the last death throes of the universe.
Even now, every so often a nova or supernova occurs, and a star
very rapidly becomes less orderly, in a gigantic explosion.
This natural tendency towards disorder is so all-pervasive
and unfailing that it has been formalized as a natural law -
the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Isaac Asimov has stated it
this way (Smithsonian Institute Journal, June 1970, p.6): "Another
way of stating the second law then is: `The universe is constantly
getting more disorderly!' Viewed that way, we can see the Second
Law all about us. We have to work hard to straighten a room,
but left to itself, it becomes a mess again very quickly and
very easily. Even if we never enter it, it becomes dusty and
musty. How difficult to maintain houses, and machinery, and
our own bodies in perfect working order; how easy to let them
deteriorate. In fact, all we have to do is nothing, and everything
deteriorates, collapses, breaks down, wears out - all by itself
- and that is what the Second Law is all about."
There is certainly no doubt, then, that modern scientific
research has verified the truths expressed in Psalm 102:26.
Many years of careful measurements by scientists, repeated many
thousands of times, established beyond doubt the scientific
truths expressed in that verse of Scripture.
The Universe Must Have Had a Beginning
Furthermore, the fact that the universe is deteriorating establishes
beyond doubt that it hasn't been here forever, because if it
had, it would have run down a long time ago! This confirms another
scientifically testable statement found in the very first verse
of the Bible: "In the beginning God created...." This
verse of Scripture states that the universe has not been here
forever; that it had a beginning sometime in the past. Again,
let us remember that this is not what most people believed when
the Bible was written. They believed that the universe had been
here forever, and would continue to be here forever. The Bible
says, not so! The universe had a beginning - when God created
it - and it is now running down. Thus, modern science has established
the fact that what most people believed about the universe being
eternal was wrong, and that the Biblical statements on the subject
were precisely correct.
The Finished Creation Confirmed by the First Law of Thermodynamics
If there is a second law of thermodynamics, there must be
a first law, of course. Indeed there is, and this natural law
confirms another scientifically testable statement found in
the Bible. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that the total
quantity of energy and matter in the universe is a constant.
One form of energy may be converted into another, energy may
be converted into matter, and matter may be converted into energy,
but the total quantity always remains the same. You can't get
something from nothing, and you can't take something and make
nothing out of it.
The First Law of Thermodynamics, the most firmly established
natural law in science, confirms the Biblical statement concerning
a finished creation, as found in Genesis 2:1,2: "Thus the
heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made;
and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He
had made."
If it could be shown that somewhere in this universe matter
or energy was coming into being from nothing, then this Biblical
statement of a finished creation would be falsified. The opposite
is true. It has been precisely verified. Once again, a Biblical
statement has withstood scientific test.
Psalm 8 Inspires a Scientific Research Project
Matthew Maury undertook a research project based on Scripture,
and once again confirmed the scientific accuracy of the Bible.
Maury was in charge of the Depot of Charts and Instruments in
the Hydrographic Office of the United States Navy from 1841-1861.
He was a Christian who loved and respected the Word of God.
One day in the 8th Psalm, he read the following words (vv. 3-8):
" When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers,
the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man,
that Thou art mindful of him, and the son of man, that Thou
visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the
angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou madest
him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands: Thou hast
put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and
the beasts of the field; the fowl of the air, and the fish of
the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas."
You and I probably could read that many times, and although
we would understand much about the great truths expressed in
this psalm, we might miss something highly significant, but
which did not escape Maury's attention. Being one who was familiar
with some of the problems that beset the sailing industry of
that day, Maury immediately recognized the significance of verse
8. That verse tells us that, among other things, God has given
man dominion over the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air,
the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passes through the paths
of the sea. "The Bible says there are paths in the sea,"
Maury thought, "and if the Bible says it, I believe it."
He was also aware of Ecclesiastes 1:6, which states: "The
wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north;
it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again
according to his circuits."
Maury, on the basis of the Bible, concluded that there are
well-established wind circuits, and that there are literally
"paths in the sea" - that is , definite currents in
the ocean. He reasoned that if these wind currents and ocean
currents could be located and plotted, this information would
be of great value to marine navigators. Utilizing this information,
the sailing vessels could be directed along routes that would
take advantage of these sea and air currents, reducing by many
days the time required to traverse the seas. Many of Maury's
contemporaries, of course, would have scoffed at Maury. They
would have said, "Maury, do you really mean that you are
going to spend hour after hour on some wild goose chase searching
through those dusty old logs and charts you have in your office
just because the Bible says there are paths in the sea?"
That is precisely what Maury did, however, and the Biblical
statements were precisely verified. Maury found and plotted
the wind circuits and the ocean currents. The ocean currents
include, for example, the great Gulf Current - a "path
in the sea" forty miles wide and 2000 feet deep flowing
from the Gulf of Mexico up through the Atlantic. This current
has a tremendous influence on the climate of England, Ireland,
Europe, and the Scandinavian countries. The average winter temperature
on the west coast of Norway, for example, is about two degrees
centigrade, or two degrees above freezing. Ordinarily, of course,
we would expect far lower temperatures for a country that far
north.
Other paths of the seas that come to mind are the California
and the Japanese currents. The California current brings cold
water from Alaska down along the California coast. As a result,
even those of us living in the San Diego area do not have warm
ocean water to swim in as they do, for example, in the Hawaiian
Islands. This cool water, furthermore, dissipates tropical storms
that would otherwise push their way out of the south Pacific
into the southern California area. As a result, California rarely
receives rain in the summer months.
Maury's native state, the State of Virginia, has acknowledged
the great debt navigation owes him, having erected monuments
to his memory. On these monuments may be found a plaque that
reads as follows: "Matthew Fontaine Maury, Pathfinder of
the Seas, the Genius Who First Snatched from the Ocean and Atmosphere
the Secret of Their Laws. His Inspiration, Holy Writ, Psalm
8:8, Psalm 107:23,24, and Ecclesiastes 1:6."
Was Matthew Maury really a genius, or was he simply one who
trusted the Bible as the inerrant Word of God? Whether he was
a genius or not, it was not his genius, but his faith in the
Bible that directed his efforts into a scientific research project,
the results of which fully vindicated that faith.
There are numerous other instances in which scientific discoveries
have been foreshadowed by Biblical statements. The few cited
do, however, reflect the fact that although the Bible may not
be a book of science, in all instances where scientifically
testable statements are found in the Bible, they have proven
to be scientifically accurate.
-- References --
- The King James Bible
* Dr. Gish is Vice-President of the Institute for Creation
Research
