Scientific Facts in the Bible (book)

Scientific Facts in the Bible: 100 Reasons to Believe the Bible is Supernatural in Origin is a book authored by Ray Comfort, published in 2001.

Foreword
The first line of the foreword: I hope you are skeptical. Ray begins by dodging questions by demanding definitions for certain words.

Ray reminds readers that history has shown science wrong several times and what we know now may be laughed at in a hundred years.

Ray recalls his debate with a member from American Atheists. When Comfort mentioned that medical facts existed in the Bible a hundred years before they were discovered, the audience laughed at him. Ray thinks if the medical facts were accurate, then that provides proof the Bible is supernatural in origin. However, he does not check to see if these medical facts were discovered before the authors wrote about it.

Comfort says the Bible does not defend itself. Later, he says that other religions (Mormons, Muslims, Buddhists) have certain prophecies, but according to Ray none of them have been proven, nor do their sacred books contain scientific knowledge (in fact they contain things that are clearly unscientific). This is true, but the same is true for Christianity. Christianity is unscientific by the sheer fact that it says a supernatural being created the earth magically.

Before moving on, Ray tries to provide an argument in which he must use the Bible (he says this is not circular reasoning -sorry Ray, using the Bible to prove the Bible is circular).

Ray asks if the reader believes in some of the stories in the Bible. Comfort says if you are an atheist, of course you dont because God "has chosen foolish, weak, base, and despised things of the world to confound those who think they are wise."

Where is the evidence?
Instead of actually presenting proof, Ray uses an analogy. Imagine you are looking at a luxury liner moving through calm waters, and suddenly some people jump off the boat onto small life boats. The rest, including yourself, calls them foolish. Until suddenly the luxury boat sinks, then you see the fools who jumped off earlier were wise, and those who wise who stayed on were fools. Ray urges the readers to consider the proof of Christianity provided in this book.

Chapter 1: Science and the Bible
The Bible and Earth's Free-Float in Space Job 26:7 while the common belief of the time (1500 B.C.E.) was the earth sat on the back of a large animal or giant.

The Scriptures speak of Invisible Structure Hebrews 11:3. Science has recently discovered the universe is made of atoms, whereas scripture knew of this for 2,000 years.

The Bible Reveals the Earth is Round Isaiah 40:22. The verse says the earth is a circle. Ray says the word chuwg translates to "circuit" or "compass" indicating a spherical not flat.

The Bible and the Science of Oceanography Psalm 8:8. Ray tells a story about Matthew Maury (1806 - 1873) is considered the father of oceanography and discovered many things after reading this Bible verse. Ray says the following "What does the Bible mean by “paths” of the seas? The sea is just a huge mass of water, how then could it have “paths?” Man discovered the existence of ocean currents in the 1850’s, but the Bible declared the science of oceanography 2,800 years ago."

The Bible and Radio Waves Job 38:35. Ray says this verse tells that light can be sent and manifest itself in speech. He says that all electromagnetic radiation (from x-rays to radio waves) travel at the speed of light. Comfort sites James Clerk Maxwell in Modern Century Illustrated Encyclopedia 1864 (3,300 years later) who discovered that electricity and light waves were the same thing.

The Bible and Entropy Isaiah 51:6, Psalm 102:25, 26 and Hebrews 1:11 indicate the earth is wearing out, and concludes this is about the Second Law of Thermodynamics (the law of Increase Entropy) and defines it as: that in all physical process, every ordered system over time tends to become more disordered.

The Bible and the Water Cycle Ecclesiastes 1:7.

The Bible and the First Law of Thermodynamics Genesis 2:1 Ray says "The Hebrew word used here is the past definite tense for the verb “finished,” indicating an action completed in the past, never again to occur. The creation was “finished”— once and for all. That is what the First Law of Thermodynamics says. It states that neither matter nor energy can be either created or destroyed. There is no “creation” ongoing today. It is “finished” exactly as the Bible states."

The Bible and Ship Dimensions Comfort uses Genesis 6 to support this, that God gave Noah the dimensions (30:5:3) that was later used in 1609 at Hoorn in Holland and then massively used in the 1900s. Comforts source is "Llyod's Register of Shipping" in the World Almanac.

The Bible and Meteorological Laws Ray tries to defend the air cycles in Ecclesiastes 1:6.

The Bible and Science Ray include a quote from Richard Wurmbrand, Proof's of God's existence, that science confirms what the Bible has been saying for thousands of years. he says the Christians hold the key to the secrets of the universe, and they should be the owners of the lock and key )that is show there is no conflict between science ad religion).

Chapter 3: Medical Science and the Bible
The Bible and the laws of Hygiene Here, Ray tries to portray Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis as the founder of the laws of hygiene and that the Bible led him to his discoveries. Ray says that Semmelweies was horrified at the terrible death rate of women who gave birth in hospitals. As many as 30 percent died after child birth. Semmelweis noted that doctors would examine the bodies of patients who died, then, without washing their hands, go straight to the next ward and examine expectant mothers. This was their normal practice, because the presence of microscopic diseases was unknown. Semmelweis insisted that doctors wash their hands before each examination, and the death rate immediately dropped to two percent. Ray tells us to "Look at the specific instructions that God gave thousands of years ago to His people for when they encountered disease: "And when he that has an issue is cleansed of his issue; then he shall number to himself seven days for his cleansing, and wash his clothes, and bathe his flesh in running water, and shall be clean" (Leviticus 15:13). Until recent years, doctors washed their hands in a bowl of water, leaving invisible germs on their hands. However, the Bible says specifically to wash under "running water.""

Chapter 4: Science and Genesis
Scientists Admit Genesis is "Close to the Truth." Ray quotes several magazines. First one is Time from December 1976, "Most cosmologists agree that the Genesis account of creation, in imagining an initial void, may be uncannily closer to the truth." Next from Jim Holt, Wall Street Journal, "The universe suddenly exploded into being...The big bang bears an uncanny resemblance to the Genesis command." Finally, Ray quotes from U.S. News and World Report, March 31, 1997, "New scientific revelations about supernovas, black holes, quarks, and the big bang even suggest to some scientists that there is a 'grand design' to the universe."

The Bible Speaks of Specific Design Ray quotes from two more magazines. First from Readers Digest, September 1986, by John Wheeler (Princeton University prof. of physics), "Slight variations in physical laws such as gravity or electromagnetism would make life impossible...The necessity to produce life lies at the center of the universe's whole machinery and design."

Next quote from evolutionist Stephen Hawking, "the universe and the law of physics seem to have been specifically deigned for us. If any of about 40 physical qualities had more than slightly different values, life as w know if would not exist: Either atoms would not be stable, or they would not combine into molecules, or the stars would no form the heavier elements, of the universe would collapse before life could develop itself, and so on..." (Source: Austin American Statesman, October 19, 1997).

The Bible Speaks of One Common Ancestor Here, Ray takes a quote from U.S. News and World Report Dec. 14, 1995 of a scientific terminology that 99 of all scientists agree that all humans are alike because they descend from common ancestor, traced back to one male ancestor they dubbed "Y-chromosome Adam."

Chapter 5: Scientists and the Bible
Ray starts off this chapter with a piece from young earth creationist Henry M. Morris. Morris outright claims the following: "Many of the great scientists of the past who founded and developed key principles of sciences were creationists."

Here are the names Morris provides;
 * Physics: Newton, Faraday, Maxwell, Kelvin
 * Chemistry: Boyle, Dalton, Ramsay
 * Biology: Ray, Linnaeus, Mendel, Pasteur
 * Geology: Steno, Woodward, Brewster, Agassiz
 * Astronomy: Kepler, Galileo, Herschel, Maunder

Morris is quick to point out that it was the Catholic Church who persecuted Galileo, NOT the Christian Church.

Chapter 6: Biology and the Bible
The Bible and Plant Life Ray points out that plants need sunlight, water, soil and minerals to survive. He states the Bible reveals this truth when in Genesis 1:3 and onward shows that God first created light, then water, then soil, and finally created plants.

Bible Statements Consistent with Biology Ray argues that Leviticus 17:11, written in 1400 BCE, shows that blood is the source of life. He declares up until 120 years ago, doctors performed a "blood test" in which they would bleed out their patients to help discover what was wrong with them.

Ray says that "William Harvey discovered that blood circulation is the key factor to physical life - confirming what the Bible said 3,000 years earlier" (emphasis added).

The Bible and Biogenesis Ray points to all the times when genesis mentions that animals produce after "their own kind" and concludes that this shows that only life begats life.

Natural Kinds validate the Bible Ray quotes Stephen J. Gould that "natural kinds" fits perfectly with pre-Darwinian tenets of creationism. It also Louis Agassiz believed that species are God's individual thoughts made incarnate.

Chapter 7: The Bible's 100% Accurate Prophecies
Ray argues the fulfilled prophecies in the Bible testify to its truth and validity, such as the bible predicted empires like Greece and Rome would fall in Daniel 2:39,40 and the destruction of Tyre and Sidon in Isaiah 23.

The Bible's Prediction of the Middle-East Conflict Ray says that in Genesis 16:12 that the descendants of Ishmael are the Arabs, and the Bible say the descendants will be will men an every man would be against them while they [the Arabs] dwell in the midst of their "brethren." Ray says the Jews are the Arab's brethren.

The Bible's Messianic Prophecies Ray quotes Micah 5:2 (born in Bethlehem), Isaiah 7:14 (born of a virgin), Zechariah 11:12,13 (betrayed for 30 pieces of silver), Psalm 22 (die of crucifixion), and Isaiah 53:9 (buried in a rich man's tomb). Let's go in order,

The Bible Predicted the Birth of a Nation Ray argues that Isaiah 66:7,8 predicted the foundation of Israel.

Bare in mind, the Bible contains many failed prophecies, such as Isaiah 19:5 predicting that the Nile River would dry up (it never has).

Chapter 8: Astronomy and the Bible
The Bible and Lights Here, Ray uses Genesis 1:14, that says God created the "lights" in the heavens "for signs, for seasons, for days and for years." Next, he explains astronomy has calculated the length of a year, a month, and when seasons should occur. Ray says it can only be divine revelation that Moses 3,500 years ago could know that "lights" were determining factors of year's length.

The Bible and the Stars Jeremiah 33:22. Ray says this was written 2,500 years ago "when no one knew who cast the stars were, since only 1,100 of them were visible." Ray says we now know that there are billions of stars, but they cannot be numbered. Ray also says 1 Corinthians 15;41 tells us that each star is unique. Close inspection shows a difference in of light spectra.

The Bible and Outer Space Ray argues before the Hubble telescope, the Bible in Deuteronomy 10:14 talked about 'the heavens' and 'the highest heavens.' Ray says we now know how vat the universe is, which galaxies very far away.

The Bible and the Sun's Circuit Ray uses Psalm 19:6. Ray notes many people criticized this verse that it supported geocentrism. Ray says that scientists at the time (~800 BCE) thought the sun was stationary. Now, science tells us that the sun moves at great speeds. Ray argues the "circuit" in the bible verse supports this.

The Bible and the Revolving Earth Ray argues that Jesus Christ will come back (faster than the speed of light -Luke 17:24) while some are asleep at night and others awake during their daytime activities. Ray concludes this must mean that the bible knew the earth revolved, since day and night existed on earth at the same time. Ray also argues that science did not discover this until the 15th century.

The Bible and the Expanding Universe Ray says that the Bible mentions about seven times that God "stretches out the heavens like a curtain" but he only notes Psalm 104:2. Ray says only recently is science understanding that the universe is expanding.

Astronomy Confirms the Bible In 1964, Drs. Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson of Bell Labs discovered a noise coming from all directions, permeating the universe. This was hailed by physicists as "the radio echo of creation." Penzias said that the best data to go by, if he had nothing else to go on, are the five books of Moses. He also said that "the creation of the universe is supported by all the observable data astronomy has produced so far."

Chapter 9: Historical Figures and the Bible
Sir Isaac Newton Believed the Bible Ray calls Newton the father of modern science. Ray then quotes Newton claiming that he found the Bible more historically authentic than any other.

Samuel Morse Believed the Bible Morse created the telegraph, who claimed four years before his death that the closer he approached death he saw the divine origin in the Bible.

Napoleon Believed the Bible Ray provides a quote from Napoleon who finds the Bible very enjoyable and reads it daily.

Woodrow Wilson Believed the Bible

Thomas Jefferson Believed the Bible

Herbert Hoover Believed the Bible

John Quincy Adams Believed the Bible

Franklin D. Roosevelt Believed the Bible

Robert E. Lee Believed the Bible remember, Lee was the General for the Confederate Army in the American Civil War.

Ulysses S. Grant Believed the Bible

Sir Winston Churchill Believed the Bible

Charles Dickens Believed the Bible

John Adams Believed the Bible "The Bible is the best book in the world. It contains more than all the libraries I have ever seen."

Ronald Reagen Believed the Bible

George Washington Believed the Bible

Dwight Eisenhower Believed the Bible

Albert Schweitzer Believed the Bible

Calvin Coolidge Believed the Bible

Christopher Columbus Believed the Bible

Here are some important historical figures who also believed the Bible, but Ray choose not to share,
 * 1) Hitler.
 * 2) The Nazi party.
 * 3) The Ku Klux Klan.
 * 4) George W. Bush.
 * 5) Dick Cheney.
 * 6) Popes.
 * 7) Fred Phelps, head of the Westboro Baptist Church, who believe the dead soldiers are god's punishment on American for its support of homosexuality.
 * 8) Henrich Kramer & James Sprenger, authors of the Malleus Maleficarum.
 * 9) Vlad the Impaler.
 * 10) Ivan the Terrible.
 * 11) Hernán Cortés and many other conquistadors.
 * 12) Kamini Debbarma of the NLFT, a Christian terrorist group in India.
 * 13) David Koresh, leader of the Branch Dividians, many who died in a shoot out with local and federal law enforcement officers.
 * 14) Jim Jones, leader of the People' Temple and initiator of the mass suicide of over 900 people in Jonestown, Guyana.

Chapter 10: Archaeology and the Bible
Archaeology and History Attest to the Bible The first section of this chapter was written by Richard Fales, PhD, who has been described as a professor of Archaeology, Greek, and Apologetics at the unaccredited, and apparently now defunct, Pacific International University.

The section does make a valid point that the gap of a few decades between the events in the New Testament and when they were written down is relatively short in comparison to other works.

The Dead See Scrolls Bear Out the Bible This section is written by archaeologist and biblical scholar William F Albright, who received his Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

The following sections contains several quotes from people of varying levels of authority. These quotes and the examples provided demonstrate that the Old Testament is historical accurate only at the level Ben Hur and Cleopatra are. Although, some of the characters and a few events are considered truly historical, neither the movies nor Comforts description go beyond that. For example, Comfort points out the bible mentions the Hittite Empire and Ponitius Pilate, which archaeological evidence also show existed. Comfort naturally avoids mentioning the fact that both of these are attested to by many, many other sources.

Chapter 11: The Bible's Historical Accuracy
The Bible's Historical Accuracy This a quote from apologist John McRay, who, as in other places is quoting in praise of Luke being a "scrupulously accurate historian."

History Attests to Scripture In this section, Comfort maintains the Bible is historical accurate because both Matthew and Luke refer to the the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem.

Historian Attests to the Account of Jesus This is a full quote of Josephus' reference to Jesus in his "The Wars of the Jews".

The Bible's Harmony Attest to Its Inspiration As the title indicates, in this section Comfort claims that the consistency allegedly maintained throughout the Bible is proof of its divine inspirations.

Chapter 12: Evolution and the Bible
Comfort begins this chapter with "If you have read through this book with an open mind, you may be wondering how the theory of evolution is compatible with the Bible. The answer is they are not."

Ray says he accepts "microevolution" as he terms it "variations within a species." Ray states the following, "But there is no scientific evidence for "macroevolution"——one species evolving into another."

Philosophy Professor Convinced In this section, Ray tries to convince the reader that belief in the Bible is justifiable because of a man named Prince Derek, a philosophy professor at Cambridge university, found the Bible more reliable than any other "alternative."

Evolution: Fact or Fiction? Ray says that evolution provides more questions than answers.

The reason why evolution seems illogical is because Ray does not know the answer to such questions like the first bird. Here are his questions, Did the bird breathe? Did it breathe before it evolved lungs? How did it do this? Why did it evolve lungs if it was happy surviving without them? How did it know that it needed to be evolved if its brain hadn't been evolved yet? Did the bird have a mouth? How did it eat before it evolved a mouth? Where did the mouth send the food before the stomach evolved? How did the bird have energy if it didn't eat (because it didn't yet have a mouth)? How did the bird see what there was to eat before its eyes evolved? Evolution is intellectual suicide. It is an embarrassment.

Ray then goes on to quote several people. He first quotes Prof. Louis Bounoure, Director of Research, National Center for Scientific Research, "Evolution is a fairy tale for grown ups. This theory has helped nothing in the progress of science. It is useless."

Second, Ray quotes Michael Ruse from his book Darwin's Theory: an Exercise in Science, "An increasing number of evolutionists...argue that Darwinian evolutionary theory is no genuine scientific theory at all...Many of the critics have the highest intellectual credentials."

Thirdly, Ray quotes Dr. T. N. Tahmisian of the Atomic Energy Commission, "Scientists who go about teaching that evolution is a fact of life are great con-men, and the story they are telling may be the greatest hoax ever." (1974)

Finally, Ray quotes British journalist and philosopher Malcolm Muggeridge, "I am convinced myself that the theory of evolution, especially the extent to which it has applied, will be one of the great jokes in the history books of the future. Posterity will marvel that so flimsy and dubious an hypothesis could be accepted with the incredible credulity that it has." (1981)

The Evolution of the Theory Ray tries to explain the story of the concept of evolution came to be by quoting a story from Out Time: The Illustrated History of the 20 Century.

Next, Ray lists several hoaxes, like Piltdown Man and Heidelberg Man. Ray argues that Neanderthal man is not evidence for evolution, because it has been discovered that Neanderthal Man died of exposure to disease and was "fully human, not ape."

The Religion of Evolution Ray wonders if there is no evidence for evolution, why is it vastly treated as it does? Ray then quotes Sir Arthur Keith, who wrote the Foreward to the Origin of Species, that "evolution is unproved and unprovable. We believe it only because the only alternative is special creation, and that is unthinkable." Finally, Ray quotes physics Prof. H. S. Lispon "In fact, evolution became a sense a scientific religion; almost all scientists have accepted it and many are prepared to "bend" their observations to fit it."

Ray agrees with Lispon that evolution is a religion. Ray explains how the acceptance of evolution happens: a believer tells it to a nonbeliever. The nonbeliever does not have to turn from sin, just drop the biblical creation, and thus believes evolution without a shred of evidence.

Ray claims that believers in evolution accept there is a missing link out there somewhere, but to this day (according to Ray we have never found the missing link.

Ray ends this section with a brief explanation about the validity of Genesis. Ray claims that the theory of evolution came from the minds of people who do not know God and have conjured up something to explain human origins. Ray says that scientists speak "in the language of speculation"—— that is, they never speak with absolute certainty whereas the Genesis account does.

Never-Changing Bible, Ever-Changing Science Ray lists several vague news reports of scientists finding new discoveries that altered their previous views. For instance, NBC report of a discovery in Australia in August 1999 that life had originated there, but the date was a billion years earlier than scientists previously thought.

Another report on CBS News in October 1999 that a 40 million-year-old fossil was found in Asia that changed the scientist mind of where humans had originated. It was once believed that man came from Africa, but no longer.

Finally, USA Today (March 21, 2001) reported, “Paleontologists have discovered a new skeleton in the closet of human ancestry that is likely to force science to revise, if not scrap, current theories of human origins.” Reuters reported that the discovery left “scientists of human evolution... confused,” saying, “Lucy may not even be a direct human ancestor after all.”

Ray quote Charles Spurgeon in an attempt to make the claims of scientists seem foolish and faith-based. “We are invited, brethren, most earnestly to go away from the old-fashioned belief of our forefathers because of the supposed discoveries of science. What is science? The method by which man tries to hide his ignorance. It should not be so, but so it is. You are not to be dogmatical in theology, my brethren, it is wicked; but for scientific men it is the correct thing. You are never to assert anything very strongly; but scientists may boldly assert what they cannot prove, and may demand a faith far more credulous than any we possess. Forsooth, you and I are to take our Bibles and shape and mould our belief according to the ever-shifting teachings of so-called scientific men. What folly is this! Why, the march of science, falsely so called, through the world may be traced by exploded fallacies and abandoned theories. Former explorers once adored are now ridiculed; the continual wreckings of false hypotheses is a matter of universal notoriety. You may tell where the supposed learned have encamped by the debris left behind of suppositions and theories as plentiful as broken bottles.”

Chapter 13: Science and Evolution
Ray tells the reader if they still think there is evidence for evolution, they should go to Ray's website (www.raycomfort.com) which links to Kent Hovind's $250,000 prize to anyone who can prove evolution and that no one has claimed the prize.

Ray then claims evolution is a religion. While using Funk & Wagnull dictionary, which defines religion as "a set of beliefs that concerned with explaining the origins and purposes of the universe." Ray says that scientist even speak in a language of religion: we believe, perhaps, maybe, probably, could've, possibly. Ray says Charles Darwin is the founder of the faith and it's god is "nature" (often referred to as 'Mother Nature').