by Bob Savory
It is often said that the Bible is not a book of science. This statement is usually made to suggest that the Bible is not scientific or not concerned with scientific information. I wish to challenge that suggestion. While it true that it is not a textbook of the sort used in a science classes, the Bible does contain scientific information and make claims consistent with modern science if the reader will learn to recognize them. Here I wish to give some examples.
Carbon
The entire universe is made of various types of energy, including matter which is also energy as per Einstein’s discovery that matter is energy (E=mc2). All things are constructed like Legos if you will, the elements of the periodic table being similar to Lego pieces, albeit a very simplistic comparison. The elements are the building blocks of everything. The primary foundational element of life is carbon upon which the science of organic chemistry is based. A friend of mine who is an organic chemist once told me: “No carbon, no life”. The carbon atom has the very important property that it readily combines with most all other atoms to form skin, hair, brains, DNA, wood, leaves, worms, etc., and virtually an infinite number of other life chemicals. The specific property of carbon that makes life is the fact that carbon polymerizes at low temperature, and polymers are simply very long chain-molecules. Life could not consist of molecules that could only polymerize at high temperatures! The interesting thing about carbon is that it is made up of three types of atomic particles: Protons, Neutrons, and Electrons. The protons and neutrons are concentrated in the nucleus of the atom and have equal mass, while the electrons are essentially pure energy.
The nucleus of the atom is like a picture of Jesus and God the Father seated together in heaven, and the cloud of six electrons surrounding the nucleus like the Holy Spirit. All three parts of the atom comprise one carbon atom and are equally important. As with everything we call ‘one’ there is multiplicity in their oneness. This is a picture of the Triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The design of the atomic elements has the ‘fingerprints’ of Jesus on it because he said, “I am the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). He is also said in Christian scripture to be both the instrument and object of creation in the following New Testament verses:
“All things were made through him [the Logos, Jesus] and without him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:1
“For by him [Jesus] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible…all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:16, 17
Moreover, the atomic mass or number of carbon is 12 (six protons, six neutrons), the same number as the number of tribes of Israel and the number of Apostles in the Bible. Would it not be expected that he who chose the 12 Apostles and raised the dead also designed the carbon atom, the atom of life? This number shows up throughout the Bible from the first book, Genesis, to the last book, Revelation (book 66). Here are some examples:
In the Old Testament of the Bible:
· many things were organized according to the 12 tribes of Israel. (Ex. 24:4 and 28:21; Numbers 7:84, 86, 87; 17:2, 29:17; Josh 3:12, and 4:3, etc.)
· It was prophesied by God that Abraham’s first son Ishmael would produce 12 future princes (Gen. 17:20)
· Having just made their exodus from Egypt the Israelites came to Elim where there were 12 springs of water. (Ex. 15:27 and Numbers 33:9)
In the New Testament of the Bible:
· Jesus was 12 when he went to Jerusalem and discoursed with the learned men in the temple (Luke 2:41-51)
· The first person Jesus raised from the dead was a girl 12 years of age (Matt. 5:42 and Luke 8:42)
· In the narrative of Jesus feeding the 5000+ people with just a small quantity of food there were 12 baskets of leftovers. (Matt. 14:20, Mark 6:43, Luke 9:17 and John 6:13)
· The metaphorical woman in the cosmic battle narrative of Revelation 12 had a crown of 12 stars (v. 1).
· In the Apostle John’s vision of the new earth there will be 12 kinds of fruit on the tree of life (Rev. 22:2) and four other instances of 12 describing the heavenly temple.
The number 12 is also seen in other spheres of the natural order, such as time:
· There are 12 months in a calendar year
· There is a multiple of 12 hours in a day (x2).
· There is a multiple of 12 minutes in one hour (x5).
· There is a multiple of 12 seconds in one minute (x5).
Could all of these instances be a mere coincidence? I think not.
Finally, in its raw state Carbon appears in nature in the form of soot, coal and other similar substances. Perhaps we can say it is a picture of the sin nature of man since, again, we are made of carbon. But under great pressure and temperature carbon can be transformed, or recrystallized, into diamond, a picture of purity, or a symbol of eternal life. According to scripture, a similar thing happens spiritually to a sinner who is confronted by the Gospel of Christ and he or she yields to its truth under great pressure. Then by repentance he or she is “born again” (John 3:3) and becomes an eternal being. Jesus also called himself the “Bread of Life” (John 6:51). I believe he meant ultimate life including the earthly and heavenly. But it is interesting to note that bread is a carbohydrate, and in the natural it is life-giving. Is not diamond a kind of “born again carbon?”
Metamorphosis
In Psalm 22:6 we read, “I am a worm and no man …” This famous verse from Psalm 22 is part of the prophetic description of the crucifixion of our Lord (written 1000 years before Jesus was born), who was laid into the ‘dust of death’ at the cross, with no one to help him. Similarly, the life cycle of the butterfly reenacts part of the passion of Christ because the lowly caterpillar ends its life as a ‘worm’ by wrapping its body in a cocoon akin to Christ’s burial garments. This makes a very similar picture of how Jesus was buried. But then, after a few days out of the cocoon, comes a beautiful butterfly or moth, a ‘flying machine’ which then flies away. How a worm can instantly learn all about aerodynamics, and navigation is astonishing, another miracle of the God of creation. In a similar way Jesus ‘flew away’ out of the tomb and appeared to his followers for 40 days (1 Cor. 15:5-9) before seating himself at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Eph. 1:20).
Light Spectrum and Prisms
In Genesis the Bible says God executed a massive flood to judge humanity due to sin and violence (Gen. 6:5-13). Then he created the rainbow after the flood (Gen. 9:8-17) promising never to flood the earth again. While reading an article about the spectrum of light (the rainbow) in the Scientific American several years ago, the author, after much analysis, declared the following: “A single rain drop acts like a prism that can split white light into the spectrum.” But there seems to be no scientific reason why the great structure of a rainbow can span clear across the horizon. Is it not also interesting that the seven primary colors are found in the spectrum of light and in the rainbow, with seven being the number of days of creation described in Genesis 1?
Fire
In Deuteronomy 4:24 God’s word says that “the Lord is a consuming fire”. This statement is a very scientific statement because, as mechanical engineers who have studied thermodynamics know, you cannot have heat transfer and life without fire. Fire is essential! Of course we are talking about our sun which is a perfect example of the creative hand of our Lord who describes himself in terms akin to our sun. The heat that transfers from the sun is at just the correct intensity and distance, etc. to provide for the chemical life that makes life possible. This idea is repeated in Hebrews 12:25 and is another emblem of science in scripture.
Conclusion
In Hebrews chapter 11, verses 1, 2 and 3, God’s word says that the Lord created the physical universe we see of things that are invisible. I ask you, what invisible thing do we know of from which the Lord might have created the matter of the universe? The obvious answer for those educated in physics is energy. Many of the types of energy that we use to do work are invisible. Most of us never see electrons in motion unless we see lightening. We also do not see thermal energy except with ultraviolet devices. We also cannot see the energy of gravity, but we know it is there. So for about 2000 years the Word of God has contained clues to the famous discovery of Einstein, that matter and energy are equivalent, or E = mc2 .