Science Verifies Biblical Facts (Part 2)

Part 2 continued...

Celestial bodies don't last forever

By definition, a celestial body is a natural object outside of the Earth's atmosphere. We now know that stars and other astronomical bodies die. Science has confirmed this, but the Bible also mentions it.

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." ~ Matthew 24:35

Discovering astronomical bodies, such as comets, asteroids and meteors, can be credited to Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and Edmund Halley (1656-1742). For centuries, scientists believed comets traveled in the Earth's atmosphere and eventually died, but in 1577, observations made by Brahe revealed they actually traveled beyond the Moon. Newton was first to realize that comets orbit around the Sun and return to Earth's atmosphere after a certain number of years. And Halley did the calculations to know when the comet appeared in the past and when it would return in the future. But it wasn't until the 21st century that mankind actually learned that planets, such as Mars, could indeed die.

The universe is made of invisible particles

In the Book of Hebrews, it reads:

"By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible." - Hebrews 11:3

It sounds like the Bible is talking about atoms. Protons, neutrons, and electrons on their own are invisible to the naked eye. Atoms make up pretty much everything, including us.

While J.J. Thomson (1856-1940) discovered the electron in 1897, it was Vera Rubin (1928-2016), whose astronomical studies of galaxy rotation in 1980 led to the first real evidence that 84% of the Universe is made up of mysterious, invisible particles of dark matter.

David could have actually defeated Goliath

A small boy defeating a large giant might sound unlikely, but the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 says otherwise.

"As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground." - 1 Samuel 17:48-49

According to author Malcom Gladwell (b. 1963), many people mistakenly believe that David was carrying a child's toy, but in reality, it can be an absolute weapon of war in the right hands! The stones in the Elah Valley, where the battle took place, were made of barium sulphate, which is extremely dense (twice as dense as ordinary stones). Therefore, David's slingshot could easily be compared to the awesome power of a .45 caliber pistol.

Some scientists agree that Goliath being a giant could have caused acromegaly (overproduction of growth hormone), which can cause problems with central and peripheral vision. Which would leave a person to wonder... did Goliath properly see that stone being flung his way in time to move out of the way?

Either way, it is recorded that not only did David kill Goliath with that single hard stone but cut off his head for all to see!

There are mountains underwater

These landforms are actually called seamounts and are mentioned in the Bible.

"You covered it with the watery depths as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains." - Psalm 104:6

In 1954, the researchers published a map showing an underwater mountain range, which they named after the 18th-Century poet and naturalist Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765), who had predicted 200 years before that such features would be found in the Arctic basin. Lomonosov Ridge is a vast mountain range running from the continental shelf of Siberia towards Greenland and Canada. The mountain range stretches for more than 1,700km (1,060 miles), its highest peak is 3.4km (2.1 miles) above the ocean floor.

Yet, this is just one underwater mountain range. American and European researchers claim to have discovered tens of thousands of new mountains emerging on our planet, with at least 5,000 under the ocean.

The reason why we don't know about their appearance until now is because all the mountains are located on the ocean floor. Researcher Dave Sandwell from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (USA) discovered the existence of these mountains in the water using radar satellites and publishing his findings in journals Science Magazine.

The Sun actually stopped moving

Did the Sun really "stand still" for an entire day? Some researchers believe this was an eclipse that dated back to 30 October 1207 B.C., but wouldn't that event have caused darkness to fall upon the land? Joshua was clear in his narrative:

"On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: 'Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.'"

It is interesting to note that parallel accounts in the records of other nations show the incident of "Joshuas Long Day" is not an isolated one. There is indisputable evidence from the modern science of ethnology that such an event occurred as Joshua records. In the ancient Chinese writings, there is a legend of a long day. The Incas of Peru and the Aztecs of Mexico have a similar record. There is a Babylonian and Persian legend of a day that was miraculously extended. Herodotus (c/484-c/425 BC), an ancient historian, recounts that while in Egypt, a priest showed him their temple records, which mentioned a day which was twice the natural length of any day that had ever been recorded (Robert Boyd, Boyds Bible Handbook, pp. 122,123).

Creatures can't live without blood

Most of us are familiar with the Adam and Eve story of the Bible. Humans have, in fact, a female biological ancestor called Mitochondrial Eve, which precedes our species (Homo sapiens). There is, however, one thing that connects all of us living creatures: blood.

"For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life" (Leviticus 17:11).

Two chapters of Genesis (2:4 & 3:24) tell the story of Adam and Eve and a specific take on the origin of mankind. And while it’s understandably challenging to imagine a person being formed out of another person’s rib, science says it’s likely that all of Homo sapiens really did have a common ancestor — a “Mitochondrial Eve” (via Your Genome).

Meanwhile, Leviticus 17:11 talks about how the life of a creature is in its blood. A person can consider a literal interpretation of this to be scientifically accurate. Apart from traveling around the body to supply oxygen, nutrients, and other vital elements for continued survival, blood also protects the body via infection-fighting agents, prevents blood loss through clotting, regulates body temperature, and even ensures that waste products go to the liver and kidneys like they’re supposed to.

Sanitizing is really important

The Covid pandemic has taught mankind the importance of sanitizing our hands and clothes in order to avoid spreading germs, but the Bible mentioned its importance a long time ago.

"Anyone who picks up their carcasses must wash their clothes, and they will be unclean till evening. These animals are unclean for you." - Leviticus 11:28

"As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement." - Deuteronomy 23:13

Meanwhile, Leviticus 11:28 and Deuteronomy 23:13 emphasize the importance of cleaning oneself after handling corpses and the proper disposal of decomposing matter, respectively. It may come as a surprise that even though such guidelines are now staple parts of directives from the Department of Health, this wasn’t always the case. Take the story of Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865), the father of handwashing, as an example. As explained by FlipScience, his investigation of a mid-19th century outbreak of childbed fever in Europe revealed that doctors of the time didn’t wash their hands properly when they went from handling cadavers to assisting women in childbirth.

Isolation contains diseases

While proper quarantines developed later in history, the Bible advised the following measures to be taken:

"The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “When anyone has a swelling or a rash or a shiny spot on their skin that may be a defiling skin disease, they must be brought to Aaron the priest or to one of his sons who is a priest. The priest is to examine the sore on the skin, and if the hair in the sore has turned white and the sore appears to be more than skin deep, it is a defiling skin disease. When the priest examines that person, he shall pronounce them ceremonially unclean. If the shiny spot on the skin is white but does not appear to be more than skin deep and the hair in it has not turned white, the priest is to isolate the affected person for seven days. On the seventh day the priest is to examine them, and if he sees that the sore is unchanged and has not spread in the skin, he is to isolate them for another seven days." - Leviticus 13:1-5

The idea of isolating a patient suffering from a “defiling skin disease” for seven days and observing if their skin condition improves is evidence of quarantine before quarantine was even officially a thing.

According to FlipScience, the practice of holding or isolating infected patients for 40 days actually started in 1377 A.D., when the city now called Dubrovnik, Croatia forced ships from areas affected with the Black Death to undergo a 30-day isolation period.