OT Tuesday: Fun With Science

Warning: Contains Science. Read with care.

It's not a far stretch to say that there's better science being taught in Sunday School than there is in Public School. For one thing, Sunday School doesn't have to worry about political correctness, and for another the bible has a much longer track record of accuracy and consistency than the standard 6th grade text book. Looking back on what I was taught in middle school, just about everything has changed in one form or another while the Bible remains constant.

Of course the Bible has it's detractors who tend to be vocal in their dismissal of God's word. Anytime the truth conflicts with what is convenient or fun people will go out of their way to try to tear down the truth and replace it with what feels good. I recently saw an "educated" criticism of the scientific content of the bible summed up by stating in effect "How can you take the science in the Bible seriously when it was written by people who thought that all animals were within walking distance from Noah's ark?" This was written by someone whose ancestors at that time believed that the world was flat and rested on the back of a giant turtle. 

Of course when discussing science in the Bible eventually the myth of evolution will rear it's ugly head. Yes, I said myth. Unlike actual science, evolution cannot be observed, tested, or repeated, nor is there proof that it actually exists such as transitory examples in the fossil record (fish with feet, dogs with wings, etc). Evolution is based upon faith alone, and unlike biblical faith, the myth of evolution has no historical basis to add emphasis to that faith.  What history the myth of evolution does have is peppered with fraud, disinformation, and undisguised racism. One of the original tenants of evolution was to prove that blacks weren't human. (source)

But science, real science, is there in the Bible to be pondered and marveled, and why not? God invented science. 

The course of the trade winds. The trade winds were known as far back as the 15th century, when documented by Portugese sailros. The term trade winds originally derives from the early fourteenth century late Middle English word 'trade' meaning "path" or "track." However in 450 BC descriptions of the trade winds were found in Ecclesiastes

Blowing toward the south,
Then turning toward the north,
The wind continues swirling along;
And on its circular courses the wind returns. (Ecclesiastes 1:6)

The existence of hydrothermal springs. Hydrothermal springs, also known as hydrothermal vents, also known as "black smokers" and "white smokers" were discovered by a remote controlled deep submergence submarine named Alvin from the Woods Hole Oceanographic institute in 1977. They were also described in the book of Job

“Have you entered into the springs of the seaOr walked in the recesses of the deep? (Job 38:16)

Underwater Canyons. Early science had no concept that there were deep canyons at the bottom of the ocean, in fact the Mariana Trench the deepest largest underwater canyon on earth wasn't discovered until 1951. The above reference in Job (written around 1900 BC) describes recesses of the deep. Other references to underwater mysteries such as canyons and mountains are  found in the bible long before "advanced civilization" caught up with ancient Hebrews:

“Then the channels of the sea appeared,
The foundations of the world were laid bare
By the rebuke of the Lord,
At the blast of the breath of His nostrils. (2 Samuel 22:16)

“I descended to the roots of the mountains.
The earth with its bars was around me forever,
But You have brought up my life from the pit, O Lord my God. (Jonah 2:6)

Keep in mind that the bible concentrates on the experiences of a desert dwelling people who don't even like to look at the Mediterranean Sea. Descriptions of sailing almost always end in disaster, from Jonah, to the storm on the Sea of Galilee, to Paul's getting shipwrecked at sea. The Jews were more comfortable on land far from the shore. 

Ocean currents. Again, another interesting oceanic bit of science: a desert dwelling people describing ocean currents that weren't studied by ocean going Europeans until 1855

The birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas. (Psalm 8:8)

Polar Ice Caps. As I said, the ancient Jews were comfortable far away from the sea, and as close to the equator as they could get. So how would they know about frozen seas?

²⁹ 

29 “From whose womb has come the ice?And the frost of heaven, who has given it birth?30 “Water becomes hard like stone,And the surface of the deep is imprisoned. (Job 38:29-30)

The bible is full of other science references besides oceanography that couldn't be known to a desert dwelling people. There's Astronomy:

• The earth is suspended in space (Job 26:7)
• The earth is spherical (Isa. 40:22)
• The stars are innumerable (Genesis 15:5)
• The universe is subject to the Second Law of Thermodynamics (Isaiah 51:6)

and Medicine:

• Germs and bacterial infections (Leviticus 6:28) (Leviticus 11:35)
• Advanced disinfectant solution (Numbers 19:6-9) Hyssop oil is a very effective antiseptic and antibacterial agent. It contains 50% carvacrol which is an antifungal and antibacterial agent still used in medicine today. Prenatal care for unborn children (Judges 13:2-14)
• People are made from Dirt (Genesis 2:7) In 1982 researchers at NASA's Ames Research Center confirmed that every single element found in the human body exists within ordinary soil. 

there's even Palentology:

You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness. (Psalms 74:14)

and Meteorology 

• Hydrologic cycle (Job 36:27)

Notice that many of these references are from the book of Job, which is estimated to have been written around 1900 BC, although I've read some estimates that state that Job is quite possibly antidiluvian which means that Noah would have carried it on the ark. Still, even being written in 1900 BC, that means that the notion that the world was spherical was put down in scripture nearly 2000 years before "rational science" discovered the same thing.