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coram_deo 23-Jul-21, 17:13	Science in the Holy Bible The Holy Bible is not a scientific text, nor was it intended to be. But when the Bible touches on science, it’s accurate - sometimes remarkably so. This thread will be devoted to instances where science appears in the Bible. The book of Job, thought to be the oldest book of the Bible, includes this remarkable verse: “He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing.” (Job 26:7) And an excerpt from a commentary on that verse: “b. He hangs the earth on nothing: Job remarkably understood this. In contrast to ancient mythologies that said the earth was held up on the backs of elephants or giant turtles, Job knew that He hangs the earth on nothing.” enduringword.com Then, also in Job, are these verses in which God is speaking directly to Job: “Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons?” (Job 38:31-32) This article, which I first saw several years ago, explains why those verses are remarkable: “In the past, I’ve posted a number of scientific consistencies found in the Old Testament. While I think there are good reasons why God might not reveal advanced scientific details in Scripture, I do expect God’s Word to be scientifically consistent with the world we experience. One interesting scientific consistency seems to exist in the ancient book of Job. I am obviously not a scientist or astronomer, so I’ll try to provide links to the references you might use to further investigate these claims. As you may remember, Job was extremely wealthy and had a large family. Tragedy struck and Job lost his wealth, his children and his wife. Job eventually began to accuse God of being unjust and unkind. In response to Job’s complaining, God challenged Job’s authority and power relative to His own. God asked the following series of questions to demonstrate Job’s comparative weakness: Job 38:31-32 Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion? Canst thou bring forth Mazzaroth in his season? Or canst thou guide Arcturus with his sons? The text refers to three constellations, Pleiades, Orion and Arcturus (the fourth, Mazzaroth, is still unknown to us). In the first part of the verse, God challenged Job’s ability to “bind the sweet influences of Pleiades.” It’s as if He was saying, “Hey Job, you think you can keep Pleiades together? Well, I can!” As it turns out, the Pleiades (also known as the Seven Sisters) is an open star cluster in the constellation of Taurus. It is classified as an open cluster because it is a group of hundreds of stars formed from the same cosmic cloud. They are approximately the same age and have roughly the same chemical composition. Most importantly, they are bound to one another by mutual gravitational attraction. Isabel Lewis of the United States Naval Observatory (quoted by Phillip L. Knox in Wonder Worlds) said, “Astronomers have identified 250 stars as actual members of this group, all sharing in a common motion and drifting through space in the same direction.” Lewis said they are “journeying onward together through the immensity of space.” Dr. Robert J. Trumpler (quoted in the same book) said, “Over 25,000 individual measures of the Pleiades stars are now available, and their study led to the important discovery that the whole cluster is moving in a southeasterly direction. The Pleiades stars may thus be compared to a swarm of birds, flying together to a distant goal. This leaves no doubt that the Pleiades are not a temporary or accidental agglomeration of stars, but a system in which the stars are bound together by a close kinship.” From our perspective on Earth, the Pleiades will not change in appearance; these stars are marching together in formation toward the same destination, bound in unison, just as God described them. The next section of the verse describes the Orion constellation. God once again challenged Job, this time to “loose the bands of Orion.” God was referencing the “belt” of Orion; the three stars forming the linear “band” at Orion’s waist. God appeared to be challenging Job in just the opposite way he had in the first portion of the verse. Rather than bind the Pleiades, God challenged Job to loosen Orion. It’s as if He was saying, “Hey Job, you think you can loosen Orion’s belt? Well, I can!” Orion’s belt is formed by two stars (Alnilam, and Mintaka) and one star cluster (Alnitak). Alnitak is actually a triple star system at the eastern edge of Orion’s belt. These stars (along with all the other stars forming Orion) are not gravitationally bound like those in Pleiades. Instead, the stars of Orion’s belt are heading in different directions. Garrett P. Serviss, a noted astronomer, wrote about the bands of Orion in his book, Curiosities of the Sky: “The great figure of Orion appears to be more lasting, not because its stars are physically connected, but because of their great distance, which renders their movements too deliberate to be exactly ascertained. Two of the greatest of its stars, Betelgeuse and Rigel, possess, as far as has been ascertained, no perceptible motion across the line of sight, but there is a little movement perceptible in the ‘Belt.’ At the present time this consists of an almost perfect straight line, a row of second-magnitude stars about equally spaced and of the most striking beauty. In the course of time, however, the two right-hand stars, Mintaka and Alnilam (how fine are these Arabic star names!) will approach each other and form a naked-eye double, but the third, Alnita, will drift away eastward, so that the ‘Belt’ will no longer exist.” Unlike the Pleaides clusters, the stars in the band of Orion do not share a common trajectory. In the course of time, Orion’s belt will be loosened just as God told Job. In the last section of the verse, God described Arcturus, one of the brightest stars in the night sky. God challenged Job to “guide Arcturus with his sons.” With this challenge, God appeared to be saying, “Hey Job, you think you can direct Arcturus anywhere you want? Well, I can!” While Arcturus certainly appeared in antiquity to be a single star, in 1971 astronomers discovered there were 52 additional stars connected directionally with Arcturus (known now as the Arcturus stream). Interestingly, God described Arcturus as having “sons” and Charles Burckhalter, of the Chabot Observatory, (again quoted in Wonder Worlds) said “these stars are a law unto themselves.” Serviss added, “Arcturus is one of the greatest suns in the universe, is a runaway whose speed of flight is 257 miles per second. Arcturus, we have every reason to believe, possesses thousands of times the mass of our sun… Our sun is traveling only 12 ½ miles a second, but Arcturus is traveling 257 miles a second…” Burckhalter affirmed this description of Arcturus, saying, “This high velocity places Arcturus in that very small class of stars that apparently are a law unto themselves. He is an outsider, a visitor, a stranger within the gates; to speak plainly, Arcturus is a runaway. Newton gives the velocity of a star under control as not more than 25 miles a second, and Arcturus is going 257 miles a second. Therefore, combined attraction of all the stars we know cannot stop him or even turn him in his path.” Arcturus and “his sons” are on a course all their own. Only God has the power to guide them, just as described in the ancient book of Job. I doubt it was God’s intention to teach Job astronomy in this passage. Instead, God wanted to challenge Job and remind him who had the power, authority and wisdom to control the fate of the universe. In a similar way, God wanted to remind Job who had the power to control Job’s fate and the wisdom to care for him, even when Job felt unloved. While it wasn’t God’s purpose to reveal hidden scientific truths to Job in an effort to demonstrate His Deity, the ancient text accurately describes the nature of these constellations and stars. Like other Old and New Testament passages, it is scientifically consistent, even if not scientifically exhaustive.“ coldcasechristianity.com If Job is the oldest book in the Bible, which is thought by some to be the case, it would have been written about 1,400 B.C. And while men technically wrote the Bible, they did so under the guidance, influence and control of God’s Holy Spirit, as these verses, and many others, demonstrate. These verses from the book of Job are the first entries in this thread (more to follow.)
coram_deo 23-Jul-21, 23:11	More scientifically accurate (and ahead of its time) astronomy in the Holy Bible: “The Bible frequently refers to the great number of stars in the heavens. Here are two examples. Genesis 22:17 Blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. Jeremiah 33:22 ‘As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured, so will I multiply the descendants of David My servant and the Levites who minister to Me.’ Even today, scientists admit that they do not know how many stars there are. Only about 3,000 can be seen with the naked eye. We have seen estimates of 10^21 stars—which is a lot of stars. (The number of grains of sand on the earth’s seashores is estimated to be 10^25. As scientists discover more stars, wouldn’t it be interesting to discover that these two numbers match?) The Bible also says that each star is unique. 1 Corinthians 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. All stars look alike to the naked eye* Even when seen through a telescope, they seem to be just points of light. However, analysis of their light spectra reveals that each is unique and different from all others. (*Note: We understand that people can perceive some slight difference in color and apparent brightness when looking at stars with the naked eye, but we would not expect a person living in the first century A.D. to claim they differ from one another.)” www.clarifyingchristianity.com
coram_deo 24-Jul-21, 16:31	“The book of Leviticus (written prior to 1400 BC) describes the value of blood. Leviticus 17:11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’ The blood carries water and nourishment to every cell, maintains the body’s temperature, and removes the waste material of the body’s cells. The blood also carries oxygen from the lungs throughout the body. In 1616, William Harvey discovered that blood circulation is the key factor in physical life—confirming what the Bible revealed 3,000 years earlier.” www.clarifyingchristianity.com
coram_deo 24-Jul-21, 16:37	“Hydrothermal vents are described in two books of the Bible written before 1400BC—more than 3,000 years before their discovery by science. Genesis 7:11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. Job 38:16 Have you entered the springs of the sea? Or have you walked in search of the depths?” ” www.clarifyingchristianity.com
coram_deo 25-Jul-21, 05:27	“The Bible described the shape of the earth centuries before people thought that the earth was spherical. Isaiah 40:22 ‘It is He who sits above the circle of the earth, And its inhabitants are like grasshoppers, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, And spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.’ The word translated “circle” here is the Hebrew word chuwg which is also translated “circuit,” or “compass” (depending on the context). That is, it indicates something spherical, rounded, or arched—not something that is flat or square. The book of Isaiah was written sometime between 740 and 680 BC. This is at least 300 years before Aristotle suggested that the earth might be a sphere in this book On the Heavens. This brings up an important historical note related to this topic. Many people are aware of the conflict between Galileo and the Roman Catholic Pope, Paul V. After publishing A Dialogue on the Two Principal Systems of the World, Galileo was summoned to Rome, where he was forced to renounce his findings. (At that time, “theologians” of the Roman Catholic Church maintained that the Earth was the center of the universe, and to assert otherwise was deemed heretical.) We could not find any place in the Bible that claims that the Earth is flat, or that it is the center of the universe. History shows that this conflict, which took place at the time of the Inquisition, was part of a power struggle. As a result, scientific and biblical knowledge became casualties—an effect we still feel to this day.”
coram_deo 26-Jul-21, 10:14	“Job 36:27-29 For He draws up drops of water, Which distill as rain from the mist, Which the clouds drop down And pour abundantly on man. Indeed, can anyone understand the spreading of clouds, The thunder from His canopy? This simple verse has remarkable scientific insight. The drops of water which eventually pour down as rain first become vapor and then condense to tiny liquid water droplets in the clouds. These finally coalesce into drops large enough to overcome the updrafts that suspend them in the air.” www.clarifyingchristianity.com Here is a commentary on this passage from the book of Job, which is believed to be the oldest book of the Bible (which would date it to at least 1,400 BC if not earlier.) I don’t agree with the opinion of the person cited at the end of this commentary. “b. For He draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist: In this beautiful section, Elihu analyzed the water cycle of evaporation, distillation, and rain and used it as an example of God’s brilliance and beauty as a Designer. i. ‘The clouds and the rain display God’s astonishing control of the world in operations of such delicacy and strength that men can neither understand nor imitate them.’ (Andersen) ii. Elihu’s wisdom in analyzing the water cycle has led people to wrongly conclude that the Book of Job must have been written later than commonly supposed. ‘The phenomenon of condensation (Job 36:27b) and precipitation (Job 36:28), while not technically understood, was certainly observable. But evaporation (Job 36:27) is not. Duhm therefore considered this proof that the Elihu speeches came a few centuries later than the divine speeches since meteorological knowledge would have been obtained from the Greeks.’ (Smick)“ enduringword.com I don’t agree with this part of the commentary: “Duhm therefore considered this proof that the Elihu speeches came a few centuries later than the divine speeches since meteorological knowledge would have been obtained from the Greeks.’ (Smick)” I believe Elihu, like the prophets that came after him, was speaking under the inspiration of God’s Holy Spirit. And it’s interesting that in the final chapter of Job, God says His wrath is kindled against Job’s friends but God doesn’t include Elihu. “Then Job answered the Lord, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me. I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes. And it was so, that after the Lord had spoken these words unto Job, the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is kindled against thee, and against thy two friends: for ye have not spoken of me the thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. Therefore take unto you now seven bullocks and seven rams, and go to my servant Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt offering; and my servant Job shall pray for you: for him will I accept: lest I deal with you after your folly, in that ye have not spoken of me the thing which is right, like my servant Job. So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went, and did according as the Lord commanded them: the Lord also accepted Job.“ (Job 42:1-9) This is a great (and very interesting) article on why God did not include Elihu in His chastisement of Job’s friends. “Why wasn’t Elihu included in God’s scolding to Job’s friends? Time and time again throughout the story of Job, Job's three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, make speeches to Job. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a fourth friend steps in and is given six consecutive chapters to present yet another speech to Job. However, at the end of the story, God chastises all of Job's friends except Elihu. Why was he exempt? Was there something special about his speech that God liked? Ray C. Stedman believes that there are four reasons that Elihu is an integral part in the book of Job. (1) When you come to the end of the book and you read the rebuke that God gives to the three friends of Job, you will note that Elihu is not included. (2) He is given an obvious, prominent part in this drama. His message occupies several chapters, and he is allowed to give one of the major discourses of this book. (3) He always speaks with courtesy and sensitiveness to Job, despite the strong feelings which he admits he has. He recognizes the depth of Job's suffering, and he always speaks with understanding. (4) Elihu claims to speak not as the other men did from their experience, but he claims to speak from revelation. Stedman also says that he believes ‘that Elihu [ultimately] comes into the book as the answer to Job's cry for an explanation.’ For the purposes of answering my question, probably the most relevant point is 4 along with his statement as to why Elihu was sent. Wikipedia notes and agrees with these points and adds this: ‘The speeches of Elihu contradict the fundamental opinions expressed by the 'friendly accusers' in the central body of the text, that it is impossible that the righteous should suffer, all pain being a punishment for some sin. Elihu states that suffering may be decreed for the righteous as a protection against greater sin, for moral betterment and warning, and to elicit greater trust and dependence on a merciful, compassionate God in the midst of adversity.’ So now we can see that there is, in fact, at least one difference in Elihu's speech. He points out a positive reason why Job is suffering instead of blatantly accusing him of some hidden sin. But what about Stedman's option number 4 in which Elihu claims to speak from revelation? He does indeed claim this in Job 36:2 - Bear with me a little, and I will show you, for I have yet something to say on God's behalf. So was God not angry with Elihu because Elihu was carrying a message from Yahweh himself? It's possible. It is possible that with an admonition for Job to stand still and consider the wondrous works of God, Elihu seems to be preparing Job for what is about to follow, namely, the whirlwind. Previously, Job and his friends had been arguing back and forth, and their debates had been thoroughly exhausted until Elihu appeared and proposed a new cause for Job's suffering. Elihu aroused new thoughts in Job, and his warning to him to regard God's works likely set him up for Yahweh's speech from the whirlwind in which he asked Job rhetorical questions regarding his creation. I find it odd that my research on this subject differs greatly from the commentary in our ESV Literary Study Bibles. After reading the notes in the boxes before each chapter, I thought that Elihu was some kind of young, arrogant punk who was long-winded and hadn't accomplished anything more than the other three friends had managed to accomplish in their speeches. The editors even accuse Elihu of ‘conceitedly’ speaking on God's behalf (page 733 in our Bibles). However, on that same page, they do agree with the fact that Elihu prepares Job, as well as readers, for God's whirlwind speech that follows. Whether you agree with the opinions of those whom I researched, or you agree with the thoughts of the ESV Bible, they both seem to agree on at least one point, that Elihu prepared Job for the whirlwind speech. So why didn't God include him in the chastisement? I like the idea that Yahweh sent Elihu to answer Job's cry for an explanation of his suffering and that God sent that message through Elihu. God was angered with Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar because of their false accusations against Job; but Elihu relayed Yahweh's message to Job and prepared Job for God's speech. I have personally come to the conclusion that, basically, Elihu was used by Yahweh, and that's why he didn't include Elihu in his scolding.“ genesistomalachi.weebly.com
coram_deo 02-Aug-21, 11:05	“The Bible describes biogenesis (the development of living organisms from other living organisms) and the stability of each kind of living organism. Genesis 1:11,12 Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:21 So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:25 And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. The phrase ‘according to its kind’ occurs repeatedly, stressing the reproductive integrity of each kind of animal and plant. Today we know this occurs because all of these reproductive systems are programmed by their genetic codes.” www.clarifyingchristianity.com
coram_deo 12-Aug-21, 07:10	This is a pretty long passage from a much longer article, but I think this passage is worth quoting in full, even if some of it is duplicative of earlier posts in this thread: From alwaysbeready.com 5. THE BIBLE’S AMAZING SCIENTIFIC ACCURACY AND FORESIGHT Of course, many critics of the Bible would disagree that the Bible is scientifically accurate. They point to verses that say things like “the sun stood still” in Joshua 10:13 or John’s reference to “the four corners of the Earth” (Rev. 7:1). And they conclude that the Bible teaches that the Sun revolves around a flat, four-cornered Earth. Well, they are overlooking the fact that the writers of the Bible were not writing a technical textbook on astronomy. They were describing things as they appeared to the eye (as was the case in Joshua 10) or employing normal figures of speech, as was the case with John’s reference to the “four corners of the Earth.” And we, living in this scientifically advanced age, still do the same thing! We don’t wake up early in the morning, throw open the Eastern window and say, “What a beautiful Earth rotation!” No. We say, “What a beautiful sunrise!” Technically speaking, that is unscientific terminology. Meteorologists tell us on the nightly news what time the “sunset” will be. We don’t accuse them of being unscientific. They’re using simple, straightforward language to describe the way things appear. When the apostle John referred to the “four corners of the Earth” in Revelation 7:1 he was using a figure of speech to describe the extremities of the land in the four cardinal directions: North, South, East and West. And we still use this figure of speech today. News agencies boast about how they have sent out their reporters to the four corners of the Earth to track down their stories. So, keeping in mind that the writers of the Bible described things in simple terms as they appeared to the eye, and that they employed figures of speech (metaphors, personification and such) does away with many of the alleged scientific inaccuracies in the Bible. Now, granted, Scripture is out-of-sync with some of the philosophies and theories some scientists hold to. The most obvious being atheistic naturalism and the theory of biological macro-evolution. If a scientist believes everything that exists came into being from nothing and by nothing and then evolved to its current state via a mindless series of unguided natural causes, then yes!—the Bible is out-of-sync with that. That goes without saying. But when it comes to known, testable, verifiable facts, the Bible has been found to be in perfect harmony with the way things really are, which is incredible when you think about it, because as you know the Bible was written two to four thousand years ago—long before the invention of microscopes, telescopes, satellites, and other technologies that have allowed us to investigate the Earth and universe. The fact that the Bible was written so long ago, touches on a myriad of topics, and yet does not contain any scientific errors, might be considered evidence for divine inspiration all on its own. Why? Without exception, every ancient religious writing has certain unscientific views of astronomy, medicine, hygiene, and so on. For example, the Hindu Vedas teach that the Earth is flat and triangular. They also teach that earthquakes are the result of elephants shaking their bodies underneath the ground. The Quran 18:86 says that the Sun sets in a muddy spring. The Quran says, “when he reached the setting-place of the Sun, he found it setting in a muddy spring.” You could get away with an unscientific statement like that in certain parts of the world in the seventh century. The Bible steers free of these kinds of errors. But not only that, it makes known amazing facts about our world and the universe thousands of years before scientists discovered that they were actually true. Allow me to share with you a few examples: A. The Sun In contrast to the Quran, the Bible teaches that the Sun is actually on a circuit through space. Writing about the Sun in Psalm 19:6, David said, “Its rising is from one end of heaven, and its circuit to the other end.” Well, for years, modern critics of the Bible laughed at this verse thinking David had made an error (that he had espoused a geocentric view of the universe). They thought David was saying the Sun revolves around the Earth. So, the critics said, “The sun doesn’t go anywhere. It’s stationary. It’s the Earth that moves around the Sun!” But with the advent of powerful telescopes, we’ve discovered that the Sun actually does move. It’s traveling about 515,000 miles per hour on a circuit through the heavens as it makes its way around the center of the Milky Way Galaxy (SOURCE: Space.com/19915-milky-way-galaxy.html ). So, David was right after all! B. The Shape of the Earth Long before the Greeks figured out that the world was round, the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians and Chinese believed the world was flat. Amazingly, the Bible went against the grain and gave indications that the Earth was a sphere. In a book thought to be written about 2000 BC, Job 26:10 tells us that God “has inscribed a circle on the surface of the waters at the boundary of light and darkness.” That’s interesting. Stay with me on this. Job says God has drawn “a circle on the surface of the waters at the boundary of light and darkness.” This boundary between light and darkness is where evening and morning occur. Notice that the boundary is not a square or a triangle. It’s a circle. Why? Because the Earth is round. Another verse that speaks of the circular shape of the Earth is found in Isaiah 40:22, written about 700 BC: “It is He [God] who sits above the circle of the Earth.” C. The Suspension of the Earth Before Isaac Newton discovered gravity, Hindus believed the Earth rested on the backs of elephants who stood on the back of a turtle that was swimming in a great endless sea. That’s some turtle! There were all kinds of theories in the ancient world. People thought something has to support the Earth. What did the Bible say? In one of the oldest books in the Bible, Job said: “He [God] hangs the Earth on nothing” (Job 26:7). Nothing! In other words, the Earth hangs completely unattached in space. This is astounding. Scientists were still trying to figure this out thousands of years later. D. The Stars Before the invention of the telescope, people believed the stars could all be numbered. People were so confident of this, they drew up star charts, with all the stars named and numbered. The Greek astronomer and mathematician Hipparchus (190-120 BC) claimed there were 1,026 stars. The astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy (AD c. 85-165) said there were 1,056 stars. The German astronomer Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) counted 1,006. When Galileo (a devout Christian) pointed his telescope to the heavens in 1608, he discovered these previous counts were way off and that the Bible was actually right. What had the Bible said? God said in… Jeremiah 33:22 “The host of heaven [a reference to the stars] cannot be numbered, nor the sand of the sea measured.” God says the stars cannot be numbered. In fact, trying to do so would be about as futile as trying to count the grains of sand floating around in the sea, obviously an impossible task. Jeremiah wrote that more than 2,000 years before Galileo made his discovery. Today, with the help of powerful telescopes, astronomers tell us that the universe contains somewhere between 100 billion and a trillion galaxies containing anywhere between 100 billion and 10 trillion stars each. [Source: AP/Washington Times] This all adds up to a lot of stars! Astronomers have to keep revising their estimates of how many stars have been discovered. A new study, published in the journal Nature, suggests there are a mind-blowing 300 sextillion stars. That is a 3 followed by 23 zeros, or take 3 trillion and multiply it by 100 billion. [Source: AP/Washington Times] Surely the host of heaven cannot be numbered! (Jeremiah 33:22). Now all of these statements in the Bible about the stars, the universe, and the Earth raise a question: How did the authors of the Bible know these kinds of things? Were they taking wild guesses? No. Their perfect accuracy rules that out, especially when you consider the fact that there are dozens of statements in the Bible concerning these matters. The Bible tells us how they knew these things in verses like 2 Peter 1:21. It says there that “Holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” The God who knows all there is to know about the universe He created, superintended the writing of the Bible to make sure that what the authors penned accurately reflected the way things really are (2 Tim. 3:16). alwaysbeready.com
coram_deo 18-Aug-21, 20:45	How did Noah know the proper dimensions that the ark should be - dimensions that are still used today for large ships? You guessed it - Noah got the dimensions straight from God! “Noah's Ark—A Flawless Floater by Kyle Butt, M.Div. In Genesis 6:15, God instructed Noah to build an ark that was 300 cubits long, 50 cubits wide, and 30 cubits high. This is a ratio of 30 to 5 to 3 (length to breadth to height). Until about 1858, the ark was the largest floating ship ever created. In terms that we understand better, the ark was about 450 feet long, 75 feet wide, and 45 feet high. In 1844, a man named Isambard K. Brunnel built his giant ship, the Great Britain. He used almost the exact ratio of the ark—30:5:3. As it turns out, these dimensions are the perfect ratio for a huge boat built for seaworthiness and not for speed. Obviously the ark was not built for speed, since it had nowhere to go! What is more, shipbuilders during World War II used approximately the same ratio to build a ship known as the S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien (one of a group of ships known as the Liberty Ships, which were referred to as ‘the ugly ducklings’)—a barge-like boat built to carry tremendous amounts of cargo, just like the ark. How did Noah know the perfect seagoing ratio to use in building the ark? Brunnel and others like him had many generations of shipbuilding knowledge to use, but Noah’s literally was the first of its kind. Where did he get such information? From the Master Builder!” apologeticspress.org Here is the passage in Genesis in which God tells Noah the dimensions of the ark He wants Noah to build: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is the fashion which thou shalt make it of: The length of the ark shall be three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, and the height of it thirty cubits.” (Genesis 6:11-15) And in related news, scientists determined Noah’s ark would have floated with 70,000 animals inside - two of the 35,000 kinds of animals believed to exist at that time. Excerpts from Business Insider: “Scientists at the University of Leicester have discovered that Noah's Ark could have carried 70,000 animals without sinking if built from the dimensions listed in The Bible. Noah’s Ark would have floated even with two of every animal in the world packed inside, scientists have calculated.” “Previous research has suggested that there were approximately 35,000 species of animals which would have needed to be saved by Noah, enabling the students to conclude that the dimensions given in the Bible would have allowed Noah to build an ark that would float with all of the animals on board.” www.businessinsider.com And, no, the ark didn’t have any “transitional forms” or “intermediate varieties” on board!
coram_deo 16-Oct-21, 03:36	Psalm 8 includes this interesting verse about the “paths of the seas” - a reality man discovered some 2,800 years after King David penned those words under the inspiration, guidance and control of God’s Holy Spirit. “The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” (Psalm 8:8) Here’s a commentary on this scientifically-accurate verse from Psalm 8. From icr.org: “Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee” (Job 12:8). Matthew Maury served as a U.S. naval officer before suffering an injury which forced his retirement. He was then placed in charge of the Depot of Charts and Instruments of the Hydrographic Office of the Navy from 1841 to 1861. He was a Christian who loved the Word of God. One day, while reading Psalm 8, he was struck by an important truth in the 8th verse. There he read that God had given man dominion over “the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.” He immediately saw the great practical significance of that verse, recognizing that there must be currents of water in the oceans, just like vast rivers, as well as in the atmosphere (Ecclesiastes 1:6). With confidence in the accuracy of the Bible, Maury determined to discover the paths in the seas and the wind circuits, utilizing the charts and log books he had at his disposal. He did discover and plot many of the wind circuits and currents, such as the great Gulf Current, 40 miles wide and 2,000 feet deep that comes out of the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic; the Japanese Current, the California Current, and others. Utilizing this information, the sailing ships of his day plied these currents and wind circuits, reducing by as much as three weeks the time required to cross the oceans. On a monument erected by the state of Virginia to his memory is found a plaque that reads as follows: “Matthew Fontaine Maury, Pathfinder of the Seas, the genius who first snatched from the oceans and atmosphere the secret of their laws. His inspiration, Holy Writ, Psalm 8:8; Ecclesiastes 1:6.” A genius? No. Just a simple Bible-believing Christian who trusted the inerrancy of the Word of God. DTG www.icr.org
coram_deo 16-Oct-21, 06:29	Here’s an article that speaks to how Matthew Maury discovered the paths of the sea - based on his belief in the inerrant and infallible Word of God! From adefenceofthebible.com: Matthew Fontaine Maury was born in Spotsylvania County, Virginia in 1806 into a family whose lives were based around the Bible and the belief that it was the word of God. His ancestors were Huguenots who had fled France under the religious persecution of Charles IX. Throughout his life, he never disguised the fact that he could see God’s creation to be purposeful and there to be a clear relationship between science and creation. At the age of 19 he followed his brother into the United States Navy and sailed the oceans in the ships Brandywine and Vincennes. Later, he was appointed to the position of acting sailing master aboard the Falmouth. In this position, he was responsible for navigating the course, steerage and sail trim for the voyage. During the passage around Cape Horn, he discovered that vital navigation information did not exist, so he kept meticulous records for his own use and the use of others. He later published them under the heading; The Navigation of Cape Horn in the journal, American Journal of Sciences and the Arts. Maury married Ann Herndon in 1834 and they settled in Fredericksburg, Virginia. In 1839, returning from visiting his parents, he was involved in a stagecoach accident and broke his femur which left him permanently lame and terminated his sailing career. The following account is given in the booklet A Brief Sketch of the Work of Matthew Fontaine Maury, authored by Maury’s son, Richard Launcelot Maury: At one time, when Commodore Maury was very sick, he asked one of his daughters to get the Bible and read to him. She chose Psalm 8, the eighth verse of which speaks of “whatsoever walketh through the paths of the sea.” He repeated, “The paths of the sea, the paths of the sea. If God says the paths of the sea, they are there, and if I ever get out of this bed I will find them.” When Maury recovered, he set out to discover the “paths of the sea.” As well, he was inspired by Ecclesiastic 1:6: The wind blows to the south and goes around to the north; around and around goes the wind, and on its circuits the wind returns. He concluded that in certain places, the wind might blow predominantly from one direction which would be a significant advantage for sailing ships if they knew it. In 1841, Matthew Fontaine Maury became head of the US Navy’s Department of Charts and Instruments only to discover that the Navy had very few charts of the oceans! But it did have a big storeroom of logbooks from Navy ships. In these logbooks, sea captains travelling the North Atlantic had recorded their daily locations, as well, the speeds and directions of winds and currents. Maury realized the books contained a gold mine of information. By compiling records from many ships, he saw patterns. He made charts of ocean currents and winds that helped captains plot the best sea lanes for their voyages. Due to his initiative, a world-wide co-operative system to collect maritime information was organized. In 1852-53, he made a remarkable achievement in getting ten major maritime powers together for a meeting in Brussels. Even more remarkable was his ability to extract out of that gathering a unanimous agreement on the kinds of observations seamen should make and how they were to be recorded and processed for the benefit of all mankind. As a consequence, thousands of logs were sent into Maury’s observatory for the development and revision of wind and ocean currents. In addition to this collection of charts, Maury set adrift weighted bottles known as ‘drift bottles’. These floated slightly below the surface of the water so not to be affected by wind. Instructions were sealed in each bottle directing anyone who found one washed ashore to return it. From the date and location from which the bottles were found, Maury was able to develop charts of the ocean currents; the paths of the sea. Matthew Maury combined all of this information to compiled extensive charts of wind circulations and sea currents, into a text book which he published in 1855 titled; The Physical Geography of the Sea and its Meteorology, the first textbook of modern oceanography. His work was invaluable to mariners and on some trips saving up to three weeks of sailing. In his book, Maury gave glory to God for His creation and His holy book, the Bible; through which He gave Maury the key to unlock the mysteries of the oceans. Maury claimed that his success in science was firmly based on his Christian commitment: In observing the working and studying the offices of the various parts of the physical machinery which keeps the world in order, we should ever remember that it is made for its purpose, and that it was planned according to design and arranged so as to make the world as we behold it, a place for the habitation for man. Upon no other hypothesis can the student expect to gain profitable knowledge concerning the physics of the sea, earth or air. Maury’s legacy He became a professor of meteorology at the Virginia Military Institute. He continued to write and in 1866 he published The World We Live In. In 1872, he became ill while conducting an exhaustive lecture tour. He died on February 1, 1873. Maury Hall was named in his honor at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. He also received honors from many parts of the world, including being knighted by several nations. Many monuments have been created to honor him, and he even has a crater named after him on the Moon. His important contributions to the fields of oceanography and ocean navigation have earned him many titles, including “Pathfinder of the Seas” and the “Father of Modern Oceanography” all because he believed that what the Bible says was true. www.adefenceofthebible.com
coram_deo 17-Oct-21, 22:30	Excellent video by Ray Comfort that presents, in the first half of the video, 10 scientific facts in the Holy Bible that mankind didn’t discover until thousands of years later. In the second half of the video, Ray Comfort interviews atheists and agnostics. In an exchange toward the end of the video, Ray is speaking to a non-believer who says his daughter is a Christian, and Ray says, “You’re talking to me today because of her prayers.” I have no doubt that’s true! Enjoy! youtu.be
coram_deo 24-Oct-21, 20:50	Ain’t no “primitive explanations of the world” in the Holy Bible, as an atheist in another club recently alleged. Just watch the first half of the video in the post above this one - the Bible was literally thousands of years ahead of science! That’s not by accident, folks. Did men 2,000+ years ago who wrote books in the Old Testament know more than men many centuries later? Of course not! But they (the men 2,000+ years ago) had God’s Holy Spirit inspiring, guiding and controlling them, which is why what they wrote way back then was 100% accurate and not discovered by man until thousands of years later. When you read the Holy Bible, you’re not reading just a book. You’re reading 66 books written by 40 men over 1,500 years on three continents, and you’re reading words inspired by God Himself. Can the Bible be boring? Yes! At least I think so. The genealogies are tedious, and some of the history is repetitive (the children of Israel worship false gods, the real God gets po’d, Israel repents, God accepts them back and blesses them, rinse and repeat.) But the Gospels, Psalms, Job, the latter chapters in Genesis, the Apostle Paul’s letters to the churches, the book written by the prophet Isaiah are not boring at all - they’re extremely interesting. And because the Bible is really 66 books, it can be read out of order. If I had it to do over again, I’d read the Gospels first (and I’d probably read the Gospel of John before the other three Gospels,) then Psalms, then 1 John, then Romans, maybe Job, then Paul’s letters (especially Galatians,) then Isaiah, then Proverbs, then Genesis (I like the last 10 chapters of Genesis the best.) Currently have completed handwriting 966 of the 1,189 chapters in the Bible. Hope to finish by Easter 2022, the Good Lord willing! 📖 ✍️ 👍👍
coram_deo 17-Nov-21, 07:40	“10 Surprising Scientific Miracles In The Bible” Excellent video that shows how far the Holy Bible was ahead of science and that includes two great challenges to the theory of evolution (numbers 3 and 2 in the video.) youtu.be This video is 11:02 long.

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