Science and the Genesis account

January 7, 2020 by Bill K. Underwood

Evolutionary scientists look down their noses at anyone who gives any credence to the biblical account of creation. Unfortunately, creationists make ridiculous claims about the Bible that have only made the problem worse.

But if you take away the spin put on the account by creationists, what does the Bible actually say?

"In the beginning..." Genesis 1:1 declares that there was a beginning to the material universe.

Science now agrees. They didn’t always. "The Big Bang Theory” is not simply the name of a sit-com. It was a pejorative name given by scientists who disagreed with the theory first proposed by astronomers Georges LeMaitre and Edwin Hubble. Most scientists of the day believed a theory called “steady state”, that the universe was eternal and unchanging. The Bible was right, as LeMaitre and Hubble proved; their detractors were wrong.

1. According to the bible, the stars existed before the earth. ("God created the heavens...")

 

According to science, the Big Bang happened roughly 13.8 billion years ago. The earth began roughly 4.5 billion years ago.  

2. According to the bible, "The earth was formless..." (Genesis 1:2)

 

According to science, the earth was originally part of a formless blob of molten material and dust slinging around the sun that gradually clumped together to form Earth, Venus, Mercury, and the moon.

3. According to the bible, early in earth's history it was covered with water. "There was darkness on the surface of the water." (Genesis 1:2)

According to science, early in earth's history it was covered with water. Scientists cannot adequately explain where the water came from. But they all agree that at some point during its first 700 million years or so, there were few irregularities on the surface, no continents or mountains, and that liquid water began to collect on the smooth surface. By about 4 billion years ago, water covered the earth to a depth of roughly 1.7 kilometers – about 5,600 feet. 

4. According to the bible, sunlight did not initially reach the surface of the earth. ("...darkness on the surface...” Genesis 1:2)

According to science, Earth remained completely engulfed in the impenetrable cloud of dust and gases orbiting the sun.

5. According to the bible, the dust eventually cleared until the sun's light began to reach the earth. And the level of light reaching the surface of the earth changed over time. ("Let there be light... Let luminaries appear in the expanse." Genesis 1:1, 14)

According to science, since Earth had more mass than the dust, it orbited faster than the dust cloud through which it traveled, colliding with the dust particles. Gravity gradually pulled heavier dust particles down and added to Earth’s mass. Lighter particles and gases gradually move up and away from Earth. 

6. According to the Bible, “God went on to make the expanse and divided the waters beneath the expanse from the waters above the expanse.” (Genesis 1:7)

According to science, as the heavier elements fell to Earth and the lighter ones such as carbon dioxide and nitrogen rose in the atmosphere, there would have been fewer particles for water vapor to adhere to. Water vapor rising from the surface would have moved further up before condensing to form clouds, creating an expanse, or atmosphere. Cloud cover thinned and reflectance dropped, letting more light and heat reach the earth’s surface.

7. According to the Bible, plant life came before animal life. ("Let the earth put forth grass..." Genesis 1:11)

According to science, plant life came before animal life. 

8. According to the bible, aquatic creatures and winged creatures came before land-based animals. ("Let the waters swarm with living creatures...and every winged flying creature... Let the earth bring forth living creatures... " (Genesis 1:20, 21, 24)

According to science, aquatic animals and birds came before land-based animals.

9. According to the bible, humans came into existence after all the plant and animal life was already in existence. (“God went on to create the man in his image. . .” (Genesis 1:27)

According to science, humans came into existence after all the plant and animal life was already in existence. 

10. According to the bible, all humans alive today descended from a single pair of humans. ("Become many and fill the earth." Genesis 1:28)

According to science, all humans alive today descended from a single pair of humans.

That's ten steps, in order, that a Bible writer somehow knew, that science later proved to be correct. And that's just the first chapter. An open-minded person might be wise to ask: 

"How did the writer of Genesis know about these major steps in the formation of Earth? And how did he get them in the right order?" 

If I laid out ten playing cards face down, numbers ace through ten, and mixed them up and asked you to turn them one at a time, in order, what are the odds you would turn the ace first, and then the 2, and so on?  

You would have better odds of winning the lottery, four times in a row! If you don't believe that God inspired the bible writer to get those details right, please explain: How did the writer of Genesis, presumed to be Moses 3,500 years ago, get it right? 

 

And, got it right when the rest of the academic world of his time believed the sea came from the tears of one of the gods, and that humans were made from trees or rocks.

The simple fact is, there is no adequate explanation for humans having this knowledge back then, unless those humans were, as they themselves stated repeatedly, inspired by God. 

The real reason many people find that idea distasteful today is not the scientific aspect of it. People don't want the Bible to be true because of the moral aspect of it. If the Bible is true, then how do they deal with its moral guidelines that they disagree with? If they can prove it is false or faulty, then their conscience is clear. 

The unassailable logic goes like this: If God exists, then He created man. (Seriously: If God exists, do you think He'd just sit back and watch evolution happen?) If He created man, then it stands to reason that He gave mankind an instruction manual to explain why we are here and how best to live our lives. And if you don't believe the Bible is that instruction manual you need to dig out a deck of cards.

If God is Almighty, then the argument that the Bible is faulty, or is the work of men, or has been incorrectly translated, falls flat: If you were all powerful, and someone else wanted to write a book of lies and half-truths and claim it was from you, would you let that happen?

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 Bill K. Underwood is the author of several novels and one non-fiction self-help book, all available at Amazon.com.You can help support this site by purchasing a book.