I was recently made aware of a letter that was written to The Clarion News, the local newspaper of the town in which I attend college. The authors of said letter purport that the Bible is a better source of information about the world than "science" (their air quotes, not mine). They then go on to make a series of false, unsupported and outright wrong claims about what the Bible says versus what "science" said. They are also extremely generous in their interpretation of Scripture to support their own case and careful to pick out old positions in science to make it seem ridiculous. Shooting them down is child's play.
I wish that I could link the entire article, but one has to subscribe to The Clarion News in order to view it and, even were I a subscriber any readers could not view it even by selecting the link. I was provided with the transcript which I reproduce here. No copyright infringement intended; naturally I don't lay claim to owning any of this nonsensical rubbish.
"Bible vs. ‘science’
By Lenny Brooks and Terri Johnson
Clarion
There was a feature recently written about Steven Hawkins’ book on proving God doesn’t exist.
We have evidence that God does exist.
Just look how perfectly God designed the world. Earth is the right size. If it were any smaller or larger the atmosphere would be impossible to live in. Earth is the only known planet with the exact mixture of gases to sustain life.
Earth remains the perfect distance from the sun. If it were any closer we’d burn up and if any further we’d freeze. The moon is the right size and distance from the earth for its gravitational pull.
Design needs a designer and that designer is God.
Let’s look at the Bible to see what God tells us before man ever discovered these scientific facts.
Bible: Earth is a sphere. (Isaiah 40:22). Science said Earth was flat.
Bible: Stars too many to count. (Jeremiah 33:22). Science said there only 1,000 stars.
Bible: Earth floated. (Job 26:7). Science said it was held up.
Bible: Each star different (1 Corinthians 15:41). Science said they were all the same.
Bible: Light moves. (Job 38:19, 20). Science said it stood still.
Bible: Air has weight. (Job 28:25). Science said it was weightless.
Bible: Winds blow in cyclones. (Ecclesiastes 1:6). Science said the wind blew straight.
Bible: Blood source of life. (Leviticus 17:11). Science said sick people should be bled.
Bible: Ocean floor contains deep valleys and mountains. (2 Samuel 22:16; Jonah 2:6). Science said the ocean floor was flat.
Bible: Ocean contains springs (Job 38:16). Science said it was fed only by rivers and streams.
Bible: Wash hands under running water. (Leviticus 15:13). Science said wash hands in still water.
Bible: Hittite nation. (Genesis 23:10). Science denied it until 1906.
Our question is how would the writers of the Bible have known all these facts if it wasn’t from God.
For more scientific facts go to www.apologeticspress.org then to the Bible and science.
Now that you see the Bible is God’s word, are you asking yourself, so what if God exists and the Bible is his word?
The answer to that is we will be judged by his word (John 12:48) so we need to know what his word says.
A great Bible study site to know God’s word iswww.gospelofchrist.com
Go to audio lessons then to Evangelism lessons.
Any questions or comments please contact the Clarion Church of Christ, 288 Grand Ave., Clarion, Pa., 16214 or by telephone, 227-2120 or www.clarionchurchofchrist.com."
I wish that I could link the entire article, but one has to subscribe to The Clarion News in order to view it and, even were I a subscriber any readers could not view it even by selecting the link. I was provided with the transcript which I reproduce here. No copyright infringement intended; naturally I don't lay claim to owning any of this nonsensical rubbish.
"Bible vs. ‘science’
By Lenny Brooks and Terri Johnson
Clarion
There was a feature recently written about Steven Hawkins’ book on proving God doesn’t exist.
We have evidence that God does exist.
Just look how perfectly God designed the world. Earth is the right size. If it were any smaller or larger the atmosphere would be impossible to live in. Earth is the only known planet with the exact mixture of gases to sustain life.
Earth remains the perfect distance from the sun. If it were any closer we’d burn up and if any further we’d freeze. The moon is the right size and distance from the earth for its gravitational pull.
Design needs a designer and that designer is God.
Let’s look at the Bible to see what God tells us before man ever discovered these scientific facts.
Bible: Earth is a sphere. (Isaiah 40:22). Science said Earth was flat.
Bible: Stars too many to count. (Jeremiah 33:22). Science said there only 1,000 stars.
Bible: Earth floated. (Job 26:7). Science said it was held up.
Bible: Each star different (1 Corinthians 15:41). Science said they were all the same.
Bible: Light moves. (Job 38:19, 20). Science said it stood still.
Bible: Air has weight. (Job 28:25). Science said it was weightless.
Bible: Winds blow in cyclones. (Ecclesiastes 1:6). Science said the wind blew straight.
Bible: Blood source of life. (Leviticus 17:11). Science said sick people should be bled.
Bible: Ocean floor contains deep valleys and mountains. (2 Samuel 22:16; Jonah 2:6). Science said the ocean floor was flat.
Bible: Ocean contains springs (Job 38:16). Science said it was fed only by rivers and streams.
Bible: Wash hands under running water. (Leviticus 15:13). Science said wash hands in still water.
Bible: Hittite nation. (Genesis 23:10). Science denied it until 1906.
Our question is how would the writers of the Bible have known all these facts if it wasn’t from God.
For more scientific facts go to www.apologeticspress.org then to the Bible and science.
Now that you see the Bible is God’s word, are you asking yourself, so what if God exists and the Bible is his word?
The answer to that is we will be judged by his word (John 12:48) so we need to know what his word says.
A great Bible study site to know God’s word iswww.gospelofchrist.com
Go to audio lessons then to Evangelism lessons.
Any questions or comments please contact the Clarion Church of Christ, 288 Grand Ave., Clarion, Pa., 16214 or by telephone, 227-2120 or www.clarionchurchofchrist.com."
Due to the length of the letter, I will continue this on a second posting. Stay tuned, dear readers...
Your tolerance for others is impressive, Mr. Clemens. If only everyone were as brilliant as you. Thank God you set those damn superstitious buffoons straight.
ReplyDeleteI think religion, like music, science, and even the human reactions to warfare are all beautiful in their own right in different ways. They all have much to offer the individual and I respect and admire that. I understand that it is difficult to hear someone say to you something like "your blog background is blue," when you know very well that it is pink, but that's life and that is what makes life interesting. It is important to keep in mind that as surely as you know that the background is pink, they know that it is blue. No matter what color it is, if they take the time to tell you -- regardless how they make the attempt -- it is likely done from a desire to do what they believe is good and right for your benefit. That takes courage to do that and is something to be admired. Likewise for the one who sticks to his assertion of the pink, green, purple, red, or orange view.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am also glad that Brady is "setting those damn superstitious buffoons straight", I cannot "thank God"...for the very reasons Brady cannot. Acceptance on "faith" is abandonment of the very capacities of the mind that one might even consider a "gift of God."
ReplyDeleteYou make a fair point, J.E., though it would appear that that only holds true for this particular aspect of their existence; in all other respects -- religion removed -- they function just like you or I. There appears to be no degradation of the capacity of the mind to address complex rational ideas just because they share space with faith-based ones. The only problem seems to be one of cognitive dissonance, more or less.
ReplyDelete