1

Has Science Disproved the Bible?

Part 1

2

Simple Answer

No !

3

• For many, trust in the Bible has been diminished because:-

• Theologians have undermined its authority

• It is believed that science has

disproved its teachings

Trust in the Bible

4

Scientists of the Past

• Important to recognise that most great scientists of the past were believers

• Some of them accomplished Bible students

• e.g. Sir Isaac Newton

5

Scientific Believers• Many eminent scientists are

believers

• These include – Current & past fellows of the

Royal Society

– Nobel Prize winners

• 1997 Survey in Nature– 40% of all scientists in America

believe in God

6

Scientific Believers“To postulate that the development and survival of the fittest is entirely a consequence of chance mutations seems to me a hypothesis based on no evidence and irreconcilable with the facts”

Sir Ernest Chain, 1945 Nobel Prize “I just cannot believe that everything developed by random mutations”

Dennis Gabor, 1971 Nobel PrizeThe burden of proof is on those who don't believe that "Genesis" was right, and there was a creation, and that Creator is still involved.

Richard Smalley 1996 Nobel Prize

7

Scientific Believers

“Unless at least half my colleagues are dunces, there can be – on the most raw and empirical grounds – no conflict between science and religion.”

Stephen Jay Gould

The Bible is not a science text book – The Bible is not a science text book –

it deals with the why and not the how it deals with the why and not the how

8

These are some of the things we These are some of the things we shall look atshall look at

If true, the Bible must be wrong talking about creation

Common Beliefs . . .

Scientists have proved that

• Universe started with a big bang

• Life developed by evolution

9

Important to distinguish between facts and theories

• We will find that:– Both Bible & Science suggest the universe

had a beginning– Both Bible & Science indicate that life

appeared in a complete form

Overview

There is no conflict between scientific There is no conflict between scientific facts and what the Bible saysfacts and what the Bible says

10

Overview

We shall look at:

• Facts and theories

• The origin of the universe

• The fossil record

11

Facts and Theories in Science

Facts

• Science works with them

• A far-away nebula

• A rock formation

• A fossil in that rock formation

12

Observable Facts

• Something that can be proved beyond doubt– Tangible

– Measurable

– Repeatable

Can be felt through our senses & Can be felt through our senses & experienced first handexperienced first hand

13

GravityWe all experience gravity• Drop something & it always

falls• Scientific experiments

– Gravity well understood– Rockets launched into

space– Satellites put into orbit

• Gravity is real – Can be experienced &

measured

Gravity is an observable factGravity is an observable fact

14

A theory is developed from extensive A theory is developed from extensive testing to gain confidencetesting to gain confidence

Fact and Theories

Developing a Scientific theory

• Scientist makes observations

• Assumptions made

• Assumptions tested

• Proven “assumption” becomes a theory

• Confidence gained by testing

15

We only trust theories that have been testedWe only trust theories that have been tested

Fact and Theories

Developing a Scientific theory

• Theory only trusted when confidence gained

• Engineers can only use tested theories

16

Theories

• Sometimes no way of knowing assumptions used in a theory are right – Often the case for the distant

past

• We can’t use experiments to prove it

Important to know what can be proved & Important to know what can be proved & what is a theory that can’t be provedwhat is a theory that can’t be proved

17

Trusting Unproven TheoriesMid 19th Century

• “Miasma” theory– Disease caused by a

poisonous vapour

-“miasma”

• “Dyscrasia” theory– Disease caused by

imbalance in body’s temperament

What were the consequences?What were the consequences?

18

Trusting Unproven TheoriesMid 19th Century• No problem in drinking water

contaminated with sewage– Thousands died in 4 cholera

epidemics between 1831 & 1854

• No problem in doctor or nurse moving from a dead body to a living one without washing– 1 in 3 women died in hospital

giving birth to children

All the facts needed to form correct theory All the facts needed to form correct theory Some facts may be unknownSome facts may be unknown

19

“Big Bang” Observable Facts

1. Light from distant galaxies is “red shifted”

2. Cosmic microwave background radiation

3. Universe contains mainly light weight elements– Hydrogen & helium are

most common elements

4. Galaxies seem evenly spread through space

20

“Big Bang” Theory

1. “Red shift” suggests galaxies are moving away– Universe expanding

2. Background radiation– Remains of “Big Bang”explosion

3. Light elements– “Big Bang” predicts the lightest

elements produced first

4. Galaxies evenly spread– Will be the case if universe is

expanding in all directions following a “Big Bang”

21

“Big Bang” Assumptions

1. Physical laws that we know today are unchanged

2. The laws are constant throughout universe

3. Red shift is caused by light source moving away from us

If universe is expanding & we roll back time, If universe is expanding & we roll back time, everything goes back to a point in space time everything goes back to a point in space time from which it all started - The “Big Bang”from which it all started - The “Big Bang”

22

“Big Bang” Assumptions

• What information would modern telescopes have given millions of years ago?

• Can’t do experiments to prove laws remain unchanged

• Facts we have support the theory if we accept the assumptions that we cannot prove

““Big Bang” must remain an interesting theory,Big Bang” must remain an interesting theory,and should not be regarded as a factand should not be regarded as a fact

23

Theory of Evolution

• Gradual change over many millions of years

• Fossil record should show– Continuous progression

– All sorts of stages of development

• E.g. wings in different stages

The theory of evolution should fit the The theory of evolution should fit the observed facts in the fossil recordobserved facts in the fossil record

Trilobite fossil

24

Phyla in the Fossil record

Time

Nu

mb

er

of

Ph

yla

Time

Nu

mb

er

of

Ph

yla

The Fossil Record

A. According to Darwin’s theory the number of animal phyla gradually increase over time

B. Fossil record shows that almost all animal phyla appear at same geological time

A

B

Theory does not fit the observed Theory does not fit the observed facts in fossil recordfacts in fossil record

25

The Fossil Record

Testing the theory of evolution

• All fossils are well defined

• No intermediate fossils

But what about Archaeopteryx?But what about Archaeopteryx?

26

Archaeopteryx

Fully formed features• Toothed jaw like a reptile• Feathers like a modern bird• Braincase similar to modern

bird

Everything needed for flight is present

Not a missing link for origin of birdsNot a missing link for origin of birds

27

Lack of Transitional Forms“As by this theory, innumerable

transitional forms must have existed.

Why do we not find them embedded in

the crust of the earth? Why is all nature

not in confusion instead of being as we

see them, well-defined species? … The

explanation lies, however, in the

extreme imperfection of the

geological record”

Charles Darwin in “The Origin of Species”

28

The fossil record

“There is no need to apologize any

longer for the poverty of the fossil

record. In some ways it has

become almost unmanageably

rich, and discovery is outpacing

integration … The fossil record

nevertheless continues to be

composed mostly of gaps”

G. T. Neville in Science Progress

29

The fossil record

“The extreme rarity of transitional forms in the fossil record … (is) the trade secret of palaeontology

Steven Jay Gould

“The fossil material is now so complete that the lack of transitional series cannot be explained by the scarcity of the material. The deficiencies are real, they will never be filled”

Prof N. Heribert-Nilsson Lund, Sweden

30

Lack of Transitional Forms

“The fossil record - in defiance of Darwin's whole idea of

gradual change - often makes great leaps from one form to

the next. Far from the display of intermediates to be expected

from slow advance through natural selection many species

appear without warning, persist in fixed form and disappear,

leaving no descendants. Geology assuredly does not reveal

any finely graduated organic chain, and this is the most

obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against

the theory of evolution.”

Steve Jones’ preface to Darwin’s Origin of Species 1999

31

The Fossil Record

• Fossils give an important fact

• Fossil record does not contain partly developed animals that theory of evolution predicts

32

Classification of animals

• Comparative studies of animals– “Cladistics”

• Animals that look alike are classified as similar

• Similarities used as evidence to say they are ‘related’ by evolution

Another argument used to support evolution

33

Classification

• Horses, donkeys, zebras

– All look alike

• Evolutionist say they had common ancestor

• Can’t so any experiments to prove this

Classification of animals Classification of animals tells us nothing about how tells us nothing about how they came into existencethey came into existence

34

Variations within species• Small variations seen

within species

• Over relatively short timescale different breeds of dogs produced

• “Given enough time, these variations can produce new species”

• But dogs are still dogs not new species

Different breeds are as a result of human Different breeds are as a result of human interference – not natural selectioninterference – not natural selection

35

Variations within species

• Small variations seen within species

• Big assumption that same mechanisms caused appearance of– The heart

– Bone

– Feathers

– Warm-blooded creatures

– A backbone

36

Variations within species

• Big changes never been observed

• Not good to extrapolate beyond what has been seen

Not sensible to use very minor changes as Not sensible to use very minor changes as evidence to support the great changes evidence to support the great changes required by the theory of evolutionrequired by the theory of evolution

37

Summary• Fossil record contains only

fully formed animals

• Classification of animals tells us nothing about how they came into existence

• Minor changes are not scientific evidence of large changes

38

Has science disproved the Bible?

• Scientists suggest evidence points to beginning of the universe

– “Big Bang”

About 3,500 years ago the Bible stated About 3,500 years ago the Bible stated that the universe had a beginning:that the universe had a beginning:

39

Has science disproved the Bible?

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth

Genesis 1:1

Science and the Bible are in agreementScience and the Bible are in agreement

40

Has science disproved the Bible?

“The fossil record furnishes irrefutable proof that life on earth has changed through the ages … Fossils prove not only that life has changed but also that it has progressed from simplicity to complexity with the passage of time. These are the facts. To those who take an unbiased view of the matter, there is only one conclusion – that all past and present life has descended from simple beings”

William Strokes and William Lee in the book “Essentials of Earth History”

• Fossils are facts

• Progression of life is opinion

• Fossils provide no evidence to suggest progression

• Creation also explains the facts

41

Does science support the Bible?

• No Bible comment on how our world and life began

• There was a Creator

• Organisation of living things

• Points to a Creator

• Here science supports the Bible

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1 v 1

42

Summary

Important to distinguish between facts and theories

• We have seen that– Both Bible & Science suggest the universe had

a beginning– The scientific facts used to support evolution

could also be used to support creation

There is no conflict between scientific facts There is no conflict between scientific facts and what the Bible saysand what the Bible says