Rickey Shive

The Bible’s Universe: Understood

Science?
The Bible supports, introduces and con rms modern day science on a number of topics.
One of my favorites encompasses something we often take for granted. Namely, coagulation!
Without coagulation, a simple briar prick could be life threatening! God’s understanding of this
subject is quite evident in the Bible. To better understand this point, we need to fast forward
thousands of years and allow science to “catch-up!”
Although the exact mechanism of blood coagulation is not fully understood, it is generally
accepted that a substance called prothrombin is responsible. Furthermore, science has learned
that Vitamin K apparently is a precursor or possibly an enzyme in the formation of
prothrombin. Vitamin K is a quite recent discovery.
In 1929, a Danish scientist called Henrik Dam looked at the role of cholesterol in the body
by examining chickens that were fed a diet low in cholesterol. He found that after several weeks,
the chickens tended to develop hemorrhages and start bleeding. However, restoring puri ed
cholesterol to the diet did not rectify the defect and Dam hypothesized that another compound
had been extracted from the food along with the cholesterol. That compound was the
coagulation vitamin, which was described as vitamin K!
Now, let’s go back in time, all the way to the days of Abraham! God gave Abraham a
very special instruction:
And every male among you who is eight days old shall be circumcised throughout your
generations... (Genesis 17:12).
Why the eighth day? God clearly knows best! It just took a few thousand years for science
to gure it out! You see, prothrombin is obviously produced by the human body. In fact, on the
eighth day of life, the amount of prothrombin present is at its highest! It is actually elevated
above one hundred percent of normal. This is the only day in the male’s life in which this will be

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the case under normal conditions. If an ancient surgery is to be performed and blood clotting
needs to occur quickly, day eight is the best day to do it! This is just one of many Bible examples
of Scripture supporting science, or perhaps in this case, science nally gured it out and supports
the Bible!

Understanding the Universe

While there are many examples of Scripture and science being congruent, a literal
interpretation of several passages seem to be at odds with science. Consider these:

He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever.
(Psalm 104:5).

Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is rmly established, it will not be
moved (1 Chronicles 16:30).

The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself
with strength; Indeed, the world is rmly established, it will not be moved (Psalm 93:1).

These are just a few of several passages that speak of an unmovable earth. A literal
interpretation of these certainly puts the Bible at odds with modern day science which explains
that the sun is the xed object in our solar system and all the planets, including the earth, rotate
around it! To further complicate the matter, there are these passages:

Then Joshua spoke to the LORD in the day when the LORD delivered up the Amorites
before the sons of Israel, and he said in the sight of Israel, "O sun, stand still at Gibeon, And O
moon in the valley of Aijalon." [13] So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, Until the
nation avenged themselves of their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jashar? And the sun
stopped in the middle of the sky and did not hasten to go down for about a whole day (Joshua
10:12-13).

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 There is similar language in the third chapter of Habakkuk. This language seems to
indicate that it’s the sun that rises and sets around a stationary earth. How do we reconcile such
a glaring variance?
The less favorable option, for most people, is simply to reject the science and accept the
Bible, perhaps on faith, as speaking literal truth. Why is this so dif cult? I certainly, faithfully
accept many other, perhaps more unbelievable, things found throughout the Bible. I believe
there was a great ood with an ark lled with animals; I believe there was a great sh that
swallowed a man who survived in its stomach three days; I believe the Red Sea was parted and
thousands walked across on dry land! Faith is de ned as the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen (cf. Hebrews 11:1). A contemporary translation of that passage
reads: “Faith means being sure of the things we hope for and knowing that something is real even
if we do not see it” (NCV). I believe in all these seemingly unbelievable events recorded in the
Bible that I did not see! So why is it so hard to believe the earth is xed and the sun rotates
around it? After all, I can see that!

Reject or Reconcile

The question thus becomes, do we reject science or reconcile Scripture with the science? I
will be the rst to acknowledge that I don’t believe science is always correct. I certainly believe
science is dead wrong in its support of evolution and a big bang universe. On the other hand, I
believe science is correct regarding certain topics. Take gravity for instance. I believe in gravity.
Not so much because of the scienti c evidence, rather because I experience it (or something)
everyday! The fact that I can walk around on this planet and not oat away into space is because
of something! Science tells me it’s gravity. Furthermore, science attempts to prove gravity by
explaining that it’s the gravitational force F between two objects as F = Gm1m2/r^2, where m1
and m2 are the two masses, and r is the distance between their centers! To be honest, the
scienti c proof that gravity exists is over my head. Therefore, I believe the laymen’s explanation:
“Gravity is a force that pulls two objects with mass toward each other.”
Now, let’s consider our solar system. Science explains what appears to be a sun that moves
east to west bringing about our days and nights as a spinning earth revolving around a stationary
sun. Honestly, I’ve believed this science most of my life, being taught such in elementary school

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at a young age. Is there scienti c proof ? Supposedly! Using sine law, trigonometry and a
pendulum, the predicted path of the pendulum would shift 11.25 degrees each hour, or 270
degrees in a day. Once again, the science is above my head! Therefore, I believe the science
simply because it reason checks. Unlike evolution, the explanation makes sense and I experience
the result of a moving earth everyday.
Therefore, if I continue to accept the science as fact, I’m forced to reconcile the apparent
discrepancy found in Scripture!

Writing Style or Interpretation

There are a couple of very understandable ways to reconcile science with the Bible in
regard to a mobile earth and a stationary sun. First, it’s quiet possible the ancient writers (led by
the Holy Spirt) were injecting hysteron proteron into the text. This is de ned as a gure of
speech consisting of the reversal of a natural or rational order. In the case of the text found in
Joshua 10, the sun is said to move, not the earth. Why would this gure of speech be used?
Doing so made the text understandable for all people regardless of the time period they lived.
For the ancients who only understood what they saw, a moving sun that was miraculously stopped
by God to provide Joshua more daylight was understandable. For us, we read the same passage
and understand the use of “hysreron proteron,” and why this gure of speech is used. Moreover,
accepting science today, we understand the mechanics of providing a longer day and perhaps
have a greater appreciation of exactly what God did to make that happen.
As a matter of fact, the science behind stopping the earth from spinning in order to create a
longer period of daylight is quite amazing. According to science (the math portion, which too is
over my head) if the Earth stopped spinning suddenly, the atmosphere would still be in motion
with the Earth's original 1100 mile per hour rotation speed at the equator. All of the land masses
would be scoured clean of anything not attached to bedrock. This means rocks, topsoil, trees,
buildings, your pet dog, and so on, would be swept away into the atmosphere. If this is true, it
makes what God did in Joshua 10 even more amazing. To me, it’s one example of many that our
God truly is Omnipotent!
The other reasonable point of reconciliation centers around our interpretation of “ xed
and immovable.” Basically, it could be the text is teaching us that the earth is xed and

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immovable in relation to its orbit around the sun. According to science, this is pretty important.
If our earth moved ever so slightly in either direction the result would be devastating! To close
and we’d burn up, too far and we’d freeze. Our earth’s rotation is just right, and according to this
interpretation of the Bible, it will not change!
Likewise, in keeping with an interpretive view of reconciliation, it could be the verses cited
earlier which speak of a xed earth are actually using a gure of speech, to express the
permanence of God's will and the permanence of His creation.

Conclusion

I’m of the opinion that science found in the Bible, especially those instances where the Bible
reveals truth long before science gures it out, is within itself a strong proof ! Such authenticates
the existence of a divine being and the Bible as His inspired word. This fact alone, in my humble
opinion, should behoove us to always strive to keep science and Scripture reconciled, unless
science is pushing the absurd!

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