Has Science Disproved the Bible?

1. Has Science Disproved the Bible? Part 1

2. Simple Answer No !

3. Trust in the Bible • For many, trust in the Bible has been diminished because:- • Theologians have undermined its authority • It is believed that science has disproved its teachings

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 Prize The 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 – it deals with the why and not the how

8. Common Beliefs . . . Scientists have proved that • Universe started with a big bang • Life developed by evolution If true, the Bible must be wrong talking about creation These are some of the things we shall look at

9. Overview 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 There is no conflict between scientific facts 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 & experienced first hand

13. Gravity We 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 fact

14. Fact and Theories Developing a Scientific theory • Scientist makes observations • Assumptions made • Assumptions tested • Proven “assumption” becomes a theory • Confidence gained by testing A theory is developed from extensive testing to gain confidence

15. Fact and Theories Developing a Scientific theory • Theory only trusted when confidence gained • Engineers can only use tested theories We only trust theories that have been tested

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 & what is a theory that can’t be proved

17. Trusting Unproven Theories Mid 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?

18. Trusting Unproven Theories Mid 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 Some facts may be unknown

19. “Big Bang” Observable Facts • Light from distant galaxies is “red shifted” • Cosmic microwave background radiation • Universe contains mainly light weight elements • Hydrogen & helium are most common elements • Galaxies seem evenly spread through space

20. “Big Bang” Theory • “Red shift” suggests galaxies are moving away • Universe expanding • Background radiation • Remains of “Big Bang”explosion • Light elements • “Big Bang” predicts the lightest elements produced first • Galaxies evenly spread • Will be the case if universe is expanding in all directions following a “Big Bang”

21. “Big Bang” Assumptions • Physical laws that we know today are unchanged • The laws are constant throughout universe • Red shift is caused by light source moving away from us If universe is expanding & we roll back time, everything goes back to a point in space time 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, and 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 Trilobite fossil The theory of evolution should fit the observed facts in the fossil record

24. The Fossil Record • According to Darwin’s theory the number of animal phyla gradually increase over time • Fossil record shows that almost all animal phyla appear at same geological time A B Theory does not fit the observed facts in fossil record

25. The Fossil Record Testing the theory of evolution • All fossils are well defined • No intermediate fossils 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 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 inScience 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 Another argument used to support evolution • Comparative studies of animals • “Cladistics” • Animals that look alike are classified as similar • Similarities used as evidence to say they are ‘related’ by 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 tells us nothing about how they 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 interference – 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 evidence to support the great changes required 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 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 agreement

40. “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 Has science disproved the Bible?

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 and what the Bible says