From: chromatech2@juno.com
Date: Sun Sep 07 2003 - 23:42:25 EDT
Science and History
And these are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls ...
the bat--
Lev.11:13, 19
Genesis
The Genesis 1 account also conflicts with the order of events that are
known to science. In this account the earth is created before light and
stars, birds and whales before reptiles and insects, and flowering plants
before any animals. From science, we know the true order of events was
just the opposite. 1:1-2:3
God creates light and separates light from darkness, and day from night,
on the first day. Yet he didn't make the light producing objects (the sun
and the stars) until the fourth day (1:14-19). And how could there be
"the evening and the morning" on the first day if there was no sun to
mark them? 1:3-5
God spends one-sixth of his entire creative effort (the second day)
working on a solid firmament. This strange structure, which God calls
heaven, is intended to separate the higher waters from the lower waters.
This firmament, if it existed, would have been quite an obstacle to our
space program. 1:6-8
Plants are made on the third day before there was a sun to drive their
photosynthetic processes (1:14-19). 1:11
God lets "the earth bring forth" the plants, rather than creating them
directly. Maybe Genesis is not so anti-evolution after all. 1:11
In an apparent endorsement of astrology, God places the sun, moon, and
stars in the firmament so that they can be used "for signs". This, of
course, is exactly what astrologers do: read "the signs" in the Zodiac in
an effort to predict what will happen on Earth. 1:14
God makes two lights: "the greater light [the sun] to rule the day, and
the lesser light [the moon] to rule the night." But the moon is not a
light, but only reflects light from the sun. And why, if God made the
moon to "rule the night", does it spend half of its time moving through
the daytime sky? 1:16
"He made the stars also." God spends a day making light (before making
the stars) and separating light from darkness; then, at the end of a hard
day's work, and almost as an afterthought, he makes the trillions of
stars. 1:16
"And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the
earth." Really? Then why are only a tiny fraction of stars visible from
earth? Under the best conditions, no more than five thousand stars are
visible from earth with the unaided eye, yet there are hundreds of
billions of stars in our galaxy and a hundred billion or so galaxies. Yet
this verse says that God put the stars in the firmament "to give light"
to the earth. 1:17
In verse 11, God "let the earth bring forth" the plants. Now he has the
earth "bring forth" the animals as well. So maybe the creationists have
it all wrong. Maybe God created livings things through the process of
evolution. 1:24
God gave humans dominion over every other living thing on earth. This
couldn't be true, of course, since millions of other species existed for
millions of years before humans existed. But this verse is used by
fundamentalist Christians to justify their mistreatment of other species
and disregard for the environment. After all, they believe that God
created the other species just for them, so they can do whatever they
please with them. 1:26
God commands us to "be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth,
and subdue it: and have dominion over ... every living thing that moveth
upon the earth." This verse is used to justify Christian opposition to
birth control, to concern for the environment, and to animal rights. The
earth was made for humans, and they can do as they damn well please with
it. 1:28
All animals were originally herbivores. Tapeworms, vampire bats,
mosquitoes, and barracudas -- all were strict vegetarians, as they were
created by God. But, of course, we now know that there were carnivorous
animals millions of years before humans existed. 1:30
In Genesis 1 the entire creation takes 6 days, but we know from modern
science that the universe is at least 15 billion years old. 1:31
Humans were not created instantaneously from dust and breath as in the
Gen.2:7, but evolved over millions of years from simpler life forms. 2:7
God makes the animals and parades them before Adam to see if any would
strike his fancy. But none seem to have what it takes to please him.
(Although he was tempted to go for the sheep.) Note that in these verses,
God makes the animals after making Adam, whereas in the first creation
story (1:25-27) the order is reversed. After making the animals, God has
Adam name them all. The naming of several million species must have kept
Adam busy for a while. But we know that the animals were not created
instantaneously from the ground, but rather that they evolved over
millions of years. And we still don't have names for all of them. Ten
thousand new species of insects are discovered and named each year.
2:18-22
God curses the serpent. From now on the serpent will crawl on his belly
and eat dust. One wonders how he got around before -- by hopping on his
tail, perhaps? But snakes don't eat dust, do they? 3:14
Because Adam listened to Eve, God cursed the ground and causes thorns and
thistles to grow. Before this, according to the (false) Genesis story,
plants had no natural defenses. The rose had no thorn, cacti were
spineless, holly leaves were smooth, and the nettle had no sting.
Foxgloves, oleander, and milkweeds were all perfectly safe to eat.
3:17-18
Where are the cherubim, flaming sword moving back and forth, and the tree
of life? Surely if they existed, we would have found them. 3:24
"There were giants in the earth in those days." Well, I suppose it's good
to know that. But why is there no archaeological evidence for the
existence of these giants? 6:4
Noah is told to make an ark that is 450 feet long. The largest wooden
ships ever built were just over 300 feet, and they required diagonal iron
strapping for support. Even so, they leaked so badly that they had to be
pumped constantly. Are we to believe that Noah, with no shipbuilding
knowledge and no shipbuilding tradition to rely upon, was able to
construct a wooden ship that was longer than any that has been built
since? But not only was the ark too big to be seaworthy, it was far too
small to be able to contain the earth's millions of plant and animals
species. 6:14-15
Whether by twos or by sevens, Noah takes male and female representatives
from each species of "every thing that creepeth upon the earth." Now this
must have taken some time, along with expert knowledge of taxonomy,
genetics, biogeography, and anatomy. How did Noah manage to collect the
endemic species from the New World, Australia, Polynesia, and other
remote regions entirely unknown to him? How, once he found them, did he
transport them back to his Near Eastern home? How could he tell the male
and female beetles (there are more than 500,000 species) apart? How did
he know how to care for these new and unfamiliar animals? How did he find
the space on the ark? How did he manage to find and care for the hundreds
of thousands of parasitic species? How did Noah obtain and care for the
hundreds of thousands of species of plants? (Plants are ignored in the
Genesis account, but the animals wouldn't last long after if the plants
died in the flood.) No, wait, don't tell me. A miracle happened. Millions
of them. 7:8
All of the animals boarded the ark "in the selfsame day." Since there
were several million species involved, they must have boarded at a rate
of at least 100/second. How did poor Noah and his family make sure that
the correct number of each species entered through the door and then get
them all settled into their proper living quarters so efficiently? I wish
the airline companies could do as well! 7:13-14
The flood covered the highest mountain tops (Mount Everest?) with fifteen
cubits to spare. Where did all the water come from? Where did it all go?
Why is there no evidence of such a massive flood in the geological
record? 7:20
"The windows of heaven were stopped, and the rain from heaven was
restrained." This happens whenever it stops raining. 8:2
Noah sends a dove out to see if there was any dry land. But the dove
returns without finding any. Then, just seven days later, the dove goes
out again and returns with an olive leaf. But how could an olive tree
survive the flood? And if any seeds happened to survive, they certainly
wouldn't germinate and grow leaves within a seven day period. 8:8-11
When the animals left the ark, what would they have eaten? There would
have been no plants after the ground had been submerged for nearly a
year. What would the carnivores have eaten? Whatever prey they ate would
have gone extinct. And how did the New World primates or the Australian
marsupials find there way back after the flood subsided? 8:19
Noah kills the "clean beasts" and burns their dead bodies for God.
According to 7:8 this would have caused the extinction of all "clean"
animals since only two of each were taken onto the ark. 8:20-21
"Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth." Although this would
have been good advice for the mythical Noah, it is deadly advice for
humankind as a whole. Overpopulation is one of our greatest problems, yet
there is nothing in the bible to address it. 9:1
According to this verse, all animals fear humans. Although it is true
that many do, it is also true that some do not. Sharks and grizzly bears,
for example, are generally much less afraid of us than we are of them.
9:2
"Into your hand are they (the animals) delivered." God gave the animals
to humans, and they can do whatever they please with them. This verse has
been used by bible believers to justify all kinds of cruelty to anmials
and environmental destruction. 9:2
God is rightly filled with remorse for having killed his creatures. He
even puts the rainbow in the sky to remind himself of his promise to the
animals not to do it again. But rainbows are caused by the nature of
light, the refractive index of water, and the shape of raindrops. There
were rainbows billions of years before humans existed. 9:13
"The whole earth was of one language." But this could not be true, since
by this time (around 2400 BCE) there were already many languages, each
unintelligible to the others. 11:1, 6
Some creationists believe that this verse refers to continental drift,
which, they say, began to occur during the days of Pelag (which means
"division"), about 100 or so years after the flood. But many other
creationists disagree. 10:25
"The whole earth was of one language." But this could not be true, since
by this time (around 2400 BCE) there were already many languages, each
unintelligible to the others. 11:1, 6
God worries that people could actually build a tower high enough to reach
him (them?) in heaven. 11:4
According to the Tower of Babel story, the many human languages were
created instantaneously by God. But actually the various languages
evolved gradually over long periods of time. 11:9
The ridiculously long lives of the patriarchs. 11:10-32
In these verses the Philistines are said to have lived in Canaan at the
time of Abraham, yet the Philistines did not live in the region until the
period of the Judges, well after the time of Abraham. 21:32, 26:1,
21:32, 21:32, 8, 15, 18
Jacob displays his (and God's) knowledge of biology by having goats
copulate while looking at streaked rods. The result is streaked baby
goats. 30:37-39
Joseph and his magic divining cup. 44:5, 44:15
Exodus
The Israelite population went from 70 (or 75) to several million in a few
hundred years. 1:5,7, 12:37, 38:26
Why are some people born with disabilities? Because God deliberately
makes them that way. 4:11
Leviticus
The bible says that hares and coneys are unclean because they "chew the
cud" but do not part the hoof. But hares and coneys are not ruminants and
they do not "chew the cud." 11:5-6
Bats are birds to the biblical God. 11:13, 19
Be sure to watch out for those "other flying creeping things which have
four feet." (I wish God wouldn't get so technical!) I guess he must mean
four-legged insects. You'd think that since God made the insects, and so
many of them (at least several million species), that he would know how
many legs they have! 11:23
Numbers
The Israelite population went from seventy (Ex.1:5) to several million
(over 600,000 adult males) in just a few generations! 1:45-46
"And there we saw the giants ... And we were in our own sight as
grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." This statement may have
been figurative, hyperbole, typical biblical exaggeration, or an actual
description of the sons of Anak, in which case they must have been about
300 feet tall. These are the same giants (the Nephilium) that resulted
when the "sons of God" mated with "the daughters of men in Gen.6:4. Of
course these superhuman god-men should have been destroyed in the flood.
So what are they doing still alive? 13:33
Deuteronomy
God promises to cast out seven nations including the Amorites,
Canaanites, and the Jebusites. But he was unable to fulfill his promise.
These nations were "greater and mightier" than the Israelites, who
according to Ex.12:37 and Num.1:45-46 already had numbered several
million. So the region, according to the bible, must have had a
population of more than twenty million! 7:1
This verse mistakenly says that the hare chews its cud. 14:7-8
To the biblical God, a bat is just an another unclean bird. 14:11, 18
"Their wine is the poison of dragons." I wonder what genus and species
the bible is referring to when it mentions dragons. 32:33
Joshua
In Joshua 8 the Israelites destroy Ai and make it a desolate heap. But
archaeology has revealed that Ai was an abandoned city by the time of the
Israelites and that this story is nothing more than a myth invented to
explain the ruins of an ancient city that the Israelites encountered.
8:1-29
In a divine type of daylight savings time, God makes the sun stand still
so that Joshua can get all his killing done before dark. "Is this not
written in the book of Jasher?" Beats me. 10:12-13
"And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which as of the remnant of the
giants ..." Why is there no record of any of these giants in the
archeological record? 12:4, 18:16
Judges
"The stars in their courses fought against Sisera." Unless astrology is
true, how can the stars affect the outcome of a battle? 5:20
1 Samuel
"The pillars of the earth are the LORD's, and he hath set the world upon
them. 2:8
2 Samuel
In another biblical exaggeration, the servants of David kill 20,000
soldiers in one day. 18:7
The earth shakes, the foundations of heaven move, smoke comes out of
God's nostrils, and fire out of his mouth. 22:8-16
How many soldiers did Israel have? This verse says that Judah and Israel
had a total of 1,300,000 fighting men (1 Chr.21:5 says 1,570,000) in this
battle. Of course, this is a ridiculously high number for a battle
between two tribal armies in 1000 BCE. (The United States had about 1.37
million active duty soldiers in 2001.) 24:9
1 Kings
This verse implies that the value of p is 3. (The actual value is
approximately 3.14159.) 7:23
God creates droughts by causing "heaven to shut up" as a punishment for
sin. 8:35
2 Kings
Isaiah, with a little help from God, makes the sun move backwards ten
degrees. Now that's quite a trick. All at once, the earth stopped
spinning and then reversed its direction of rotation. Or maybe the sun
traveled around the earth in those days! 20:11
1 Chronicles
Among those killed by the "mighty man", Benaiah, was a giant Egyptian
"five cubits high". Since a cubit is 18 inches or so, that would have
made him about 7'6" (2.3 meters). 11:23
In this verse we are told that the earth is stable and does not move. If
so, then it must not spin on its axis or travel about the sun. 16:30
According to this verse David's army had 1,100,000 men from Israel and
470,000 men from Judah, Of course, this numbers is ridiculously high for
a battle between two tribal armies in 1000 BCE. (The United States had
about 1.37 million active duty soldiers in 2001.) 21:5
King David collects ten thousand drams (or darics) for the construction
of the temple in Jerusalem. This is especially interesting since darics
were coins named after King Darius I who lived some five hundred years
after David. 29:7
2 Chronicles
Since the molten sea was round with a diameter of ten cubits and a
circumference of thirty cubits, we know that the biblical value of p is
3. (The actual value is approximately 3.14159.) 4:2
500,000 soldiers die in a single God-assisted slaughter. 13:16-17
Esther
"Haman thought in his heart." Most people think with their heads, but
biblical folks think with their hearts. 6:6
Job
The earth rests upon pillars and doesn't move (unless God gets angry or
something). 9:6
Heaven is set upon pillars that tremble when God gets mad. 26:11
The earth is set on foundations and it does not move. 38:4-6
God has snow and hail all stored up to use later "in time of trouble."
38:22
As the note in the Harper Collins Study Bible says, "This folk tradition
about ostriches does not accord with facts about their nature." Ostriches
are not cruel and stupid birds who abandon their eggs to die after laying
them, as these verses imply. They are, in fact, careful and attentive
parents. The male scoops out a hollow for the eggs, which are incubated
by the females during the day and by the darker colored male at night --
an arrangement that helps to conceal them from foes. After the eggs are
hatched, they are cared for by the mother for over a month, at which time
the chicks can keep up with running adults.39:13-16
The bible is wrong about ostriches being cruel and inattentive parents
(39:13-16). But if they were, whose fault would it be? Why would God
deprive them of the wisdom and understanding needed to do the job right?
39:17
Bible believers have identified the behemoth as a hippopotamus, dinosaur,
or wildebeest. But my favorite is the note in the Harper Collins Study
Bible: "If tail(40:17) is not a euphemism for the sexual organ, Behemoth
seems in this respect to resemble a crocodile." 40:15
Psalms
The earth shakes whenever God really gets mad. 18:7
"The foundations of the world were discovered ... at the blast of the
breath of thy nostrils." Apparently, then, the earth is set on firm
foundations and does not move -- and God has nostrils. 18:15
The sun moves around the earth. 19:5-6
God saves the author of this psalm "from the horns of the unicorns." He
is a lucky guy -- those unicorns are vicious beasts. 22:21
God makes Lebanon and Sirion "like a young unicorn." 29:6
God holds the earth up with pillars. 75:3
Another reference to "the foundations of the earth", implying that the
earth is fixed and does not move. 82:5
"The world also is stablished, that it cannot be moved." 93:1
"The world also shall be established that it shall not be moved." 96:10
God set the earth on firm foundations "that it should not be moved for
ever." So, according to the Bible, the earth is stationary and does not
orbit the sun 104:5
"The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works."
Then why do nearly all animals die painful deaths from starvation,
predation, or disease long before they reach adulthood? 145:9
Isaiah
"The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb...." I wonder what will become
of the spiders. Will they be more friendly toward flies? And will the
parasitic wasps find another way to feed their larvae? Or will they
continue to feed off the living bodies of caterpillars? 11:6, 65:25
"And the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den." A
cockatrice is a serpent, hatched from a cock's egg, that can kill with a
glance. They are rare nowadays. 11:8
God will gather up the people of Judea "from the four corners of the
earth." In the Bible's view, the earth is flat with four corners. 11:12
According to the Bible, the moon produces its own light and the earth
does not move. 13:10
When God gets really angry, he causes earthquakes. 13:14
Out of the serpent's root shall come forth a cockatrice, and his fruit
shall be a fiery flying serpent." What ever happened to these fascinating
biblical creatures? 14:29
Among the many strange creatures mentioned in the Bible that no longer
seem to exist is the "fiery flying serpent." 30:6
"The light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of
the sun shall be sevenfold." Well, this is one prophecy that will never
come true. Since the moon has no light of its own, but only reflects that
of the sun, it could never shine like the sun. And the sun will not, at
least not while there are humans to see it, shine 7 times as bright as it
does now. 30:26
"And the unicorns shall come down with them." 34:7
Dragons and satyrs may not seem real to you, but they did to the author
of these verses. 34:13
God makes the sun move backwards 10 degrees. Now that's a neat trick!
38:8
According to this verse, the earth is a flat disc that God looks down
upon from his throne in heaven. (The NRSV says, "It is he who sits above
the circle of the earth....") 40:22
Even the dragons honor God. 43:20
Bad people hatch poisonous cockatrice eggs. Whoever eats the eggs will
die, and when the eggs are crushed a viper hatches out of them. 59:5
"Neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee." Of course
the moon doesn't give off light, but only reflects the light from the
sun. 60:19
Jeremiah
When God gets angry, the earth trembles. 10:10
This verse implies that the earth is on foundations and does not move.
But of course we know that the earth is in constant motion as it rotates
about the sun. 31:37
Ezekiel
To Ezekiel the earth is flat and has four corners. 7:2
God "will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her
light." To Ezekiel, the sun is just a little light that can be covered
with a cloud, and the moon produces its own light. 32:7
Daniel
The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be 606 BCE, at which time
Nebuchadnezzar was not yet king of Babylon. It was 597 BCE that
Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem for the first time (without actually
destroying it). By that time Jehohiakim was dead and his son, Jehoiachin,
was ruling. (see Nebuchadrezzar II, Encyclopedia Britannica) 1:1
The stone became "a great mountain" that "filled the whole earth." This
could only be possible on a flat, disc-shaped earth. 2:35
Daniel's tree is tall enough to be seen from "the end of all the earth."
Only on a flat earth would this be possible. 4:10-11, 20
Nebuchadnezzar eats grass, lets his hair grow like eagle feathers and his
nails like bird claws. Of course, there is no record in secular history
that Nebuchadnezzar suffered any such strange sickness. 4:32-33
Apparently, the author of Daniel knew of only two Babylonian kings during
the period of the exile: Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, who he wrongly
thought was the son of Nebuchadnezzar. But Nebuchadnezzar died in 562 BCE
and was succeeded by his son, Awil-Marduk (referred to in the bible as
"Evilmerodach" [see 2 Kg.25:27 and Jer.52:31]). In 560 BCE, Amel-Marduk
was assassinated by his brother-in-law, Nergal-shar-usur. The next and
last king of Babylon was Nabonidus who reigned from 556 to 539, when
Babylon was conquered by Cyrus. It was Nabonidus, and not Belshazzar, who
was the last of the Babylonian kings. Belshazzar was a the son and
viceroy of Nabonidus. But he was not a king, and was not the son (or any
other relation) of Nebochadnezzar. (See The Neo-Babylonian Empire,
Encyclopedia Britannica). 5:2,11,18,22
Darius the Median is a fictitious character whom the author perhaps
confused with Darius I of Persia, who came to the throne in 521 BCE, 17
years after the fall of Babylon. The author of Daniel incorrectly makes
him the successor of Belshazzar instead of Cyrus. (See biblical
literature, Daniel, Encyclopedia Britannica) 5:31
To Daniel, the stars are small objects that can fall from the sky and
then be "stamped upon." 8:10
Joel
"The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood." These
"signs" were a lot more impressive before the causes of solar and lunar
eclipses were understood. 2:31
Jonah
A human being cannot survive three days and nights in a fish's (or
whale's) belly. 1:17
"Now Nineveh was an exceeding great city of three days' journey." That
would make it about 60 miles in diameter -- larger than Los Angeles! 3:3
Micah
The earth is set upon strong foundations and therefore does not move. 6:2
Habakkuk
"The sun and moon stood still in their habitation." This verse apparently
refers to Joshua 10:12-13, where God makes the sun stand still. Of
course, this could only be possible if the sun moves around the earth.
3:11
Matthew
Herod kills all boys in and around Bethlehem that are two years old and
under. Such a massacre would certainly have been noted by contemporary
historians. Yet not even Josephus, who documented Herod's life in detail,
mentioned this event. 2:16
The devil kidnaps Jesus and takes him up to the top of the temple, and
then to the top of "an exceedingly high mountain," high enough to see
"all the kingdoms of the world." I guess the earth was flat in those
days. 4:8
"Behold the fowls of the air...." Jesus says that God feeds them. But, if
so, he does one hell of a lousy job at it. Most birds die before leaving
the nest, and the few who manage to fly soon die painful deaths of
starvation, predation, or disease. If God is caring for them, pray that
he stays away from you. 6:26
Speaking of the birds, Jesus asks: "Are ye not much better than they?"
This is meant as a rhetorical question, but the answer is far from
obvious to me. I guess to Jesus, though, birds are not worth much
compared to humans. So you can do whatever the hell you want with (and
to) them. 6:26
According to Matthew, people who cannot speak are possessed by the devil.
9:32-33
God is involved in the death of every sparrow. He sees to it that they
each die painful deaths of starvation, predation, or disease. But don't
worry. God will do the same for you. (He thinks that humans are worth
much more than sparrows.) 10:29. 31
Jesus casts out a devil from a man who was blind and dumb (blind and dumb
people are possessed by devils). 12:22
Jesus is incorrect when he says that the mustard seed is the smallest
seed. And since there are no trees in the mustard family, mustard seeds
do not grow into "the greatest of all trees." 13:31-32
Jesus cures an epileptic "lunatic" by "rebuking the devil." (Epilepsy is
caused by devils.) 17:15-18
"The moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from
heaven." Apparently, Jesus believed that the moon produces its own light,
and that the stars are lights held in place by a firmament only a few
miles above our heads. 24:29
Jesus believed that Noah's flood actually happened. 24:37
Mark
Jesus is incorrect when he says that the mustard seed is the smallest
seed. 4:31
Jesus heals a boy with "a dumb spirit" by saying, "Thou dumb and deaf
spirit, I charge thee, come out of him and enter no more into him."
(Sounds like a script from Monty Python, doesn't it?) But how could a
deaf spirit hear the words spoken to it? And how could a dumb spirit cry
out? 9:17, 25
"In those days ... the moon shall not give her light, and the stars of
heaven shall fall." Of course this is nonsense. The billions of stars
will never fall to earth and the moon does not produce its own light.
13:24-25
Luke
The devil takes Jesus to the top of a mountain and shows him "all the
kingdoms of the world." I guess the world was flat in those days. 4:5
Epilepsy is caused by devils. 9:39-42
People who cannot speak are possessed with devils. 11:14
"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars."
21:25
John
"These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was
baptizing." But no such site is known in history. Some translations (ASV,
NAB, NIV, RSV, NRSV) rename Bethabara as Bethany, but Bethany is a suburb
of Jerusalem and, therefore, not "beyond the Jordan." 1:28
Jesus claims that there are twelve hours in a day. But that is true on
only two days of the year: the equinoxes. On all other days the sun
shines for more or less than twelve hours. 11:9
Romans
Paul claims that before Adam sinned death did not exist. But, of course,
death didn't enter the world a few thousand years ago because of Adam's
sin. Death has been a part of life since life first arose (on this
planet, at least) a few billion years ago. 5:12
1 Corinthians
Paul shows his ignorance (and God's) of biology by saying that only dead
seeds will germinate. Actually, a seed must be alive to germinate. 15:36
1 Timothy
Paul instructs Timothy to avoid science, especially that which disagrees
with him ("science falsely so called"). Other versions translate this
phrase as "false knowledge", which may be more correct. However many
fundamentalist Christians still use this verse ("science falsely so
called") to justify their rejection of any idea, scientific or otherwise,
they believe contradicts the bible. 6:20
Hebrews
God set the earth on a foundation; therefore, it must not move. 1:10
James
James says that, even in his day, all beasts, birds, serpents, and sea
creatures had been tamed by humans. 3:7
If you are sick, don't go to a medical doctor -- rely on the power of
prayer. 5:14-15
By praying, Elias was able to keep it from raining for three and a half
years. 5:17
Revelation
"Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him." This could
only happen on a flat earth. 1:7
Jesus holds seven stars in his hand. Of course, it is possible that this
is to be taken metaphorically. Perhaps. But it is clear from other verses
(6:13, 8:10, 12:4) that John thought of stars as being small, perhaps
even small enough for Jesus to hold in his hand. 1:16
"And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth...." To John, the stars are
just little lights a few miles away that can easily fall to the earth.
6:13
John "saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth." Well, I
guess that settles it: the earth is flat and square-shaped, or at least
quadrilateral in shape. 7:1
"And there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and
it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of
waters." In the bible, stars are just little lights that can fall to the
ground from the sky. 8:10
God's magic candlesticks and olive trees have special powers. They can
shut up heaven so that it cannot rain (There are these little windows
that open up whenever it rains.), turn rivers of water into blood (like
the Egyptian magicians [Ex.7:22]), and to smite the earth with various
plagues "as often as they will." 11:6
The dragon's tail smacks down to earth one third of the stars. Wow,
that's quite a swipe! But to the author of Revelations, the stars are
just little lights that can fall to the ground from the sky. 12:4
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