What the Bible Says About…: Creation, the Biblical Timeline, and the Age of the Universe, the Meaning and Purpose of Life, Being Saved, Death, Racism, Abortion, Suicide, the Death Penalty, the Right to Bear Arms, Government, Leadership, and More!

By Scott Dalton Myers

The Bible--God's inspired, unerring, and infallible Word--is truly His instruction manual for life and a moral compass for us all to live by. It tells us what is good, what is bad, what is right, and what is wrong.

Unfortunately, many people believe that the Bible is no longer relevant today and was only applicable in biblical times. The Bible itself tells us quite the opposite. The issues and problems we face today are essentially the same as those faced by man in biblical times. Human nature has not changed, and God has not changed! Only the times have changed.

The Bible has plenty to say about the issues people encounter every day, from the beginning of life to the end of life. I have addressed many of these in this book: "The Evidence of God's Existence;" "Who Was and Is Jesus;" "Being Saved;" "Forgiveness;" "Trials and Tribulations;" "What Happens When You Die;" "Families and Fathers;" "Humility;" "Worrying;" "Depression;" "The Environment and Nature;" "Racism;" "Abortion;" "Homosexuality;" "Adultery;" "Transgenderism;" "Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction;" "The Death Penalty;" "The Right to Bear Arms;" "Government;" "Leadership;" "Man's Laws and God's Laws;" "Suicide;" "Money and the Rich;" "Natural Disasters;" "Satan;" "Demons and the Supernatural; "Creation, the Biblical Timeline, and the Age of the Universe;" and others.

People today are pretty much the same as people were in biblical times. Basic human nature and the human condition (being born into sin) have not changed. We face the same challenges, the same temptations, and the same trials and tribulations as the early Christians did. The Bible contains advice and guidance on every possible issue or situation we face, if we only look to it for that guidance and direction and pray to God for wisdom and discernment.

In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began. (Titus 1:2)

That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us. (Hebrews 6:18)

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:8)

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8-9)

For I am the Lord, I change not. (Malachi 3:6)

Finally, you/we should read the Bible like a love letter, not a textbook! John 3:16 tells us, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 12, 2024
• ISBN: 9798889433712

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What the Bible Says AboutaEUR| Creation, the Biblical Timeline, and the Age of the Universe, the Meaning and Purpose of Life, Being Saved, Death, Racism, Abortion, Suicide, the Death Penalty, the Right to Bear Arms, Government, Leadership, and More!

Scott Dalton Myers

ISBN 979-8-88943-370-5 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-88943-371-2 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Scott Dalton Myers

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Cover art: A Sermon on the Mount, by Carl Heinrich Bloch (1834–1890) at https://www.carlbloch.com/php/artwork.php?artwork=686.

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Ten Commandments: The Spiritual and Moral Law Written by the Very Finger of God

Chapter 1

The Evidence That God Exists

Chapter 2

The Bible: Fact or Fiction?

Chapter 3

Who Was and Is Jesus?

Chapter 4

Being Saved

Chapter 5

Forgiveness

Chapter 6

Prayer and Healing

Chapter 7

Trials and Tribulations

Chapter 8

Peace

Chapter 9

Baptism

Chapter 10

Death: What Happens When You Die?

Chapter 11

Families and Fathers

Chapter 12

Humility

Chapter 13

Worrying

Chapter 14

Depression

Chapter 15

The Environment and Nature

Chapter 16

Racial Separatism and Racism

Chapter 17

Abortion

Chapter 18

Homosexuality

Chapter 19

Adultery

Chapter 20

Transgenderism

Chapter 21

Alcohol, Drugs, and Addiction

Chapter 22

The Death Penalty

Chapter 23

The Right to Bear Arms

Chapter 24

Government

Chapter 25

Leadership

Chapter 26

Man's Laws and God's Law

Chapter 27

God's Laws, Statutes, and Judgments

Chapter 28

Suicide

Chapter 29

Money, Tithing, and the Rich

Chapter 30

Usury Lending

Chapter 31

Gambling

Chapter 32

Natural Disasters: Acts of God

Chapter 33

False Prophets

Chapter 34

Lucifer and the Devil, Satan

Chapter 35

Demons and the Supernatural

Chapter 36

Psychics, Spiritual Advisers, Mediums, Witchcraft, and Soothsayers

Chapter 37

Creation, the Biblical Timeline, and the Age of the Universe

Chapter 38

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Chapter 39

The True Gospel and the Meaning and Purpose of Life

Chapter 40

Original Christianity: The Weekly Sabbath, Christmas, Easter, the Church of God, and the Catholic Church

Chapter 41

Redeeming America

Appendix A: Secular Humanism Worldview Versus a Biblical Worldview

Secular Humanism Worldview Versus a Biblical Worldview

About the Author

To my beloved son, Dalton Stone Myers. Truly my pride and joy, as well as my brother in Christ.

Scott Dalton Myers and Dalton Stone Myers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, circa 2004.

Preface

The Bible, God's inspired and infallible word, is truly his Instruction Manual for Life and a moral compass for us all to live by. It tells us what is good, what is bad, what is right, and what is wrong. It also has plenty to say about the issues people encounter every day, from the beginning of life to the end of life. At the end of the day, people are pretty much the same way they were in biblical times. We face the same challenges, the same temptations, and the same tribulations as the early Christians did. The Bible contains advice and guidance on every possible issue we face, if we only look to the Bible for it!

My son started college at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 2020. This was about the time that the coronavirus pandemic hit with full force. Many of his classes were changed to online courses, which meant that he attended very few classes in person. He was basically stuck in his dorm room, as many activities were cancelled. After several weeks, I could sense that he was getting depressed. I talked to him about the Bible and praying to God for help and guidance in dealing with this new situation. Then it hit me; why not send him an email with Bible verses that dealt with depression. I did some research and found quite a few. I sent him several other emails with Bible verses that dealt with other issues we discussed over the phone.

I had also written several letters to the editor to my local newspaper that were published about topics in the news: abortion, the right to bear arms, the death penalty, government, and the environment. I started looking at them and thought that this may be an interesting idea for a book. So these were the inspiration for this book. Does the Bible really address contemporary issues that we face today? Most people think that the Bible is too old and is not applicable in our modern world. This is a big mistake. The Bible addresses any issue or problem that you may encounter in your life. You simply have to read and study the Bible to find the help you need. It is really as simple as searching on your phone or computer about Bible verses regarding the particular issue. As you can see from the Contents, this book covers many diverse topics and issues we are dealing with in contemporary times. I hope this book will be of help to its readers!

Acknowledgments

There are many sources and authors to acknowledge in the creation of this work. The first and foremost is God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Following each article that I have used in this book, I have credited the authors and their URLs or other sources. I would like to thank all of them for their contributions!

Introduction

The Ten Commandments: The Spiritual and Moral Law Written by the Very Finger of God

Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images.

Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.

Honor thy father and thy mother.

Thou shalt not kill.

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.

Thou shalt not covet.

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. (Matthew 22:37–40)

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:34–35)

Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets. (The Golden Rule) (Matthew 7:12)

Just think about it! If the world followed the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule, we would have no wars, no murders, no theft, no lying, no cheating, and no crime at all. God's wonderful, simple, and straightforward law would indeed provide humanity with world peace and individual happiness—if it were universally obeyed.

Many believe that the Bible is no longer relevant today and is only applicable to biblical times. The Bible itself tells us quite the opposite. The issues and problems we face today are essentially the same as those faced by man in biblical times. God, Jesus, and the Bible have not changed. Human nature has not changed. Only the times have changed.

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:15–17)

The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. (Isaiah 40:8)

The counsel of the Lord standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. (Psalm 33:11)

Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8–9)

For I am the Lord, I change not. (Malachi 3:6)

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (James 1:17)

Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. (Deuteronomy 4:2)

What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it. (Deuteronomy 12:32)

Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar. (Proverbs 30:5–6)

For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. (Revelation 22:18–19)

This book examines today's contemporary issues in light of Bible scriptures, which were originally written thousands of years ago. The Bible is indeed relevant today!

In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.

—Titus 1:2

Chapter 1

The Evidence That God Exists

Godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. (1 Timothy 4:8)

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! (1 John 3:1 NKJV)

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)

The heavens declare the glory of God; The skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; Night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language Where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, Their words to the ends of the world. (Psalm 19:1–4)

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:19–20)

Ah Lord God! Behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee. (Jeremiah 32:17)

Hast thou not known? Hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. (Isaiah 40:28)

For this is what the Lord says—he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited—he says: I am the Lord, and there is no other. (Isaiah 45:18)

By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. (Psalm 33:6)

In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. (Psalm 95:4–5)

O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. (Psalm 104:24–25)

Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. (Hebrews 11:3)

What is the evidence for the existence of God? Philosophers have long wrestled with the question of why we exist, and what is our place in the universe. In recent centuries, their fundamental premise is that there cannot be a god, a divine creator. They believe that since we cannot see, hear, feel, or measure God through scientific methods, then He simply cannot exist. Hence, they have concluded that the universe came from nothing, life evolved from lifeless matter, and that human reason itself is our best guide to finding our way.

In our daily lives, we are surrounded by evidence that God the Creator truly does exist. One only has to open his eyes, his heart and use his intellect. Whether in people's abilities, the marvels of nature, the earth, or the universe, the wonders of creation point to the majesty of our Creator. The grandeur of the mountains, the power of the oceans, the flowing rivers, the life-giving rain forests, the deserts— nature makes God's existence and power abundantly clear.

Consider our universe. The great cosmological question is this: Where did the cosmos (universe) come from? Only two possibilities exist: the cosmos has always existed, or the cosmos had a beginning. Either one poses a serious problem for those who deny a creator. If the universe has always existed, there would seem to be no need for a being or outside intelligence to design and create it. On the other hand, if the universe came into being at a precise, specific time, something must have caused it to come into being. Most scientists now accept that the universe began suddenly and at a specific point in time. If the cosmos had a beginning, what existed before it? How was it created? Where did the matter and energy, which make up the cosmos, come from? Why is there something rather than nothing? Why is anything in motion rather than everything still? Why is anything hot or cold? Why is there order in the universe rather than chaos? Why is there life rather than deadness? What is nothing? What does it look like? What force, power, or laws existed before the beginning of the universe to bring it into being?*

The idea that the universe exploded into being is often called the big bang theory. It was literally the moment of creation. This is a curiously biblical view of the origin of the universe in which there was a beginning, and all things in the universe can be traced back to it. Science has proven that the universe exploded into being at a certain moment, but what cause produced this effect? Who or what put the matter and energy into being? Was the universe created out of nothing, or was it gathered together out of preexisting materials? Where did the materials come from?

Our universe works like a giant watch, vast in scale and complexity yet precise in its mechanics. Several decades of space exploration have shown the precision of our universe. Scientists have discovered a lot about the fundamental laws that existed at the origin of our universe. Far from a chaotic random structure (as one would expect if no intelligence were involved), the general scientific conclusion is that the universe has been expanding in an orderly way since its inception. This expansion is not the product of simplicity or randomness! Keith Ward, a professor of history and philosophy of religion at King's College, London University, wrote:

The universe began to expand in a very precisely ordered manner, in accordance with a set of basic mathematical constants and laws, which govern its subsequent development into a universe of the sort we see today. There already existed a very complex array of quantum laws describing the possible interactions of elementary particles, and the universe, according to one main theory, originated by the operation of fluctuations in a quantum field in accordance with those laws. (God, Chance and Necessity, 1996, 17)

The fundamental question: Who created the original laws that govern matter and energy? Did they emerge by chance or accident? Alternatively did a divine creator set them in motion?

As Albert Einstein put it, Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the Laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man (quoted in The Quotable Einstein, 152).

So where did the laws of nature, physics, energy, and matter come from? How did they originate? Did these laws of such incredible precision and orderliness create themselves? Those who deny a creator have no answers!

Does the preexistence of the elaborate, intricate system of natural law in the universe mean there had to be a lawgiver? A good example is gravity. We experience the law of gravity all the time. Though gravity is something we cannot see, we know it exists. We know it functions consistently. It is one of the fundamental laws of the universe. Similar laws govern every aspect of the universe—laws of energy, motion, mass, matter, and life itself. Can science demonstrate that the origin of the universe is solely the result of natural causes? Does it make sense to believe that a universe governed by a precise system of well-ordered laws came into existence by itself?

The amount of matter and energy in the universe is unfathomable to the human mind. Astronomers estimate that there are more than one hundred billion galaxies in the universe. They have not yet found an end or edge to the universe; this is simply all that we can detect using our most advanced instruments to peer ten billion light-years into space (adapted from Robert Jastrow, Red Giants and White Dwarfs, 1990, 15). We describe distances and space in terms of light-years—the distance light travels in one year (almost six trillion miles). But we cannot begin to understand and comprehend these kinds of figures. Still, we must face the question: How did this all come to be? The precision of our universe is not the result of an accident. It is the product of a meticulous creator and lawgiver, the universe's master watchmaker.

Our solar system clearly exhibits characteristics of design. Our moon shields our planet from taking many meteor strikes (simply look at the moon's surface through a telescope), as well as stabilizing Earth's vital tilt. The moon acts as a counterbalance to the Earth, keeping the planet's tilt carefully adjusted to allow the four seasons of the year. This tilt permits the sun's rays to uniformly heat the globe, much like a rotisserie slowly roasts a chicken. The moon, along with the sun, also regulates our tides. The Earth's tides help circulate the water in the oceans and sweep away waste products from the coasts.

If the moon were half as far away as, or twice its present diameter, great tides would wreck most of our harbor. If the moon were smaller and further away, it would not have sufficient pull on our tides to cleanse our harbors or adequately rejuvenate (with oxygen) the waters of our oceans. (Fred Meldau, Why We Believe in Creation Not in Evolution, 1972, 27–28)

Also remarkable is the relative size and placement of the moon with respect to the sun. The sun's diameter is four hundred times that of the moon, but it is also four hundred times farther away from the moon than the moon is from the Earth. The arrangement produces perfect solar eclipses when viewed from Earth!

The two giant planets of our solar system, Jupiter and Saturn, with their strong gravitational pulls, also help shield our planet by functioning as giant vacuum cleaners, sweeping the solar system of dangerous comets and asteroids. Astronomers witnessed a stark example of this in 1994, when Jupiter was struck by the remnants of the Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9, which broke apart in its atmosphere. Dr. Hugh Ross describes how these planets play a varying role in preserving life on our planet:

Late in 1993, a planetary scientist George Wetherell, of the Carnegie Institute of Washington, DC, made an exciting discovery about our solar system. In observing computer simulations of our solar system, he found that without a Jupiter-sized planet positioned just where it is, Earth would be struck about a thousand times more frequently than it is already by comets and comet debris. In other words, without Jupiter, impacts such as the one that is thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs would be more common.

Jupiter is two and a half more times massive than all of the other planets combined. Because of its huge mass, and thus huge gravity, and its location between Earth and the cloud of comets surrounding our solar system, Jupiter either draws comets (by gravity) or, more commonly, it deflects comets (again, by gravity) right out of our solar system. The existence of a well-placed moon, of circular planetary orbits…of the outlying gas giants (Jupiter and Saturn) to sweep the solar system of sterilizing comets…all these and more are profoundly important to the existence of complex life on our planet. (Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay W. Richards, The Privileged Planet, 2004, 256)

The Earth is truly an amazing and astonishing creation. We are literally hurtling through space (around the sun) on this giant spacecraft called Earth—at an incredible speed of 30 kilometers per second or 67,000 miles per hour! At the same time, we are spinning around earth's axis at 460 meters per second or 1,000 miles per hour at the equator. Every year, we complete an entire circuit around the sun—a journey of more than half a billion miles. Yet the most amazing aspect of our voyage is that we don't feel the trip at all! We are literally traveling through space, but we are unaware of this fact. This is simply amazing. How does this happen?

The Earth's atmosphere serves as a porthole to view the cosmos. It is like having a porous crystal 430 miles thick, which allows us to have a full view of everything outside our planet yet still blocks the airless outer space. Some planets are covered by thick clouds that make it impossible to see outside. Our atmosphere allows us to view and discover the universe around us. This transparent canopy also houses a renewable supply of oxygen for human beings and animal life and carbon dioxide and nitrogen for plants. It also provides the proper air pressure for living things, and the outer edge of this translucent shell is composed of an ozone layer that protects us from ultraviolet rays. The clouds in our atmosphere serve as a giant adjusting curtain to shade us from too much sunlight hitting the surface of the Earth. The Earth has a magnetic field generated by the spinning iron core at its center that deflects damaging cosmic rays and deadly solar winds. Without these features, life here would not be possible.

Our planet is also miraculously on an autopilot system governed by carefully adjusted physical laws. Although there is no visible physical being managing this system, our planet faithfully obeys the programmed finely tuned commands of the physical laws and completes its yearlong journey around the sun. The Earth travels through space at 67,000 miles an hour, the speed that perfectly offsets the sun's gravitational pull and keeps the Earth's orbit the proper distance from the sun.

The Earth's atmosphere contains a mixture of gases in perfect proportions to sustain life. Oxygen makes up 21 percent of our air. Without oxygen, all animate life would die in minutes. But too much oxygen is toxic and makes combustible materials more flammable. If the proportion of oxygen were to increase to 24 percent, destructive fires would frequently break out and be much harder to bring under control. Nitrogen makes up 78 percent of Earth's atmosphere, dilutes the oxygen, and serves a vital function as fertilizer for plants. Carbon dioxide makes up much of the rest of our atmosphere. Without it, plant life would be impossible. Plants require carbon dioxide, which they take in while giving off oxygen. Plant life sustains animal life and vice versa in a magnificent, precise, self-sustaining cycle.

The size of the Earth is another critical factor since it determines its gravity and, in turn, affects the atmosphere. If the Earth were only a little larger, making its gravity slightly stronger, hydrogen, a light gas, would be unable to escape the Earth's gravity and would collect in our atmosphere, making it inhospitable to life. Yet if the Earth were only slightly smaller, oxygen would escape, and water would evaporate. Thus if our planet were slightly larger or slightly smaller, human life could not have existed here.

Our planet remains in orbit at just the right distance from the sun and is designed with an optimal tilt of 23.5 degrees that keeps temperatures comfortable for humans, plants, and animals.

If the earth had been tilted at 45 degrees instead of 23.5 degrees, temperate zones would have horrid zone heat and a frigid zone cold in the winter. On the other hand, if the axis of the earth were vertical to the plane of its orbit, January and July would have the same climate and ice would accumulate until much of the continents would be ice-covered six months and flooded the other six months. (Fred Meldau, Why We Believe in Creation Not in Evolution, 1972, 27–28)

The rotation period of our planet cannot be changed by more than a few percent. If the planet takes too long to rotate, temperature differences between day and night would be too great. Plant life would be impossible because of the extended darkness and extremes of heat and cold from such long days and nights. On the other hand, if the planet rotates too rapidly, wind velocities would rise to catastrophic levels. (Hugh Ross, The Creator and the Cosmos, 2001, 135–136)

So many of our planet's forms of life are dependent on an environment in which liquid water is stable. Astronomers estimate that if the Earth's distance from the sun changed by as little as 2 percent, all life would be extinguished, as water would either freeze or evaporate.

Our planet, our solar system, and our universe are surely not the result of some lucky accident. All display evidence of intelligent design and the touch of our all-powerful Creator. The number, precision, and perfection of natural laws cannot be explained away as random chance. Such reasoning is simply irrational.

The writers of the Bible recognized much evidence of a great, all-wise Creator. They understood that the wonders we see around us shout the same message—such astounding design demands a master designer! Whether we are moved by the power of the sea, the grandeur of the mountain range, the delicate beauty of the first spring flowers, or the birth of a child, as we look at the world around us, we naturally conclude that this is the handiwork of the great Creator!

Another interesting perspective from Albert Einstein:

Certainly, we would agree in our own country, in the history of our own country, there has never been a greater brain, a greater mental capacity than that enjoyed by Albert Einstein—not just the greatest scientist of this century but maybe the greatest intellect we've known in modern times. And for Albert Einstein, just for an illustration, the great scientist that he was, the great mind that he was, the toughest intellectual barrier to the Christian faith was not the question of God creating the world. Simple reason, the reason of cause and effect, was not hard for Einstein to grasp. He saw that the universe was an effect, and it had to have a source. He saw that the universe was designed, and it had to have a designer. He saw that it was ordered, and it had to come out of an orderly mind. And so Einstein concluded that there must be a mind behind the universe. He rejected the idea of matter simply bumping around endlessly in space until, by random, it formed itself into the universe that now exists. As he put it, quote, The universe reveals an intelligence of such superiority that it overshadows all human intelligence.

The watchmaker's analogy is another interesting way of looking at ourselves as well as our universe. William Paley was an eighteenth-century English clergyman and philosopher who argued that if we found a watch on the ground, its complexity would convince us that the watch did not occur naturally but was indeed designed. Since both we and our universe are infinitely more complex than the watch, logic demands an eternal watchmaker, an intelligent designer, a great creator, a great lawmaker, a great life giver who could have designed both us and our world.

Physicists have discovered signs that the cosmos is custom-made for life and consciousness. It turns out that if the constants of nature—unchanging numbers like the strength of gravity, the charge of an electron, and the mass of a proton—were the tiniest bit different, then atoms would not hold together, stars would not burn and life would never have made an appearance (Science Finds God, July 20, 1998).

When all is said and done, a growing number of scientists in the fields of physics, astronomy, and cosmology are acknowledging what is called the anthropic principle (the Greek word anthropos means man). This principle, suggested in the 1970s by physicist Brandon Carter, states that for life to exist on earth, all the conditions had to be preplanned from the very beginning of the cosmos. As Harvard PhD Patrick Glynn notes, The most basic explanation of the universe is that it seems to be a process orchestrated to achieve the end or goal of creating human beings (God: The Evidence, 1999, 7, 32). The evidence presented in this chapter certainly makes this principle convincingly clear.

The God of the universe—the God who inspired the Bible—is real. Creation requires a Creator, life requires a Life Giver, natural laws require a Law Giver, and the universe and all of its wonders require a Designer and a Sustainer. Our Creator, Master Designer, Master Lawgiver, and Sustainer of the cosmos is indeed alive.**

The fool says in his heart, There is no God. (Psalm 14:1 ESV)

For with God nothing shall be impossible. (Luke 1:37)

Chapter 2

The Bible: Fact or Fiction?

Prove all things…

—1 Thessalonians 5:21

The Holy Bible is regarded by millions as the written Word of the one and only true God. It is full of knowledge that had to be divinely revealed. It is the book of spiritual truth. The Bible also relates information on material matters such as the ordering of the physical world, the orderly functioning of society, and addresses basic principles of success in occupational and financial matters. It imparts guidelines on nutrition and health. The Bible describes many types of personal relationships as well as the principles of psychological and mental health. It also provides rudimentary information that touches on the physical sciences. The Bible is, in essence, the handbook for humankind, provided by God for our journey through life. However, many skeptics question whether the Bible is true and whether it is fact or fiction. Let us examine the evidence.

The Bible and Astronomy

The polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus concluded in the early-16th century that the Earth was not the center of the universe, as was the Western world's prevailing view. It was an article of faith during the Middle Ages that the Earth was the center of the universe, around which all other heavenly bodies revolved.

The world was believed to be an immovable disc around which the sun revolved, and…the rest of the cosmos comprised of heaven, which lay dreamily above the skies, inhabited by cherubs, and hell, flaming deep beneath the European soil. Everyone believed, indeed knew, that. (William Manchester, historian, A World Lit Only by Fire, 1993, 89).

Copernicus, after years of observing the skies and consulting mathematical tables, arrived at a radically different conclusion: The earth is not a disk about which the sun rotates; it is a sphere traveling around the sun. His discovery brought shock and alarm to many religious authorities. The established church branded Copernicus as an apostate for challenging the conventional wisdom of the day. The Greek astronomer Ptolemy, who lived in Egypt in the second century, had also seemed to have known that the Earth was a sphere (Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot, 1994, 17).

More than three hundred years before the birth of Christ, Aristotle had determined that the planet must be a sphere; after an eclipse had pointed out that only an orb could throw a circular shadow on the moon. (Manchester, 230)

Organized religion of the second century accepted Ptolemy's geocentric view but rejected his belief that the earth was spherical. Theologians chose instead to "endorse the absurd geographical dicta of Topographia Christiana, a treatise by the sixth-century monk Cosmas…who…held that the world was a flat, rectangular plane…" (ibid).

Copernicus was later joined in his conclusion by others. The astronomer Galileo confirmed the findings of Copernicus but recanted under threat of torture. But their scientific findings could not be restrained forever. The result was a loss of monopoly that religion had over men's minds. The Copernican discovery triggered the greatest credibility crisis that church authorities of the Middle Ages had to face. In defending their position, they presented human opinion, which could be—and was—overturned by scientific observation and experimentation. Belief in the Bible and ecclesiastical authority would never be the same. Now a movement had begun that would eventually, in the minds of many, discredit the Scriptures as a legitimate source of authority.

In reality, the Bible was not disproved at all. The misguided interpretations that men had attached to certain scriptures were discredited. It was not the Bible that stood corrected but man's assumptions about what the Bible said. Religious leaders from the second century on were in error about the Earth's place in the scheme of things because of a misunderstanding of various scriptures. They misunderstood Psalm 93:1, which says that the world is established, so that it cannot be moved. This verse does not conflict with the fact that God has placed the Earth in a solar orbit. We could say that this verse verifies what man has learned from the study of astronomy and physics—that the Earth's behavior is fixed and predictable. God set the Earth in its orbit about the sun, and as the psalm notes, neither it nor we will go careening out of our place because God has set the Earth's course and controls the forces (natural laws) that keep both us and the world around us in our proper place.

The belief that the Earth was not the center of the universe died hard. In some places, this new truth was not accepted by religious leaders for more than three hundred years after Copernicus's discoveries. Tremors were felt throughout organized Christianity because many believed that the astronomical reality cast doubt upon the veracity of the Bible. In reality, it did no such thing. Again, it was not the Bible that was found wanting; it was the interpretation that had been adopted by religious authorities. The facts merely confirmed what the Bible had said all along.

In fact, the Bible proved to be well ahead of its time in key concepts. Job 26:7 describes God hanging the earth on nothing; He stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth upon nothing. This was written thousands of years before astronomer and physicist Isaac Newton discovered the invisible laws of gravity that showed the earth truly was suspended on nothing!

The Age of the Universe

Man's misguided theory of the structure of the universe was the first major astronomical controversy that pitted science against religion. Many more controversies followed. One of the most hotly debated concerned the age of the universe.

Astronomers see evidence that the universe is many billions of years old and generally believe that it came into existence between ten and twenty billion years ago through an event commonly called the big bang. On the other hand, some Bible believers, embracing a particular interpretation of Genesis 1, dogmatically maintain that the earth is only about six thousand years old. This figure is calculated from the chronological benchmarks in Genesis and other books of the Bible. Astronomers respond that this view is unsupportable. They offer evidence, gathered from viewing the heavens by powerful telescopes, that support their position. Carl Sagan asked, How is it that there are astronomical objects more than 6,000 light-years away? A light-year is the distance that light, moving at 186,000 miles per second, travels in a year.

Yet such arguments are not necessary. The truth is that the Bible does not contradict scientific evidence, and science does not disprove the biblical record. The point most people on both sides of the argument miss is that the Bible does not say when the universe was created.

The big bang is the most popular current idea advanced to explain the creation of an enormous and remarkable universe. Yet the theory acknowledges that the universe came into being at a specific moment, even though those that support the theory but don't believe in God cannot explain the origin of the material from which the big bang supposedly proceeded or how the universe came about. So scientists' conclusions actually agree with the Bible's statements that there was a specific moment of creation.

The Biblical Creation

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1–2)

The first statement in this account refers to God's initial creative act. No exact time is given as to when this took place. Isaiah 45:18 tells us that God did not create (the earth) a chaos, he formed it to be inhabited (NRSV). What is evident, from comparing this passage to other scriptures, is that between verses 1 and 2 something happened to render the earth formless and empty. This chaos apparently resulted from the rebellion against God by Lucifer, now called Satan (meaning adversary), and a third of the angels, now demons (see Isaiah 14:12–15; Ezekiel 28:12–17; Revelation 12:4). Later in Genesis 2:5–10, God created man:

And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

These two verses from Genesis indicate a time difference between the original creation described in verse 1 and the time leading to the creation of man beginning in verse 2. According to the biblical timeline, Adam was the first man, and adding the figures in the biblical genealogies does yield a date of about six thousand years ago for Adam's creation. However, the Bible does not state that the creation of man and the creation of the universe occurred at the same time. When all is said and done, the age of the universe is simply not stated in the Bible. It may very well have been ten or twenty billion years ago. This is discussed in more detail in Chapter 37: Creation, the Biblical Timeline, and the Age of the Universe.

The Bible and Archaeology

Archaeology is the recovery and study of the material remains of past people's lives and activities. It involves excavation and systematic study of their tools, weapons, cookware, inscriptions, and other objects and remains. Modern biblical archaeology is a fascinating and sometimes controversial subject. Its aim, in general, is to compare the findings of archaeology to the writings of the Bible. For many centuries, the events in the Bible were accepted as a true history. The great sagas of the Bible were approved as accurate down to the smallest detail. However, with the arrival of the Enlightenment of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, this outlook began to change. Scholars began to exalt human reason and scientific exploration above the Bible, mounting a frontal attack on Scripture.

Biblical heroes and other towering personalities, as well as their experiences as recorded in Scripture, came to be considered by many scholars as mere myths. The existence of mighty empires, some of which were recorded in the Bible as having ruled for centuries, was doubted or even denied. Skepticism became the rule of the day among critical scholars. Where previous generations had taken the Bible at face value, now a supposedly enlightened generation viewed it with doubt. The net effect was to deal a staggering blow to the credibility of the Bible in the minds of many people.

The Testimony of History

The remarkable cylinder of King Cyrus of Persia, dated to 538 BC and now located in the British Museum, records his conquest of Babylon and his policy of tolerance and even patronage of native religions. Consistent with that policy, the Bible records his decree that the Jewish exiles taken captive by the Babylonians under Nebuchadnezzar II in 586 BC could return to their land and rebuild Jerusalem and its temple.

These events were a remarkable fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, a century and a half earlier, that God would use a ruler named Cyrus to perform all My pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built,' and to the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.' God also foretold that Cyrus would build My city and let My exiles go free (Isaiah 44:28, 45:13). This was one of many amazing prophecies recorded in the Bible that later came to pass.

The Cylinder of King Cyrus of Persia

The Lachish reliefs are a set of Assyrian palace reliefs narrating the story of the Assyrian victory over the kingdom of Judah during the siege of Lachish in 701 BCE. Carved between 700 and 681 BCE, as a decoration of the Southwest Palace of King Sennacherib in Nineveh (in modern Iraq), the relief is, today, in the British Museum in London. The single inscription which identifies the location depicted in the reliefs reads, Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria, sitting on the throne of judgment, before (or at the entrance of) the city of Lachish (Lakhisha). I give permission for its slaughter. These reliefs verify what 2 Kings 18:13 tells us in the Bible: And in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them.

Siege of Lachish (701 BCE). Inscription: Sennacherib King of the Universe, King of Assyria, sits on a throne and the spoils of Lachish are paraded before him, British Museum

For many years, some critics have asserted that many biblical figures, including King David, are nothing more than myth. But in 1993 a dramatic find forced Bible critics to retreat. A team of archaeologists digging in northern Galilee found a remarkable inscription from the ninth century B.C.E. [Before the Common Era] that refers both to the ‘House of David' and to the ‘King of Israel' (‘David' Found at Dan, Biblical Archaeology Review, March–April 1994, 26).

This discovery was sensational enough to make the front page of The New York Times. The inscription also shows that Israel and Judah were important kingdoms in the ninth century BC, disproving the position of scholars who claimed Israel and Judah were never nations of significance and even disputed that there had ever been a united monarchy under David. David joins many other kings of Israel and Judah whose names were recorded in inscriptions of neighboring nations—among them Ahab, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Hoshea, Jehoiachin, Jehu, Manasseh, Menehem, Omri, Pekah, and Uzziah.

Fragments of an inscription recovered at the site of biblical Dan prove that King David was a historical figure.

Some critical scholars have questioned the existence of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They rejected the biblical view because no clear archaeological evidence was known to exist.

Yet the biblical documents describe Abraham and his world