read part 1 here

In this post we continue to explore scientific facts and principles mentioned in the Bible, validating it as a book containing truth.

The primary purpose of the Bible is not to reveal science but to reveal God and salvation, but nevertheless, biblical scientific revelations are a good addition to the armamentarium of the Christian apologist.

Twentieth century discoveries have solidified our understanding of space and matter in that we understand that all matter is composed of invisible molecules, which are made of smaller atoms, which contain subatomic particles, and many of those subatomic particles are not… particles at all, but quanta of energy orbiting other particles and so forth.

The point is that these atomic and sub atomic building blocks are invisible and detected only using special equipment in university research labs.  These invisible atoms make up everything that is visible.  And of course we know this from Hebrews 11:3 where it was clearly written 2000 years ago:

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”

In Old Testament times when various sources declared that the Earth was fixed on the back of an elephant or a turtle, the book of Job revealed what science now affirms as true: that our planet is not supported by anything except the invisible gravitational pull of the sun.  It hangs free of physical support while orbiting the sun!  What a radical idea first presented thousands of years ago by Job!

Here is what Job 26:7 says about God:  “He stretches out the north over the void and hangs the earth on nothing.”

Starting in the last century, we came to understand the complex anatomy and physiology of blood.  As an anesthesiologist, one of my most important jobs is to monitor a patient’s circulating blood volume and blood loss during surgery, because the most important function of blood (and there are about a thousand such important functions…) is to facilitate cellular respiration.  It delivers oxygen to organs and tissues while removing carbon dioxide and other metabolic waste.

Without this critical function, in a matter of 2-3 minutes cells begin to die, with brain cells being the most sensitive to lack of oxygenated blood.  That is why in the Emergency Room we say “time is brain” in the case of a stroke.  We must restore blood flow to the affected tissue immediately for that tissue to have any chance of survival.

But wait… as recently as 150 years ago contemporary medicine was practicing “blood-letting” for nearly every illness, with many patients dying of severe anemia resulting from repeated intentional hemorrhage.

If they only would have read Leviticus 17:14 “For the life of every creature is its blood: its blood is its life,” this bleeding practice would not have persisted throughout the middle ages!

And so… for a long time in the case of “blood-letting” people were also perishing physically not only spiritually from not knowing the word of God… Hosea 4: 6  “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”

to be continued…

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