Researchers at the University of Notre Dame conducted a study in which participants were asked to refrain from telling lies for 10 weeks. During that time, the subjects reported that their physical and mental health improved, and they also testified that their relationships flourished as well. The findings were dramatic, and the researchers presented them last week at the American Psychological Associations’ annual convention.
Scripture has known this for quite some time: “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body,” says Proverbs 14:30 (NLT), and King David wrote, “My guilt has overwhelmed me…because of my sinful folly…there is no health in my body, I am feeble” (Psalm 38: 4-8 [NIV]). Proverbs 12:18 asserts that “the word of the wise is health.” (KJV) There are scores of verses that speak to walking in the truth leading to good health.
A few weeks ago, I was cursed at and blasted on a book club forum simply for observing that science is often discovering and reporting what the Bible stated over 2,000 years ago. This was in regards to a completely different topic. But it is true, and is becoming more evident seemingly by the week. The whole question in our generation of climate change, severe weather, and the earth perishing is nothing new. It has been discussed throughout scripture (check out Isaiah 51:6, Revelation 21:1, Isaiah 26:9, Luke 21:25, 2 Chron. 7:13, & Job 38:22-23 for just a few examples). Pollution and its causes are spoken of at length, as well as the earth reacting to it (Isaiah 24:5, Numbers 35:33, Jeremiah 3:2, Jeremiah 16:18 are only a handful of places where this is discussed)
This replica from the Smithsonian Institute is of
is of Carcharodon megalodon,
based on fossil remains of a now-extinct
giant predator, is on exhibit in Queensland,
Australia. Its closest living relation is the
great white shark. (Credit: Russell Grigg,
used by permission from Creation Ministries
International).
It is interesting that those who quote or reference the Bible for wisdom are so viciously reviled and scornfully labeled “Bible thumpers,” yet those who refer to the latest scientific study are commended. This is particularly illogical since the content of the Bible has not changed in 2,000 years, yet science is constantly “updating” its findings. To see what I mean, just type in “changes in scientific belief” or “debunked science myths.”
Moreover, scientists themselves cannot universally agree on any hot topic, from the origins of the universe to whether Global Warming is anthropological (caused by humans) or from natural causes (solar irradiance change) or even the history of mankind (refer to my
previous blog on the scientists accumulating in the
Dissent from Darwinism group).Beyond this, the greatest case for entropy – the theory that there is a gradual decline of order into chaos (versus evolution) – might be the unraveling of what is recorded in a medical or scientific journal and what eventually makes its way and is held up as fact in the mainstream press.
I took an entire course on
junk science at college; my science professor was definitely not a creationist!
One of the biggest stumbling blocks for Christians themselves in this question of the compatibility of science and scripture is the story of
Jonah and the great fish. They believe the rest of the Bible, but how could anyone survive being swallowed by a giant fish, they wonder. If they don’t believe it, yet can’t help but believe in the resurrection of Christ, these Christians write off Jonah as allegory. The fact is, that science has documented such a thing happening,
and more than once. In his book,
The Harmony of Science and Scripture, Dr. Harry Rimmer, D.D., Sc.D. recounts personally meeting a sailor who fell from a trawler in the English channel and was swallowed by a gigantic
Rhincodon whale shark. His comrades figured him for dead, but hunted down the shark and killed it 48 hours later using deck artillery. The carcass was too heavy for the ship’s winches, so the fleet hauled it to shore with the intention of giving their buddy a Christian burial. When they opened the shark, their friend was found unconscious, but very much alive. He was suffering from shock, but was discharged after being admitted to a hospital. For some time he was on exhibit at a London museum, and dubbed “The Jonah of Our Century.”
For Christians, it is time to think rationally and adjust our worldview to see not only that reason and scripture are compatible, but that the burden of proof is not on the Bible – it is on the ever-evolving, changing nature of science!
