Some vehemently oppose its teachings and routinely pull verses out of context to paint a wretched picture of religion. Others are willing to concede it has some historical significance and will at least give it a bit of credibility from a historical perspective. The large majority would even go the next step, and describe it as a “good book” containing “good principles.” But is that enough? How many individuals are willing to cast aside the label of just a “good book” and take that final step of defending the Bible as the Word of God?

Whether individuals are standing around the office cooler, door knocking in foreign lands, or debating devout atheists on television, the subject will ultimately come up as to the validity of the Bible. If you really stop and consider it for a moment, everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING), hinges on this one topic. If the Bible is not real, then how can one know of his/her salvation? If the Bible is not the Word of God, then there can be no absolutes. How do we know how to worship or how to conduct ourselves? If the Bible is not inspired then people are allowed to pick and choose whatever suits them as they pursue the pleasures of this life—in essence they can enjoy a “buffet attitude” towards religion. If the Bible is not God’s method of communicating with mankind, then where does that leave the plan of redemption and the New Testament description of salvation?

Consider the dilemma: The majority of people would much rather paint the world “gray” and be allowed the flexibility of their own judgment, rather than to humble themselves and be obedient servant to Him. Thus, they embrace the idea of the Bible being just a good book—an attitude that allows them to do as they please. Whereas, if the book is God’s Word, then suddenly it is no longer a question of an individual’s likes or dislikes, but rather everything revolves around the Author of that book—God. Man is no longer able to do what is right is his eyes, but rather he must acknowledge that Almighty God has bestowed upon mankind divine edicts that we are to follow—or pay the consequences.

So, the question becomes: How do we teach the lost that the Bible is more than just a good book? Critics and skeptics love to belittle anyone who views the Bible as the literal Word of God. They are quick to ridicule those who quote Scripture when asked questions about science or nature. They love to feature films calling the authenticity of the Bible into question—such as the current debate about the alleged ossuary of Jesus. Add to this that the majority of the world would like to simply live in a “gray” world where they get to discern right from wrong from using situation ethics. So how do we effectively teach that God has established clear black and white boundaries?

Before we can teach people about God and the Gospel, we must be able to demonstrate to them the authenticity and accuracy of the Bible. It is one thing to say: “It’s in the Bible.” It’s a totally different thing to say those words, having already established that the Bible is inspired, and thus is the only book to which we should heed in obedience.

So what do we tell them? How do we move from simply stating opinions, to convincing them to accept the Truth? What are some tools the average person can utilize in order to teach our friends, family, and neighbors about the accuracy of God’s Word? One of the best tools that demonstrate the inspiration of the Bible is the scientific accuracies that are found within God’s Word. While space will not permit a full review of every incidence of scientific foreknowledge contained in the Bible, the following examples provide strong evidence for the inspiration of God’s Word. Press upon those you study with that these statements were written thousands of years ago, long before man was able to truly discern the validity of this Scriptures. The only way these scientific accuracies could have found their way into God’s Word is via inspiration.

Medicine

• Numbers 19:16-18 gives a recipe for antibacterial soap (using the hyssop plant which has antifungal properties) to cleanse after touching a dead person—long before we knew about bacteria and viruses.
• Leviticus 17:15 teaches that an animal that has died naturally is not to be eaten—and today it is against local, state, and federal public health procedures to take an animal that has died naturally to a slaughterhouse. What if the animal had died from rabies, anthrax, brucellosis, yet how did the Israelites know this?
• Leviticus chapter 11 gives restrictions regarding safe foods. Verse 7 specifically points out that the Israelites were not to eat pork. We know today that these scavengers often carry parasites such as Trichinella spiralis, the organism that causes trichinosis.
• Deuteronomy 23:12-14 instructed the Israelites to bury their waste. Today we know this is good hygiene. However, during the Middle Ages many Europeans threw human waste into back alleys, which allowed micro-organisms to flourish. The “Black Plague” resulted from this carelessness and killed more that 13 million people.
• Genesis 17:12 God commanded Abraham to circumcise newborn males on the eighth day. We know today after years of scientific study that it is on the eighth day that blood-clotting factors (such as prothrombin) are present in their highest amounts. Yet we have this information recorded literally thousands of years earlier.

Oceanography

• Psalm 8:8 details that the seas have paths in them. Matthew Maury set out to chart the paths upon hearing this Scripture. There is a statue of Matthew Maury at the U.S. Naval Academy in appreciation to his discovering something that was already described in God’s Word.
• Ecclesiastes 1:7 tells us that all rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. This statement, considered by itself, may not appear all that significant. Yet it was made long before satellite images were available to show the distributions of the rivers. Also, when we consider Ecclesiastes 11:3 and Amos 9:6, we realize that the Bible discusses the water cycle long before it was discovered in Europe.
• Job 38:16 God made mention to Job the springs or recesses (trenches) in the sea. Yet it wasn’t until the late 1800’s that we possessed sufficient technology to discover these freshwater springs and deep trenches.
• Genesis 6:15 Noah was given specific directions regarding the dimensions of the ark. That same ratio of 30 to 5 to 3 has been used countless times by shipbuilders to make vessels seaworthy—in fact the U.S. built an entire fleet of boats with those exact proportions. One remaining ship, the U.S.S. Jeremiah O’Brien that was used in World War II is currently docked in San Francisco, CA.

Astronomy

• Isaiah 40:22 describes the circle of the Earth—even though many ancient people, up through the days of Christopher Columbus, believed the Earth was flat.
• Psalm 19:4-6 indicates the Sun has an orbit—a fact that we did not learn until June 1, 1999
• Job 38:19 The Lord describes light traveling in a “way”—a fact discovered by Sir Isaac Newton in the seventeenth century. So how did the writer of Job know about this?
• Job 38:24 God asks by what way is light parted? We know today that light can be parted. Sir Isaac Newton discovered this by passing sunlight through a prism and separating light into seven individual bands of color thousands of years after this verse was written. (remember ROY G. BIV?)

Biology

• In Genesis 1:11,12,21,24 Moses wrote that things reproduce “after their kind.” We know this to be true today. We have established the laws of genetics and heredity, which ensure that things do indeed reproduce “after their kind.” If a farmer plants tomato seed, he knows full well that he will not be harvesting corn. We recognize this evident truth. But how did Moses know—long years before the science of genetics was discovered?
• Acts 17:25 describes God as the “giver of life.” For centuries men have been trying to “create life” through processes of spontaneous generation. The example most often used if the Miller/Urey experiment performed in the 1950s. Even though men like Spallanzani, Redi, Pasteur, and hundreds of others have proven time and again that spontaneous generation is impossible, evolutionists still keep on trying. But the fact still remains—man has never created living material from non-living material. Paul knew long ago that it was God who gives life. This fact has not changed!
• In 1 Corinthians 15:39 Paul also stated that there are four fleshes—those of men, beasts, birds, and fishes. Today, even evolutionists accept this fact of science. These fleshes are indeed different in their biochemical make-up. But how did Paul living in the first century A.D know this?

Science textbooks are telling your children and grandchildren they have “proof,” “facts,” and “evidence.” It is high time we give our children and grandchildren the proof, fact, and evidence that God’s Word is more than just a good book. It is truly the only God-breathed book in existence, and it is filled with examples that support its accuracy and authenticity—examples that demonstrate the power and authority of Almighty God. The only question is will you heed what this inspired Book records?