SCIENCE, TRUTH AND THE CHURCH
| Margin |
In rational, intelligent human beings, when they learn a fact that is in direct conflict with a held belief, they reevaluate that belief and likely reject it as untrue. However, most religious people act as if they do not want to be bothered with facts. These are some of the most dangerous and psychologically unstable people on the planet. They're willingly being controlled by a schizophrenic mind that allows both fact and fiction, truths and mythology to govern their actions. They knowingly let this unstable mind exist and use it to evaluate their friends and neighbors, other groups (religious or not) and other countries. Rather than seeking help for their condition, they seek others exhibiting these same characteristics and form groups with them. Then, once in groups, they ironically attack other groups of schizophrenic human beings who happen not to conform to their specific mental failings. Of course, these groups obviously also attack the remaining rational non-believers. Differing religious groups will go so far as to persecute, torture, murder and completely wipeout entire societies of human beings that will not conform to their schizophrenic views. Characterizing religions in this way is almost humorous, if it were not true! It is a flaw in the human design that has existed for all of recorded history. Religions provide answers to questions that do not yet have a scientific solution and many humans accept them. The table below lists some of the natural events that were not understood in the past. It lists the religious, untrue explanation often provided by the Church as well as the eventual scientific explanation that was discovered. Among atheists, the schizophrenic nature of the religious mind is among the most frustrating and baffling aspects of religion. How can believers continue to have faith in an explanation that has been proven time and time again to be false!?!? Why do human beings not reject organizations that continue to tell them lies!? These are dangerous human beings and more dangerous groups. They have committed horrendous atrocities throughout history in the name of their God. They have done this whenever they have attained a certain level of popularity or authority within their country either via the Church or government. Be afraid of these groups and never let down your guard of the separation between Church and State. Scientific truths have continually shown the Bible
to be a book of lies. Is it any wonder that Adam was forbidden to
eat from the "tree of knowledge"?!
Special Thanks to "The Skeptics Annotated Bible" without which this paper would have required considerably more time to research. An outstanding resource to all! |
| Natural Phenomenon | Church/Religious Explanation | Scientific Truth |
|---|---|---|
| Earth's Geometry | There is a long history of the Church's most famous scientific
blunder of stating that the Earth is flat. The Bible too promotes
the flat earth theory. In Isaiah
[11:12], Ezekiel
[7:2] it states that the Earth has four corners. In Revelation
[7:1], four angels were "standing on the four corners of the earth".
In Daniel
[4:10-11, 20], it refers to seeing to the end of the Earth and then
seeing all kingdoms of the world in Matthew
[4:8] and Luke
[4:5] (implying a flat, rather than spherical Earth).
Some early Church Fathers promoted a flat earth such as Lactantius (325 A.D.) who said, "About the antipodes also one can neither hear nor speak without laughter. It is asserted as something serious that we should believe that there are men who have their feet opposite to ours... Or is there anyone so senseless as to believe that there are men whose footsteps are higher than their heads?" |
The Bible and Church were obviously wrong. The Earth
has a spherical shape. You cannot see or stand on four corners of
the Earth. It is impossible to see every part of the Earth or all kingdoms
of the world, no matter what your vantage point!
This one simple example of false statements in the Bible and by the Church should be enough. The fact that people still listen to the Church and believe the Bible is the word of God, rather than turning their backs in laughter and pity is unbelievable! For extensive research of the matter of flat earth thinking, see the Ethical Atheist's Flat Earth eBook. |
| The Sky | Many civilizations have thought that the sky was a fixed object. Some even believed that stars were objects fixed or hung on the sky. In the Bible, Genesis [1:6-8], God explains the sky as a solid "firmament" he created called "heaven". Later in [1:14-17], he "made two great lights" and "he made the stars also". Then, he "set them in the firmament of heaven". | This account and description of the sky is absurd. Man has known for thousands of years that these lights are stars that are spread throughout the Universe. There is no solid, fixed object above our heads. |
| Motion of Earth,
Sun and Other Stars |
Humans throughout history have had some entertaining views of the Universe. Along with the "flat earth" and the fixed, solid sky described above, there has always been a debate about movement in the Universe. According to the Bible, the Earth and the Heavens are set upon pillars and do not move. See: Psalms [96:10], Psalms [104:5], 1 Samuel [2:8], Micah, [6:2], 1 Chronicles [16:30], Job [9:6], Job [38:4]. | We know that there are NO motionless objects in the Universe. Moons orbit around their planet, planets turn on an axis and revolve around their star, stars are moving within their galaxy, galaxies are moving in relation to other galaxies, black holes, etc. However, recent history is full of examples of imprisonment, banishment, torture and murder of anyone asserting any theory not compatible with the Bible and teachings of the Church. Here are a few examples. The astronomer Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake in 1600 in Rome for his heretical teaching that Earth orbited the Sun. Copernicus was judged a heretic and his works were banned by the Roman Church. During the Inquisition, Galileo was ordered to desist his astronomical work and writings. He did not and was forced to retract his statements or be tortured. Then, he was placed under house arrest in 1633 where he remained the rest of his life. |
| Motion of Sun
and Moon |
This one is especially frustrating (and confusing)!
As described above in "The Sky" and "Motion...", the Earth, Sun and Sky
are all on fixed pillars. (If they can't move, are the Sun and Moon like
lights that are turned off and on?) But, in Joshua
[10:12-13], God made the Sun and Moon stand still. In fact, he
told the Moon to go rest over in the valley of Ajalon. (Joshua needed
more time than a single day to kill his enemies.) Again, this was
referred to in Habakkuk
[3:11].
It's confusing that God made them stand still if they were already motionless on fixed pillars. However, we will address this one on its own, assuming that the fixed pillar theory is false and the Sun and Moon do in fact move. (Movement is a necessary precursor to forcing something to stand still!) |
The Sun and Moon do not "stand still". In fact, neither does the Earth or any other planets, stars or moons. If the Moon were to "rest" and not move in relation to the Earth, the Earth's gravitational pull would bring it crashing into our planet, wiping out all life forms. In fact, such a collision would alter the spherical geometry of our fine planet! Also, what does the moon know of the valley of Ajalon? How would it come to "rest" there? For the Sun to stand still, the Earth must cease to revolve. That would extend the day while it was motionless. But, wouldn't it also extend the night on the other side of the planet? Why are there no stories of long nights at this time? Oh yeah, the Earth was flat, wasn't it?! |
| Survival of Species | Disregard the other impossibilities regarding the myth of Noah's Ark for a moment. Noah supposedly took two (or seven depending on the chapter) members of each type of animal on the big boat; Genesis [7:2-8]. After the great flood subsided, these species survived and are what we see today on Earth. | This is a scientific impossibility. We know that it takes large numbers of a species to ensure its survival. Once a animal's numbers drop below a given threshold, it becomes extinct. This threshold is dependent on reproduction rates, the environment and other factors. However, to only have 2 or even 7 of each species would have guaranteed the Earth would be devoid of almost all life (plant & animal) after the flood. |
| Travel, Ships
and Cargo Space |
The story of Noah and the Great Flood states that Noah gathered
representatives of ALL species on Earth.
All of these animals boarded the 450 foot long ark in one day, Genesis [7:13-14]. |
There were obviously species on other continents. There were many continents that Middle Easterners and Europeans had never visited. In fact, man did not yet have the technology to make these long trips over the ocean. Yet, somehow Noah was able to gather all these species from all over the world (including the Arctic, Australia, the Americas) and transport them back to the Middle East. How was this done? How many decades would this have taken in sailing ships with limited cargo space? How did they survive the trip? What did they eat? How could Arctic and Jungle creatures survive in a hot boat for so long? It would have been impossible to board millions of species into a single 450 foot long boat, let alone the violation of mathematics to get them all to fit! Then, after all life not on the ark had perished on the Earth, Noah must have taken all these animals back to their own continents? This logistical impossibility nearly rivals Santa Claus visiting every home in the world in one night! |
| Light of the Moon | The Bible seems to suggest that the Moon generates its own light. In Genesis [1:16], "God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night". In Isaiah [13:10], in ongoing stories, it states that, "the moon shall not cause her light to shine". In Ezekiel [32:7], "the moon shall not give her light". | We know that the Moon does NOT "generate" light at all. It is merely a reflection of light from the Sun. |
| Origin of Species | According to the Bible, God created everything on Earth: man, woman, trees, plants, beasts, fowl, etc. When God created humans, they were in their current form. Genesis [2:7] states, "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." Then, later in [2:22], God created a woman, "And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man." | Science has proven Anyone not convinced of evolution is either uneducated or is ignoring the facts. They should be pitied and forced to read Charles Darwin's "The Origin of Species". |
| Human Ailments
and Their Cures (Sickness,
|
These ailments were caused by God and afflicted sinners. Or,
they were due to being possessed by the devil. The Lord or his subordinate
ministers and priests could cure these ailments. In addition, you
could pray to be healed. Some civilizations believed sacrificing
animals or even their own citizens could cure the sick.
In Matthew
[9:32], "a dumb man" was "possessed with a devil". In Matthew
[12:22], "one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb" was healed.
In Matthew [17:14-18],
a man begged for "mercy on my son: for he is lunatick, and sore vexed ...
And Jesus rebuked the devil; and he departed out of him: and the child
was cured from that very hour." In Mark
[9:17-29], a foaming, gnashing, wallowing, child was cured of the devil,
"he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit,
I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him. And the spirit
cried." James
[5:14-15] states, "Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders
of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the
name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the
Lord shall raise him up."
Church Fathers like Clement of Alexandria (220 A.D.) said that plagues were caused by demons. Lactantius (325 A.D.) believed that demons entered men and injured them through the viscera, producing diseases and mental distemper but that the sign of the cross would drive them away. St. Augustine claims that miracles cured a blind man at Milan; a personal friend of his, named Innocent, had been miraculously cured of an ailment, and he had seen it done with his own eyes; a lady had been cured of an incurable cancer; a man in the town of Curubis was miraculously cured of paralysis and hernia by being baptized, etc. St. Thomas Aquinas (1270 A. D) affirmed that diseases and tempests were the direct work of the devil; and Justin Martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, Athenagoras, Tatian, Cyprian of Carthage, Tertullian, Origen, Jerome, Lactantius, Eusebius -- in fact, all the early Christians believed in demons. |
Fortunately we have come to understand most of the human ailments. They are due to bacteria, viruses, defective genes, uncleanness, etc. They are not due to demons or evil spirits. They are not cured by prayer, sacrificing life, a healing hand on the forehead or anything of this sort. Now, thanks to modern medicine, we can examine bacteria and viruses under the microscope. We can prescribe penicillin and antibiotics. We can improve our personal hygiene and wash before eating. We can study defective genes and missing chromosomes. Yet many humans remain afflicted with the disease of religion and are still shackled to their belief that the Bible is true. |
| Floods and
Earth's Closed Hydrological System |
In Genesis,
Chapter 7, the Bible states that there was a great flood that covered
the highest mountains [7:19].
The Bible is contradictory on how long the flood actually lasted.
Genesis states that the flood lasted either 40 days [7:17]
or 150 days in [7:24]
and [8:3].
|
Due to Earth's atmosphere, we live in a relatively closed hydrological system. Water evaporates and falls again as rain, snow or ice. It flows through rivers to the seas. Within a short period of time (with respect to Earth's age), say 1 million years. There really isn't a great change in the amount of moisture on Earth. It may be in different forms (water and ice), but it is a relatively stable quantity. Where did all of the rain come from to justify the story of Noah's Ark? It covered even the highest mountain. It is impossible. Then, where did it all go? It just vanished again?! (Maybe, Noah drank it all?) |
| Rain & Drought | Gods produce rain or drought. Religions since the beginning of
recorded history have credited Gods with producing rain. Christians,
Jews, Muslims, Incas, Mayans, Greeks and so on have prayed or danced and
were rewarded by rain. They've prayed for rain when the crops were
dying. They've also asked that the rain stop when crops and people
were drowning.
The Bible states that, "Elias ... prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months" James [5:17]. Then, in [5:17], "He prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, ... " |
We know from science that rain, and the lack thereof, is
caused by evaporation and moisture in the atmosphere. It tends to
rain more over areas containing lakes, rivers and seas because there is
more water evaporating into the atmosphere. It also tends to rain
less in arid, desert areas.
Now, these statements may all seem obvious, but they are NOT obvious to those who pray in an attempt to influence this natural phenomenon. |
| Earthquakes | Most religions have believed that earthquakes were caused by an angry God or Gods. In Isaiah [13:13], God states, "Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger." Again, in Job [26:11], Job states that "The pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof." | "Plate tectonics tells us that the Earth's rigid outer shell (lithosphere)
is broken into a mosaic of oceanic & continental plates... The plates
are in constant motion. Where they interact, along their margins, important
geological processes take place, such as the formation of mountain belts,
earthquakes, and volcanoes."
(courtesy "USGS, National Earthquake Information Center") |
| Volcanoes | Again, this natural phenomenon was due to God's fury. He rained fire on the wicked in Psalms [11:6]. He rained fire on Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis [19:24]. | "Volcanic activity probably occurs in response to a change in the local
pressure surrounding the magma reservoir system as a consequence of (1)
severe ground shaking caused by the earthquake; or (2) a change in the
"strain" or pressure in the Earth's crust in the region surrounding where
the earthquake occurred."
(courtesy "USGS, Volcano Hazards Program") |
| Hospitality of a
Fish's Stomach |
In Johah [1:17], "the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." | This is laughable and is more suitable to be told in a child's fantasy story. Are we to believe that a man could survive for three days and nights in the stomach of a fish?! How would he breath? Wouldn't digestive acids consume him? |
| Solar Eclipses | Many civilizations have believed that solar eclipses were caused by an angry god. They would pray and dance and make human and animal offerings to appease their god(s). In Joel [2:31], it states that "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come." | Quite an interesting description of a solar eclipse. However, we know that the sun doesn't actually go dark and the moon, though sometimes brilliantly colored, isn't really blood! Yet, we've seen many solar eclipses and still no "great and terrible day" when the Lord comes. |
| Comets and Meteors | In the Bible, these are great stars falling from heaven and burning like lamps", see Revelation [8:10]. In Revelation [6:13], "the stars of heaven fell unto the earth". | We know these occurrences to be comets and meteors. In fact, we can even forecast their arrival. |
| Crop Growth | Prayers, animal and human sacrifices, or just the blood of citizens have all been employed by societies from Christians to Indian tribes to influence crop growth. | Agricultural science has shown crop growth to be dependent on phenomenon such as rain, soil properties, photosynthesis, seasons, disease and insects. |
| Lightning/Thunder | It was the great weapon of the gods. The Greeks both marveled and feared lightning as it was hurled by Zeus. For the Vikings, lightning was produced by Thor as his hammer struck an anvil while riding his chariot across the clouds. In the East, early statues of Buddha show him carrying a thunderbolt with arrows at each end. Indian tribes in North America believed that lightning was due to the flashing feathers of a mystical bird whose flapping wings produced the sound of thunder. The Church stated that Satan was the "Prince of the Power of the Air" and controlled all lightening and thunder. Lightening rods were termed "heretical rods" because they implied an understanding of lightening and the ability to alter its effects. Clement of Alexandria (220 A.D.) said that hail storms, tempests and plagues were caused by demons. | Benjamin Franklin's studies of lightning in the 18th century and the famous kite that flew during a Pennsylvania thunderstorm in 1752 help us rid the notions of lighting as a weapon of the gods. We now know lightning to be the result of electrical charges. |
| Day and Night | In Genesis [1:3-5], God creates light, day and night, on the first day. However, it wasn't until the fourth day that he created the sun, moon and stars, Genesis [1:16]. What could this strange light source have been that created day before there was a sun? | On Earth, day and night are obviously defined by the revolution of planet exposing portions of Earth to the Sun. It is impossible, by definition to have day without the Sun. |
| Earth's Age | Biblical descriptions place age of the Earth and the Heavens in the thousands of years. | Scientific evidence has proven this to be false. The Universe is not thousands or even millions of years old. We know now that it is at least in the billions of years old. |
| Communication,
Language |
The Bible states in Genesis [11:1] that "the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.". Later in [11:6], "Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language...". The Lord was angry that these people were building a tower to reach the heavens, so the Lord said, "... let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." So, "the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth." Genesis [11:9]. | This is complete nonsense. Communication and language evolved thousands and millions of years ago. We know from archeological evidence that hunched over, hairy cavemen drew pictures of animals and hunts on cave walls. They drew diagrams of hunting in groups to kill game. Other civilizations document their activities and history, long before biblical times. Communication has gradually evolved into thousands of variations resulting from social and geographical separation. The biblical account of man's language first being "confounded", then man being scattered across the earth, rather than the reverse, is chronologically inaccurate. |
| Population Growth | The Bible contains some ridiculous accounts of population growth. In Exodus [1:5], it states that "all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls". However, "the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied ..." Exodus [1:7]. Within a few hundred years, these 70 grew into the millions, with 603,550 men over 20 as recounted here... "from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men." Exodus [38:26]. This same statement is restated in Numbers [1:46]. | This is impossible. The mathematical formulas for population growth are extremely complex and depend on a variety of factors including death rates, the number of children produced by each female, the percentage of child bearing females born, etc. Let's use recent history as a guide, say the last 300 years from 1700 to 2000. We've experienced a population explosion during this time exceeding anything in recorded history due to increased cleanliness and modern medicine. World population increased from 600,000,000 in 1700 to 6,000,000,000 in the year 2000. This is a 10-fold increase in 300 years. At the end of the 300 years, according to Exodus [38:26], there were 603,550 men over 20. For simplicity's sake, lets assume an equal number of women over 20. Pairing all men and women together and assuming an average of 2 children per couple results in 1,207,100 children for a total population of 2,414,200. So, the population grew from 70 to 2,414,200 in 300 years. This equates to 34,488-fold increase in population compared to the 10-fold increase in the explosion of the last 300 years. Preposterous! |
| Races | According to the Bible, no humans survived the great flood in Noah's time, except those on the ark. In Genesis [7:13], it states specifically that these were "Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives of his sons". Therefore, every human on Earth today are decedents of this small, related group of 8 people. | This story cannot be true as evidenced by the huge variety
of human races that exist on the planet today. Where did Blacks come
from? Or, Asians, or Native Americans, or Pacific Islanders, etc.
Noah's family were Caucasians. We know our current races to be a
result of millions of years of evolution.
In addition, the Bible states that man was made in the image of God. If this were true, all humans would look alike and be of the same race. |
| Math | A molten sea was "made" in 1 Kings [7:23] (see also 2 Chronicles [4:2]) This molten sea "was round with a diameter of ten cubits and a circumference of thirty cubits." | The geometric formula for circumference
is,
|
| Human Lifespan I | The Bible states in several places that people living in the time of Jesus would not die before the second coming of Christ. Matthew [16:28] states, "Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom" Nearly identical statements are found in Mark [9:1] and Luke [9:27]. | There is, obviously, no evidence of humans living for thousands of years. However, if you happen to be one of these people who so heard Christ speaketh this, please contact the Ethical Atheist. We would love to hear your story! |
| Human Lifespan II | Genesis [7:11] begins, "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life..." Genesis [5:5] provides the following ages: Adam 930 years, Seth 912 years, Enos 905 years, etc. | There is no scientific or archaeological evidence that humans have ever lived past nine-hundred years! Or even six hundred, or two hundred years! |
| Species of Earth I | The Bible contains references to some very interesting sounding species that are unknown to biologists. There are "creepy crawly things", and "fiery serpents" Numbers [21:6], a talking serpent Genesis [3:1], serpents forced to forever travel on their belly and eat dust Genesis [3:14], giants Genesis [6:4], and "flying creeping things which have four feet" Leviticus [11:23]. | None of these creatures exist today and there is no archaeological evidence that they ever have. Snakes do not eat dust and it's unsure how they would travel other than on their belly. Where are the fiery serpents?! Which creepy things fly and have four feet?! These descriptions have inspired the Ethical Atheist to develop images of these fictional creatures. See Biblical Species - Not Known to Science. |
| Species of Earth II | When people went searching for the children of Israel, they found giants. Numbers [13:32-33], recounts an "evil report" where the land was all eaten up by its inhabitants, "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." | Let's assume they were referring to some very large 1 inch tall grasshoppers, compared to a 6 foot (72") man. For these people to look like grasshoppers, the "giants" must have been around 432 feet tall (72 times 6). There is, obviously, no archaeological evidence to support such a claim. |
| Mustard Seeds | Jesus states in Matthew [13:31-32], that a mustard seed "is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree". Mark [4:31] again states that the "mustard seed ... is less than all the seeds that be in the earth". | This is a blatantly false claim. The mustard seed is NOT the smallest seed, and it doesn't grow into a tree. The seeds of the fruit Wolffia angusta, for example, are much smaller. Some brush off the incorrect claim saying that " The mustard seed was the smallest known to the Jews of that time. (DICTIONARY OF THE BIBLE. 4th ed, John D. Davis, A, 1969). While this may be true, Jesus stated that it was the smallest in all the earth, not the smallest the Jews knew about. |