Science Debunks These 6 Bible Stories
When it comes to Christianity, there are an almost unbelievable number of variations on the 2,000-year-old religion. And every different sect reads, understands, and applies the sacred Christian text, the Bible, in different ways.
However, many Christian denominations, as well as the people within them, see the Bible not only as guidance from God himself but also as a legitimate history book of past events. However, since the development of science, there are several “facts” from the Bible that we now know simply cannot be true.
The Creation Story
The story of how God created the Earth and everything on it at the very beginning of the Bible is certainly one of the book’s most famous.
According to the Bible, it took God only six days to create everything, and he did so by handcrafting the Earth, animals, and finally, humans in his own likeness. That means those who take the Bible literally believe humans have been living on Earth since the week it was made
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution Proven True
However, Darwin’s theory of evolution completely disproved the Biblical story of creation by stating that humans evolved from animals, specifically monkeys, over the course of hundreds of thousands of years.
But it’s not just one man’s opinion that debunks the story of creation—evolution has been proven accurate by scientists who studied human, animal, and plant genetic makeup. There’s no doubt about it: Living things were not created as they are today—everything has evolved.
Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood
The next Biblical story many Christians believe to be absolutely true is Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood.
The Bible explains that God was at one point so disappointed with humanity that he decided to wipe every living person out, with the exception of Noah, who he decided was worthy of starting an entirely new human race. So Noah and his family, as well as two of every animal on Earth, boarded a giant ark that he made and rode out a flood that covered the entire planet.
Sediment Studies Have Shown There Was Never a Great Flood
Unfortunately for Christians, the Great Flood has also been proven wrong as new sedimentary layer studies report that the rocks of the Earth show no signs of a planet-wide flood.
Essentially, researchers have developed technology to understand what kind of weather the many layers of rocks on and below the Earth’s surface have seen throughout their very long history. After their analysis, they can say for sure that there has never been a flood like that described in the Bible.
The Earth is the Center of the Universe
For centuries, Christians, as well as people of other religions and even scientists, believed that the Earth was the center of the universe. But in 1543, astronomists found out that the Earth is definitely not the center of anything.
However, it seems some Christians still believe this misconception to be true, even with an exceptional amount of evidence proving otherwise.
Everyone Knows We Spin Around the Sun
Today, astronomers, mathematicians, astronauts, astrophysicists, and really anyone with a middle school education know that our solar system, made up of eight planets, rotate around the sun.
And not only is the Earth not the center of our solar system, it’s certainly not the center of the many galaxies we now understand to exist in deep space. In fact, our tiny solar system is just a spec in the giant complexity that is the universe.
According to the Bible, the Earth is Only Thousands of Years Old
The sacred Christian Bible also explains the age of the Earth. It does so because every human since the first humans, Adam and Eve, is accounted for within the Bible. Therefore, Christians can calculate just how long the Earth has been around.
So according to the Bible’s timeline, the Earth is only between 6,000 and 10,000 years old, and many Christians are distressed by how much that number varies from what scientists are saying.
Science Reveals the Actual Age of the Earth
Not only is the Earth not 6,000 to 10,000 years old, research dictates that it’s actually an astounding 4.5 billion years old.
Scientists have studied the rocks in the Earth’s crust – and even rocks from the moon and meteorites – to understand the age of the Earth. And while it took decades to figure it out, they can now say with complete confidence that the world is 4.54 billion years old, give or take 50 million years.
Languages of the World Were Created at the Tower of Babel
Any Christian who attended church services or Bible study certainly remembers the story of the Tower of Babel.
In this tale, people tried to build a tower that would reach heaven, and God was so mad that he decided to punish them. At the time, there was only one language, but according to the Bible, God made everyone building the tower speak different languages so that they couldn’t continue.
Linguistics Shows That Language Has Evolved
Linguistics studies have now shown that there is no way all the languages of planet Earth simply appeared from above.
It’s extremely clear to all who understand linguistics that languages have evolved into what they are today. However, some Christians still claim that possible evolution isn’t enough to debunk the idea that originally, God created several languages to deter humans from getting to heaven.
The Stars Above House a Literal Heaven
The reason why ancient Christians believed they could build a tower that would lead them to heaven is that the Bible explains it’s sitting directly above us in the sky.
Various verses in the Bible explain that heaven, where obedient Christians meet God and Jesus in the afterlife, is a literal place that sits above the stars. One verse says it’s essentially a solid dome with stars stuck to it.
Galaxies Are Empty Space Filled with Stars and Rocks
But, of course, because of science and space travel, the vast majority of people now understand that there is no “heaven” sitting above the stars
Thanks to satellites, telescopes, astronauts, and astrophysicists, the world now understands what the universe actually is: Expansive and essentially infinite, full of only empty space, stars, rocks, planets, and whatever else is far, far away.
The Bible vs. Science
For centuries before science as we know it today was used or even understood, Christian truths were considered facts. However, now that humans use science to analyze and understand everything, the majority of people have based their beliefs on science, not the Bible.
But there are still some Christians who believe the Bible is the only factual account of our Earth and everything on it, and that science is untrustworthy because it was completed by tragically flawed humans, not God Himself.
Many Christians Finding a Way to Incorporate Science Into Their Religion
It would be inaccurate to say all Christians do any one thing in particular, as there are approximately 2.38 billion of them on Earth.
Today, there are millions, if not billions, of Christians who have incorporated science into their religion and their faith, and they believe that the Bible, while an incredibly valuable sacred text, is really more of a book of spiritual metaphors for guidance as opposed to a factual historical text.