GOD AND SCIENCE Considering God and science in the early part of the twentieth century it was determined through Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity that the universe had a beginning and some entity, therefore, must have been responsible for its beginning. By definition then, this entity would have had to exist outside of the universe in order to create it. Hebrews 11:3 tells us the universe was framed by God. Einstein's theory of general relativity had been applied to mass and energy, hence he came up with the famous equation E=mc2 (E refers to Energy, and M to Mass). In the late 1960s and early 1970s three British astrophysicists, Stephen Hawking, George Ellis and Roger Penrose, decided to apply the theory to space and time. But what was lacking at the time was overwhelming proof that the universe was indeed governed as suggested in Einstein's theory. Scientists were only able to confirm it to 1% precision. was able to confirm to within one one thousandth of a percent that the universe did indeed conform to Einstein's theory of general relativity. With this confirmation, it was concluded that not only did mass and energy in the universe have a beginning, but time did as well. So it can also be concluded that the entity responsible for the creation of the universe not only exists outside the universe, but outside of time as well. Both, II Timothy 1:9 and Titus 1:2 talk about "before the beginning of time." Also, concerning God and science, we know today, from the Second Law of Thermodynamics that the contents that make up the universe, are running down and that the universe, therefore, is not eternal. This was big news to modern science, but not to the Bible. In fact, centuries before scientists even thought of the idea, the Bible made it very clear. In Psalm 102:25 and 26, we are told that the universe, created by God, is going to wear out like old clothing. When it comes to God and science let's consider the Jewish custom of circumcision in which the flesh of the male foreskin is cut off. The Israelites were instructed to perform circumcision on the eighth day after birth. Only in recent years has it been discovered that the blood clotting factor in a baby doesn't reach its maximum peak until the eighth day after birth and then it drops down again! So, according to modern science, the eighth day is the ideal time to perform circumcision. So important was this instruction in fact, that the rite was not postponed even if the eighth day was the Sabbath. (Interestingly, many doctors and hospitals today will perform circumcisions upon request because it is known medically that men who have not been circumcised are more likely to cause cervical cancer in their wives. There is a very low rate of cervical cancer in Jewish women) were to have a "paddle" or a shovel, attached to their weapons so that when they had to "ease" themselves they could dig a latrine and bury it. Up until World War I, about ten times as many soldiers died of disease as they did from war wounds because they did not know enough to dig a latrine and bury the human waste. The book of Deuteronomy was written by Moses who had been educated by the Egyptians who taught that wounds could be healed by rubbing them with dung from a camel. Now, how did Moses discover that burying waste was more hygienic than using it for medicinal purposes? Another wonderful proof of God's divine hand guiding the writings of the Bible. In many hospitals across Europe, in the early 1900s, doctors would leave an autopsy room and then go and deliver a baby without washing their hands in between. Needless to say there was a great mortality rate for both birth mothers and newborns while this practice was going on. Later, one Christian doctor decided to implement some of the things he learned from the Bible and had the staff in his hospital department start washing their hands in between each medical procedure. The result? A dramatic reduction in the mortality rate within his department! Indeed, it took many years for scientists to discover that germs even existed and that they could be passed through the air or from unsanitary medical procedures. But the Bible obviously recognized that disease was caused by the spreading of germs - years before scientific discovery could catch up! God and science are getting closer to walking and working as one.
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