Science and the Bible
by Bolton Davidheiser, Ph.D. Chairman, Science Division, Biola College
A s SUNLIGHT strikes drops of rain the familiar arch of colors called the rainbow is produced. For a long time men have wondered about the rainbow and have tried to explain it. The first time mathematics was ap plied to a scientific problem outside the fields of astronomy, optics, and music was Aristotle’s solution to the problem of how the rainbow is formed. His method was ingenious, though some of his assumptions were erroneous, and the result is in accurate by modern standards. Al though interest in the rainbow was high, this work of Aristotle was not surpassed for nearly 2,000 years. Explanations of the phenomenon of the rainbow were proposed by many men, including the great as tronomer John Kepler. It is strange that so brilliant a man as Kepler contended for some time that the rainbow was produced by the spheri cal shape of the cloud (instead of the spherical shape of individual rain drops) when it is so obvious that clouds are not spherical in shape. In the first part of the 17th cen tury Rene Descartes believed he had solved the problem of the rainbow through the use of geometry and trigonometry. In the latter half of that century Isaac Newton invent ed the calculus, and he and oth ers applied it to the problem. As time went on it became evident that even calculus is not an adequate tool to solve the problem of the rainbow, and th a t‘still more advanced mathe matical techniques must be em ployed. Although it appears that modern methods have just about solved this problem, it is not alto gether certain but that some ques tions still remain to be answered. The Bible says that the Lord gave the rainbow after the flood of the time of Noah as a token of the cove nant which the Lord made with all living creatures that there would never again be a universal flood. Since the rainbow is a physical phe nomenon, apparently resulting from principles which existed from the be ginning, some commentators try to avoid the implication that the rain bow was first seen after the flood by
saying that what happened at that time was that the Lord chose the rainbow as a symbol of His cove nant, and not that it originated then. The Bible says that before the flood the earth was watered by a mist rather than by rain. Also there is some evidence that the earth at that time was surrounded by a vapor canopy, which collapsed when “the windows of heaven were opened” (Genesis 7:11) at the time of the flood. Under these conditions it may very well be that no rainbow was seen before the flood. Rainbows are not all alike, for at different times different colors may predominate. It has been found that this is due to different sizes of rain drops. This predominance of differ ent colors has led to a superstition, which has persisted to modern times, that it can be told which crops will produce the highest yield by noticing which colors predominate in rain bows observed during the growing season. In ancient Icelandic and Scandina vian literature the rainbow, or the goddess represented by the rain bow, is presented as a link between the gods and man. The Bible says that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and man. During medieval times there was a tradition, apparently started by Bede (commonly referred to as “the Venerable Bede”) that there would be no rainbow for 40 years before the end of the age. Because of this tradition people had a sense of com fort and false security when they saw a rainbow, for they believed they were safe for at least another 40 years. This is quite contrary to Scripture in two particulars. The Bible tells us that the return of Christ and the consummation of the age are imminent, and have been so ever since He ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives in the sight of His disciples. Furthermore, for Christians the return of the Lord and the consummation of the age are not to be dreaded but to be anticipated with joy, “looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).
AND SCIENCES
A CHRIST-CENTERED college of arts and sciences . . . OFFERING a BA degree in: English History Bible Christian Education Music PARTICIPATING in the National defence Student Loan and Tuition Plan. The Arts Biblical Studies Humanities Sciences Social Science
LOS ANGELES BAPTIST COLLEGE NEWHALL, CALIFORNIA
; Name_____________________ m Z Address.___________________ Ü City_______________________ Z State____________Zip Code ■ Dept. KB-26 linei..... .
FEBRUARY, 1966
27
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker