Introduction
Modern societies recognize the importance of science and education. They know that increased knowledge has enabled humanity to produce goods and services at ever-higher qualities and quantities. They also realize that further scientific advances provide the best hope for increasing economic prosperity.
Science and education are just as essential in the political and social spheres. To vote intelligently in a democracy, and otherwise participate effectively in the affairs of government and society, people must understand issues involving complex subjects in the physical and social sciences.
Moreover, scientific discoveries have enabled medical science to eliminate numerous deadly or debilitating diseases. As a result, average life spans in many developed countries have increased by 30 years or more in the last century.[1] The continuing progress of medical science offers the best prospects for conquering the health problems that remain.
On the personal level, education is usually essential for maximizing one’s contributions to society, succeeding occupationally, developing a satisfactory philosophy of life, and attaining a comfortable standard of living.
Despite the importance of science and education, many Bible teachings are opposed to both. Throughout history, those teachings have impeded the advancement of knowledge and caused untold misery.
Unless the Bible is recognized as a stumbling block to intellectual progress, it will continue to lead many to be unconcerned about – or even opposed to – the increase and dissemination of knowledge.
The Scientific Method
The scientific method involves continually gathering data about the natural world through observation and experiment. Based on the data obtained, hypotheses are formulated to explain how the natural world operates. A hypothesis that withstands extensive further testing becomes a scientific theory, which the National Academy of Sciences defines as “a well-substantiated explanation.” If the theory is confirmed by even more rigorous testing, it can become a scientific law.
By providing an understanding of the forces of nature and the properties of matter, science enables people to use this knowledge for improving the world’s condition. The forces and materials can be combined and harnessed in innumerable ways for the benefit of humanity.
But in order for the scientific approach is to be employed to full advantage, certain attitudes about knowledge are necessary. People should have a love and hunger for information about the world, confidence that human reasoning can understand the information, a belief that knowledge improves the human condition, a strong focus on this world, a strict requirement that all knowledge be based on evidence and reason, and a view that natural laws are unvarying in their operation.
Because the Bible is opposed to all those attitudes, belief in the book will always impede scientific advancement.
Bible Opposes Scientific Knowledge
Bible disparages knowledge from the beginning
Opposition to knowledge begins in the opening chapters of the Bible. In the Creation stories, Genesis chapters 2 and 3 state that God placed a fruit-bearing tree in the Garden of Eden.
The fruit gave knowledge of good and evil when eaten.[2] But this was the only fruit God forbade the first man and woman from eating. He warned that they would “certainly die” if they did so.[3]
After a serpent convinced the woman to eat the knowledge-giving fruit, and she had induced the man to do the same, God punished them all. The serpent was made to crawl on its belly and eat dust all the days of its life. The woman was sentenced to painful childbearing and having her husband rule over her. The man was cursed to earn bread by the sweat of his brow until death.[4] And the man and woman were driven from paradise.[5]
Thus, in the opening story in the Bible, God is portrayed as forbidding the acquisition of knowledge and severely punishing the first humans, along with their descendants, for acquiring it.
Don’t trust human reasoning
The Bible teaches people to distrust and renounce their reasoning powers. This is seen in both the Old and New Testaments.
The Old Testament claims that people’s reasoning abilities are unreliable and deceptive. It warns: “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”[6] This pathway to ruin results, at least partly, from the fact that the “heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. . . .”[7]
In describing the vast superiority of divine thinking over human thinking, the Lord proclaims that “my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. . . . For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.”[8] That being the case, people cannot expect to understand God’s methods.
Because human reasoning is so inferior to the Almighty’s thoughts, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”[9] In fact, “It is plain stupidity to trust in one’s own wits. . . .”[10] This is so true that “Cursed be the man that trusteth in man. . . .”[11]
As a result, the Old Testament commands people to “[p]ut all your trust in the Lord and do not rely on your own understanding.”[12] These teachings are intended to have people shut down their reasoning powers and blindly follow religious dogma.
The New Testament is just as scornful of human knowledge. It views this world’s wisdom as stupid and worthless: “If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. . . . The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain.”[13]
Human wisdom deserves only to be destroyed and denigrated. God will “destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the cleverness of the clever.”[14] And Jesus castigated Peter for thinking as men think rather than as God thinks.[15]
As is true in the Old Testament, then, human reasoning is depicted in the New Testament as inferior to divine wisdom and incapable of discerning it.
Because the wise in this world cannot apprehend the ways of God, only those having a childlike mentality should find Christian teachings attractive. Jesus said, “Let the children come to me . . . for the kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.”[16] And he prayed, “I thank thee, O Father, . . . because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.”[17]
So to be right with God, a person should distrust human reasoning, reject human wisdom, become what the world considers a fool, adopt a childlike attitude, and blindly follow religious dogma. This attitude takes anti-intellectualism to the extreme.
No wonder St. Augustine, one of the most influential Catholic theologians of all time, taught: “Nothing is to be accepted save on the authority of Scripture, since greater is that authority than all the powers of the human mind.”[18] The founder of Protestantism, Martin Luther, went further by calling reason “the Devil’s bride” and “God’s worst enemy.”[19]
No use studying a fallen and ending world
The biblical case against knowledge is strengthened by the idea that this world will soon end. Since the founding of Christianity, many in each generation have thought the Bible’s end-time teachings applied to their age.[20]
It’s understandable that they did. Jesus said the signs of the world’s end will include wars, earthquakes, famines, plagues, religious persecution, and false messiahs.[21] The signs could apply to every generation.
When people view present world conditions as fulfilling these biblically prophesied signs, they naturally conclude, as the book of I Peter says, the “end of all things is upon us. . . .”[22] According to I Corinthians, this means the “time we live in will not last long. . . . For the whole frame of this world is passing away.”[23]
Not only is the world passing away, but it will be destroyed. According to II Peter, “the present heavens and earth, again by God’s word, have been kept in store for burning. . . .”[24] And the book of Revelation teaches that a new world will replace the current one: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had vanished. . . .”[25]
Christians are not to lament the earth’s destruction. The New Testament says this world is under the dominion of Satan: “We know that we are of God’s family, while the whole godless world lies in the power of the evil one.”[26] Likewise, Jesus said his followers “do not belong to the world”[27] and “the world hates them because they are strangers in the world, as I am.”[28]
There’s little motivation to obtain an education and improve society when one believes that Satan controls everything – including society’s educational institutions – and God will soon destroy this world and replace it with another.
Bible opposes the idea of unvarying laws of nature
The Bible also opposes science by rejecting the view that the world is governed by unvarying natural laws. The book alleges that supernatural beings frequently intervene in the world to alter the course of nature.
The Bible contains stories about a woman being turned into a pillar of salt;[29] a voice coming from a burning bush;[30] a talking donkey;[31] rods turning into serpents;[32] water changing into blood;[33] water coming from a rock;[34] a dead man reviving when his corpse touched the bones of a prophet;[35] other people rising from the dead;[36] the sun standing still;[37] the parting of a sea;[38] and iron floating.[39]
There are also accounts of the sun’s shadow going back ten degrees;[40] a witch bringing the ghost of Samuel back from the dead;[41] disembodied fingers writing on a wall;[42] a man living for three days and nights in the belly of a fish;[43] people walking on water;[44] a virgin impregnated by God;[45] a pool of water that can cure ailments of those who dip in it;[46] and angels and demons influencing earthly affairs.[47]
These tales are inconsistent with the idea of fixed and immutable laws of nature. The Bible supports a worldview that includes supernatural beings who arbitrarily control occurrences on earth.
Under the biblical view, there’s little reason to study the world, understand the laws of nature, and attempt to use this knowledge for improving the human condition.
Rather, the thing to do is perform religious devotions in an attempt to influence supernatural beings. The goal is to get them to act in ways benefiting instead of harming humanity. They’re the ones who control what happens on earth – and not any so-called immutable laws of nature.
Thus, prayer and religious rituals take the place of study, investigation, experimentation, and invention.
Human wisdom brings misery and is useless
The Bible claims that human wisdom produces misery, disappointment, and emptiness.
The writer of Ecclesiastes states that he applied himself to know wisdom. But he “came to see that this . . . is chasing the wind. For in much wisdom is much vexation, and the more a man knows, the more he has to suffer.”[48]
Moreover, his learning turned out to be pointless: “So I said to myself, ‘I too shall suffer the fate of the fool. To what purpose have I been wise? What is the profit of it? Even this,’ I said to myself, ‘is emptiness.’ The wise man is remembered no longer than the fool, for, as the passing days multiply, all will be forgotten. . . .”[49]
By depicting the results of wisdom in such negative terms, the Bible does not promote good study habits
Focus on heaven instead of earth
The Bible dissuades people from obtaining worldly knowledge by telling them to keep their thoughts on heaven and not earth. It’s hard to be wise about this world while oblivious to it.
The book of Colossians urges people to direct their thoughts far out into space (which may explain a lot of Christian philosophy). It tells Christians to “aspire to the realm above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God, and let your thoughts dwell on that higher realm, not on this earthly life.”[50]
Paul declares that “our eyes are fixed, not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen. . . .”[51]
Jesus gave Christians further motivation to shift their thinking to another realm by telling them to hate their lives in this world: “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.”[52]
Additionally, the book of Philippians urges Christians to be concerned only about Christ – not about the world – and to look forward to death. Paul explains: “All I care for is to know Christ, to experience the power of his resurrection, and to share his sufferings, in growing conformity with his death, if only I may finally arrive at the resurrection from the dead.”[53]
The Bible therefore endorses an escapist attitude of putting out of mind the affairs of society, daydreaming about Christ and another world, and eagerly awaiting death so that one’s spirit can be magically transported there.
Acquiring Wisdom the Bible Way
If human reasoning is unreliable, causes people to become fools, is geared to the useless study of a despicable world that’s about to be destroyed, is less effective than religious rituals, brings misery, and should not be one’s focus, what guidance does the Bible give for obtaining knowledge? Several alleged sources of information are advised, none of which is consistent with a scientific attitude.
True wisdom is a gift from God
One biblical way to acquire wisdom is to just sit back and let God bestow it on you. No need to bother with reading, studying, or going to school.
That’s what happened to King Solomon, who is described in the Bible as the wisest person who ever lived. In response to Solomon’s request for wisdom, the Lord said: “I give you a heart so wise and so understanding that there has been none like you before your time nor will be after you.”[54] As a result, “all the earth sought to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.”[55]
Knowledge came just as easily to Daniel and his three companions. The book of Daniel relates: “To all four of these young men God had given knowledge and understanding of books and learning of every kind, while Daniel had a gift for interpreting visions and dreams of every kind.”[56]
Daniel vouched for the effectiveness of this didactic method by declaring that God “giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: He revealeth the deep and secret things. . . .”[57]
Joshua found that God can transmit the same gift through an intermediary. Deuteronomy states: “And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him. . . .”[58]
These examples confirm Ecclesiastes’ teaching that “God giveth to a man that is good in his sight wisdom, and knowledge . . . .”[59] Proverbs conveys a similar lesson by saying “the Lord bestows wisdom and teaches knowledge and understanding.”[60]
The New Testament’s prescription for obtaining knowledge is just as simple. James asserts: “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering.”[61]
Those instructions are consistent with Jesus’ promise to his followers: “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”[62] Nothing – not even knowledge or wisdom – is excluded from the things that can be obtained by merely praying and believing.
It’s clear that receiving wisdom from God can be easier and less expensive than obtaining a degree from a mail-order diploma mill.
Holy Spirit gives knowledge
Knowledge can just as effortlessly be received from the Holy Spirit. Jesus taught that “the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things. . . .”[63]
Christ further explained that the Holy Spirit “will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.”[64] And the Holy Spirit “will confute the world, and show where wrong and right and judgment lie.”[65]
This gift of the Holy Spirit will cause Christians to “all have knowledge.”[66] As a result, “you need no other teacher.”[67] The logical conclusion is that it’s unnecessary for God’s followers to obtain the world’s education and knowledge, because they have a far better source of wisdom.
But Christians are warned not to be surprised when the educated people of this world don’t appreciate the wisdom given by the Holy Spirit. For the Holy Spirit’s wisdom is different from worldly wisdom.
That view is expressed in a famous passage in I Corinthians. It tells Christians: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. . . . [W]e have the mind of Christ.”[68]
Because wisdom provided by the Holy Spirit is so unlike human wisdom, “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”[69] The world will therefore reject the Holy Spirit’s wisdom and consider it foolishness.
The upshot of these teachings is that after you receive wisdom from the Holy Spirit, people will likely consider you a fool. But instead of viewing their feedback as indicating a possible problem with your thinking, the criticism confirms that you are right with God. The world’s thinking is that of the “natural man,” who cannot know the ways of God, which are “spiritually discerned.”
If believers adopt those attitudes, they play right into the hands of unscrupulous religious leaders who encourage their followers to disregard scientific knowledge, ignore outsiders’ criticisms, accept the most bizarre ideas, and think they are doing the will of God.
Religious demagogues thereby gain enormous power, usually to the enrichment of themselves and the fleecing of their flocks.
Believe without evidence
The Bible claims that a valid method of obtaining knowledge is to believe statements without evidence. In fact, the New Testament says this approach is needed to attain salvation.
According to the book of John, Jesus taught: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”[70] And the book of Mark attributes the following words to Jesus: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”[71] Nothing is said about needing evidence for the belief.
Instead, believing without evidence is extolled in the story of Doubting Thomas, the disciple who refused to believe in Jesus’ resurrection until he could see and touch him. Jesus told Thomas that “because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.”[72]
The book of Hebrews likewise says faith in the unseen is a valid substitute for proof. It describes faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”[73] So even if something is invisible, undetectable, and merely hoped for, its existence and reliability can be accepted by faith.
People having that mindset can adopt the most absurd propositions. No evidence is needed, and assertions can be accepted by faith alone.
Even the ideas of the insane would qualify as knowledge under this standard.
Bible is an infallible source of knowledge
If people do decide to seek wisdom in this world, the Bible indicates they need look no further than its pages. It praises religious dogma as a source of wisdom, and says nothing about scientific inquiry.
In the Old Testament, the book of Proverbs teaches: “The first step to wisdom is the fear of the Lord, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”[74] Knowledge of the Holy One is contained in his divinely inspired book.
In fact, the book of Proverbs alone is a means “by which men will come to wisdom and instruction and will understand words that bring understanding, and by which they will gain a well-instructed intelligence, righteousness, justice, and probity. The simple will be endowed with shrewdness and the young with knowledge and prudence.”[75]
The Psalmist writes that God’s “commandments are mine for ever; through them I am wiser than my enemies. I have more insight than all my teachers, for thy instruction is my study; I have more wisdom than the old, because I have kept thy precepts.”[76] The writer also says the “Lord’s instruction never fails, and makes the simple wise.”[77]
In the New Testament, Paul vouches for the reliability of God’s words: “It is impossible that the word of God should have proved false.”[78] Jesus’ statement that “Scripture cannot be set aside” supports Paul’s position.[79]
The book of II Timothy concurs: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”[80]
Hence, instead of using science to gain wisdom, people are encouraged to rely on and view as infallible a book compiled more than 1,500 years ago. In that pre-scientific age, most of humanity – including the writers of the Bible – thought the earth is flat,[81] the sky is a solid dome,[82] the universe is only a few thousand years old,[83] and diseases are caused by demons.[84]
The Bible’s writers held numerous other beliefs that science has disproved. Andrew White summarized the historical results of looking to the Bible for information about the world. “[T]here were developed, in every field, theological views of science which have never led to a single truth – which, without exception, have forced mankind away from the truth, and have caused Christendom to stumble for centuries into abysses of error and sorrow.”[85]
The Bible is sure to continue producing beliefs that are just as wrong and harmful. Unfortunately, many Christians still subscribe to the view expressed by the famous evangelist Billy Sunday: “When the word of God says one thing and scholarship says another, scholarship can go to hell!”[86]
Don’t plan what to say, the words will be given to you
Even if one’s attention is directed largely to another world, that doesn’t prevent spouting off about things in this world. Despite the failure to study a subject, a person can pontificate on it – without even planning what to say – because God will provide the words.
Jesus promises as much in the book of Matthew: “And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.”[87]
The same method is to be used by Christians who are forcibly brought into synagogues or prisons. Jesus tells them that their enemies “shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons. . . . Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer: For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist.”[88]
According to the book of Ephesians, Paul sought divine assistance by asking Christians to “pray for me, that I may be granted the right words when I open my mouth. . . .”[89]
Through the biblical technique of not planning, preparing, or even thinking about what will be said, a person appears on a route to becoming a prattling idiot.
Kill those holding different views (or at least avoid them)
The Bible purports to contain infallible truth from God. If it does, there’s no need to tolerate and learn from those having different ideas. Their misinformation can only lead hearers into error and heresy.
In the Old Testament, therefore, the Law of Moses does not allow the words of a blasphemer to have a hearing. Instead, the person is to be executed.[90] This punishment must be imposed even if the person is a friend or family member. The Israelites were told to have no pity and “stone him to death, because he tried to lead you astray from the Lord. . . .”[91]
The New Testament also promotes persecution. It ascribes to Jesus the statement: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”[92] This doctrine leads to the conclusion that those who promote non-Christian religious ideas are endangering people’s eternal salvation.
That’s an act worse than murder, because murder victims can still go to heaven, whereas heretics can’t. So the purveyors of false religious views deserve the severest of punishments.
The New Testament indicates the punishment should be death. Because Jesus taught that it is “easier for heaven and earth to come to an end than for one dot or stroke of the Law to lose its force,”[93] he supported the Mosaic Law with its requirement of death for blasphemers.
Of course, many modern countries protect religious freedom and don’t allow religious dissenters to be executed. But Christians can still avoid contrary views by following the Bible’s instructions to shun adherents of other philosophies.
In the book of Titus, Christians are commanded: “A heretic should be warned once, and once again; after that, have done with him, recognizing that a man of that sort has a distorted mind. . . .”[94]
Similar instructions are contained in II John: “If anyone comes to you who does not bring this doctrine, do not welcome him into your house or give him a greeting; for anyone who gives him a greeting is an accomplice in his wicked deeds.”[95]
Thus, if Christians cannot kill heretics, they can at least avoid and snub them. By doing so, they protect their beliefs from facts that might get in the way.
Rather than supporting the American principle of a marketplace of ideas, these Bible teachings encourage Christians to construct a fortress to keep out new and different ideas. It’s a wall of separation between church and knowledge.
Overall Biblical Attitude Toward Knowledge
The Bible’s attitude toward knowledge can be summarized as follows.
The acquisition of knowledge was so evil in God’s eyes that it caused him to curse all of humanity and the entire creation. Moreover, human reason is untrustworthy and should not be used. There’s little point in studying the world, anyway, because it belongs to Satan and will soon be destroyed and replaced by another. Besides, superior results can be obtained from the assistance of supernatural beings. And pursuing knowledge of this world brings misery. People’s main focus should be on heaven and not earth.
As for any knowledge needed while waiting for the new world to arrive, there’s no need for research and study. Wisdom is simply a gift bestowed by God and is available for the asking, such as by prayer. Another way God imparts wisdom is through the influence of the Holy Spirit. And wisdom can be obtained by relying on God’s words contained in the ancient, pre-scientific writings of the Bible.
Because human reason is unreliable and God provides all necessary information by religious means, people should disregard evidence and logic in choosing their beliefs. They must rely on faith to believe religious dogma regardless of what their eyes, thoughts, or feelings tell them. They may not even consider the contrary opinions of others. They should kill the holders of those opinions if possible, and at least avoid them.
Further, because God supernaturally provides knowledge, there’s no need to plan what to say. Just start speaking whatever pops into your head, for God is supplying the words.
Could any philosophy be more opposed to science, learning, and intelligence? As Annie Besant wrote in the nineteenth century: “Never did a religion do more to foster ignorance, more to destroy learning, than has been done by the Church of Christ.”[96]
Conclusion
Science has enabled humanity to make enormous improvements in its technological capabilities, material prosperity, and moral philosophy. These results led Carl Sagan to say: “Science is supported because it provides spectacular benefits at all levels in the society. . . .”[97]
Bertrand Russell similarly observed: “Almost all the changes which the world has undergone since the end of the Middle Ages are due to the discovery and diffusion of new knowledge.”[98]
But the Bible contains numerous teachings opposed to scientific inquiry and the increase of knowledge. The teachings are dangerous and continue to produce harm.
Former Christian fundamentalist Richard Yao maintains: “Perhaps the unpardonable sin of fundamentalism is its effort to make people suspicious and afraid of their own minds, their own logic and thinking process. . . . If we cannot depend on our minds to process reality and make choices and decisions in life, then we are more likely to depend on fundamentalist preachers. . . . How can a democracy survive if all of us renounce reason, thinking and logic?”[99]
Harold Bloom states that the problems are not confined to fundamentalism: “Fundamentalism . . . is viciously anti-intellectual, but so, alas, is most American religion, of whatever camp.”[100].
Bloom’s observation will be true as long as American religion looks to the Bible for guidance. No other outcome is possible when people follow a book that instructs them to reject their sensory perceptions and reasoning abilities.
The Bible’s anti-intellectual teachings are a recipe for being out of touch with reality – which is a path to ignorance, misery, and disaster.
No wonder that, as John Stuart Mill observed, “A large proportion of the noblest and most valuable teaching has been the work, not only of men who did not know, but of men who knew and rejected the Christian faith.”[101]
Irrational and harmful biblical ideas need to be replaced by science, with its reliance on reason, observation, and experience. And its track record of tremendous success.
Endnotes:
[1] Daleiden, Joseph L., The Final Superstition (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 1994), p. 435
[2] Genesis 2:9; 3:5,11,22
[3] Genesis 2:16-17; 3:2-3
[4] Genesis 3:14-19
[5] Genesis 3:23-24
[6] Proverbs 14:12
[7] Jeremiah 17:9
[8] Isaiah 55:8-9
[9] Psalms 118:8
[10] Proverbs 28:26
[11] Jeremiah 17:5
[12] Proverbs 3:5
[13] I Corinthians 3:18-20
[14] I Corinthians 1:19
[15] Matthew 16:23
[16] Matthew 19:13-15
[17] Matthew 11:25
[18] White, Andrew D., A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom, Vol. I (New York: D. Appleton and Co., 1910), p. 25
[19] Lamont, Corliss, The Philosophy of Humanism (New York: Frederick Unger Publishing Co., 1979), p. 232-233
[20] Asimov, Isaac, Asimov’s Guide to the Bible (New York: Avenel, 1981), p. 1182.
[21] Mark 13:4-27; Matthew 24:3-31; Luke 21:7-28
[22] I Peter 4:7
[23] I Corinthians 7:29-31
[24] II Peter 3:7
[25] Revelation 21:1
[26] I John 5:19
[27] John 15:19
[28] John 17:14
[29] Genesis 19:26
[30] Exodus 3:4
[31] Numbers 22:28
[32] Exodus 7:10-12
[33] Exodus 7:19-22
[34] Numbers 20:11
[35] II Kings 13:21
[36] e.g., I Kings 17:21-22; II Kings 4:32-35; Acts 9:37-40
[37] Joshua 10:13
[38] Exodus 14:21-22
[39] II Kings 6:5-6
[40] II Kings 20:9-11
[41] I Samuel 28:3-15
[42] Daniel 5:5
[43] Jonah 1:17
[44] Matthew 14:26-29
[45] Matthew 1:20
[46] John 5:2-4
[47] e.g., Acts 5:19; Luke 11:24-26
[48] Ecclesiastes 1:17-18
[49] Ecclesiastes 2:15-16
[50] Colossians 3:1-2
[51] II Corinthians 4:18
[52] John 12:25
[53] Philippians 3:10
[54] I Kings 3:12
[55] I Kings 10:24
[56] Daniel 1:17
[57] Daniel 2:19-24
[58] Deuteronomy 34:9
[59] Ecclesiastes 2:26
[60] Proverbs 2:6
[61] James 1:5-6
[62] Mark 11:24
[63] John 14:26
[64] John 16:13
[65] John 16:8
[66] I John 2:20
[67] I John 2:27
[68] I Corinthians 2:12-13,16
[69] I Corinthians 2:14
[70] John 3:36
[71] Mark 16:16
[72] John 20:24-29
[73] Hebrews 11:1
[74] Proverbs 9:10
[75] Proverbs 1:1-4
[76] Psalms 119:98-100
[77] Psalms 19:7
[78] Romans 9:6
[79] John 10:35
[80] II Timothy 3:16
[81] White, Vol. I, 325-326; and Draper, John W., History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science (New York and London: D. Appleton and Company, 1919), pp. 163, 294
[82] Ecker, Ronald L., Dictionary of Science and Creationism (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 1990), pp. 69-70
[83] White, Vol. I, pp. 249-256
[84] White, Vol. II, pp. 67-70
[85] White, Vol. I, p. 325
[86] Hofstadter, Richard, Anti-intellectualism in American Life (New York: Vintage Books, 1963), p. 122
[87] Matthew 10:18-20
[88] Luke 21:12-15
[89] Ephesians 6:19
[90] Leviticus 24:16
[91] Deuteronomy 13:6-10
[92] Mark 16:16
[93] Luke 16:17; see also Matthew 5:17-19
[94] Titus 3:10-11
[95] II John 1:10-11
[96] Gaylor, Annie Laurie, ed., Women Without Superstition (Madison, Wisconsin: Freedom From Religion Foundation, 1997), p. 275
[97] Sagan, Carl, The Demon-Haunted World (New York: Ballantine Books, 1997), p. 383
[98] Seckel, Al, ed., Bertrand Russell on God and Religion (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 1986), p. 109
[99] Randi, James, The Faith Healers (Amherst, New York: Prometheus Books, 1987), pp. 304-305
[100] Bloom, Harold, The American Religion (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1992), p. 257
[101] Mill, John Stuart, “On Liberty,” 1859