Many well-educated atheists can tackle 2 or 3 verses, and they will always argue semantics, or some tenet of modern science--which the appropriate terminology for--did not exist back then. It can be a very scary experience for the atheist as they make their way down the list, because eventually, the atheist will be overwhelmed by the verses stacking on top of eachother, and he/she will have to come to terms with the proofs provided here. Don't be surprised if they refuse to read more than a few, they were not ready to have their mind changed....it's the old "I've already made up my mind, don't confuse me with the facts."
edit 5-17-09: I have now seen this page of mine quoted and reprinted on several websites. One thing I have noticed consistently by the misotheists/antitheists, is that they never make it beyond 1 without nitpicking, and past 10 without resorting to insults and sarcasm, instead of facts. While I am thankful for their few textual criticisms, and have added information accordingly, in debates when you have to lash back with solely a glib remark or pithy comment, this is called ad hominem, which means an epic failure on the part of the attacker.
When I say the Bible makes many statements-of-fact, what I am describing is an absolute declaration, unaided by miraculous or supernatural events, also not something understood by special revelation or any hidden meaning. It is completely natural and commonplace.
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1. The earth free-floats in space (Job 26:7). While other religions declared the Earth sat on the back of an elephant, or was carried by a giant turtle, the Bible alone states what we now know to be true – “He hangs the earth on nothing.” How could ancient man have known this? Lucky guess? Again, no other ancient culture stated this.
2. There are fountains/springs in the Oceans (Genesis 7:11, 8:2, Job 38:16, Proverbs 8:28). It would have been completely impossible for ancient man to have dove to the ocean floor, the average person can't dive more than a few hundred feet without scuba gear. The world record on one breath of air is just over 200 meters. Yet the Bible declares that there are "springs of the sea" and "fountains of the deep", which as every Creationist knows, is the primary source for all the the flood water. For thousands of years man had to accept this on faith alone, but in the 1970s, with the help of deep diving research submarines that were constructed to withstand 6,000 pounds-per-square-inch pressure, oceanographers discovered springs on the ocean floors! How could ancient man have known this? Lucky guess?
3. Circumcision on the eighth day is ideal (Genesis 17:12; Leviticus 12:3; Luke 1:59). Medical science has discovered that on the eighth day, the blood clotting chemical prothrombin is elevated far above normal—and is the only day in the male’s life in which this will be the case under normal conditions. It also happens like clockwork in every normal healthy male baby. If surgery is to be performed, day eight is the safest day to do it, when Vitamin K and prothrombin levels are at their peak, as published by S.I. McMillen, M.D., in his book, None of These Diseases p.93, 1984.
While the chemical levels will register in medical equipment, the effect is actually not visually noticeable, and could even be called negligible. Nevertheless, it is a biological fact. How could Moses have possibly picked the 8th day without being able to tell the difference? Lucky guess of an arbitrary number?
4. Our bodies are made from the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7; 3:19). Scientists have discovered that the human body is comprised of some 28 base and trace elements – all of which are found in the earth, namely, carbon. However an atheist wants to get around this is nitpicking, it's still a fact. Whether through induction, photosynthesis, cosmic radiation, or the tooth fairy, all of our elements are found in the earth. Thanks again to modern technology, the Bible is proven accurate. How could ancient man have known this? Lucky guess?
5. Air has weight (Job 28:25). It was at one time not known that air has a weight to it Yet 3,000 years ago Job declared that there was "a weight for the wind.” In recent years, meteorologists have calculated that the average thunderstorm holds thousands of tons of rain. To carry this load, air must have mass. This has also been established on the periodic table of elements, that though it is infinitesimal, oxygen and nitrogen do have a molecular weight. There are also gasses lighter than air, such as helium. How could ancient man have known this?
6. There are mountains on the bottom of the ocean (Jonah 2:5-6). It would have been completely impossible for ancient man to have known this as an absolute fact. Running into a large rock jutting out of the ocean a mile or so off shore does not prove there are "mountains" down there, one could only guess. Also, Jonah's very wording of the account proves he is not talking about this either. For thousands of years it would have only been taken on faith and could have been a point of mockery by skeptics and scoffers. What an advantage we have with modern technology to verify the Bible's scientific accuracy. In the last century we have discovered that there are in fact, enormous mountain ranges and deep trenches in the depths of the ocean, where whales do in fact dive to*. How could ancient man have known this? He could have assumed, he could have made logical conclusions, but the lucky guess factor comes into play again.
*The fish very well could have been a whale, since this was long before Carolus Linnaeus's categorization, and Jonah also describes himself dying, or nearly dying, in the process of this, which can be a legitimate explanation.
7. The universe had a beginning (Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 1:10-12). Starting with the studies of Albert Einstein in the early 1900s and continuing today, science has confirmed the Biblical view that the universe had a beginning. Science was at one time dominated by the theory of uniformitarianism, which stated that the universe is eternal, it has no beginning and no end. Now, science completely rejects this, we all know that the universe had a beginning. Lucky guess?
8. Ocean currents (Psalm 8:8). Three thousand years ago the Bible described the “paths of the seas.” The first solid oceanography was not done until Louis Antoine de Bougainville sailed the South Pacific between 1766-1769. Hundreds of years prior, sailors sometimes set out with the winds to their backs, yet to their confusion, landed elsewhere, such as a few Portuguese expeditions to Brazil which were believed to have landed in Africa. In the 19th century Matthew Maury – the father of oceanography – researched and charted ocean currents that follow specific paths through the seas. Utilizing Maury’s data, marine navigators have since reduced by many days the time required to traverse the seas. How could ancient man have known this, when it went unproven for 3,000 years? Lucky guess?
9. Incalculable number of stars (Jeremiah 33:22). At a time when less than 10,000 stars were visible at any moment (and countable) to the naked eye, God stated that the stars of heaven were in fact innumerable. This had to be taken entirely on faith until the 17th century when Galileo glimpsed at the immensity of our universe with his new telescope. Today, astronomers estimate that there are ten thousand billion trillion stars – that’s a 1 followed by 25 zeros! Yet, as the Bible states, scientists admit this number may be woefully inadequate. Lucky guess?
10. The number of stars, though vast, are finite (Isaiah 40:26). Although man is unable to calculate the exact number of stars, we now know their number is finite. Of course God knew this all along – “He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name” (Psalm 147:4). Lucky guess?
11. The Bible compares the number of stars with the number of grains of sand on the seashore (Genesis 22:17; Hebrews 11:12). Amazingly, gross estimates of the number of sand grains are comparable to the estimated number of stars in the universe. Yet again, this was spoken at a time when the visible stars could clearly be counted by the naked eye. Lucky guess?
12. Incest laws established (Leviticus 18:6). To marry near of kin in the ancient world was common. Yet, beginning about 1500 B.C., God forbade this practice. The reason is simple – the genetic mutations (resulting from the curse) had a cumulative effect. Though Cain could safely marry his sister because the genetic pool was still relatively pure at that time, by Moses’ day the genetic errors had swelled. Today, geneticists confirm that the risk of passing on a genetic abnormality to your child is much greater if you marry a close relative because relatives are more likely to carry the same defective gene. If they procreate, their offspring are more apt to have this defect expressed. Too much incest leads to a die-off. How could ancient man have known to forbid incest? Lucky guess?
13. Scripture proves a revolving earth (Luke 17:34-36). Jesus said that at His return some would be in bed, at night, while others would be working in the field, or in the mill. It is obviously talking about daytime, since back then, as in today, people do not work in fields at night, and they did not mill at night either. This is a clear indication of a revolving earth, with day and night occurring simultaneously. How could ancient man have known this, of all things, a simple Son of a carpenter? Lucky guess?
14. The universe is expanding (Job 9:8; Isaiah 42:5; Jeremiah 51:15; Zechariah 12:1). Repeatedly God declares that He stretches out the heavens. During the early 20th century, most scientists (including Einstein) believed the universe was static. Others believed it should have collapsed due to gravity. Then in 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble showed that distant galaxies were receding from the earth, and the further away they were, the faster they were moving. This discovery revolutionized the field of astronomy. Einstein admitted his mistake, and today most astronomers agree with what the Creator told us millenniums ago – the universe is expanding! How could ancient man have known this?
15. The Earth is round (Isaiah 40:22). At a time when many (but not all) thought the earth was flat, the Bible told us that the earth is circular. Many skeptics quarrel over the word "circle" and try to establish that "The Earth is a sphere not a circle!". However, this is nothing more than nitpicking. The argument could be further proven by the wording of Isaiah 40:22, in that "He sitteth upon the circle of the earth." The emphasis of 'circle' could not be that of it being a flat round disc or coin, because you sit IN a circle, not ON it. Furthermore, the Hebrew language lacked a specific word for "sphere". "Duwr" in Hebrew was often used but not always indicative of a ball, as it's use in Isaiah 29:3 is that of a circle.
16. The stars are much different from eachother (1 Corinthians 15:41). Centuries before the advent of the telescope, the Bible declared what could not be discerned by the naked eye. To the naked eye, most stars appear pretty much the same, they are each actually much different from eachother in size, color, intensity, and distance from the Earth. How could Paul have known this?
I now present you with 17 more statements-of-fact declared by scriptures. These do not 'prove' divine inspiration, these could have been educated guesses, intelligent observations, or trial and error, but they survive to this day and are completely supported by modern science as true.
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1. God has given us the leaves of the trees as medicine (Ezekiel 47:12; Revelation 22:2). Ancient cultures utilized many herbal remedies. Today, modern medicine has rediscovered what the Bible has said all along – there are healing compounds found in plants. As alternative medicine progresses and public knowledge cannot be held back any longer, information on some of the most powerful plants on Earth is becoming more and more popular, sending the AMA running to the FDA to do something about it.
2. Don't eat certain sea creatures (Leviticus 11:9-12). Scripture states that we should avoid those sea creatures which do not have fins or scales. We now know that bottom-feeders (those with no scales or fins) tend to consume waste and are likely to carry disease. Even though these laws were absolute at the time they were given to Israel, now that we are in the mordern times it's still good advice.
3. Don't eat certain birds (Leviticus 11:13-19). Scientists now recognize that those birds which eat carrion (putrefying flesh), often spread disease. Even though these laws were absolute at the time they were given to Israel, now that we are in the modern times it's still good advice.
4. Don't eat pigs (Deuteronomy 14:8). Not so long ago, science learned that eating undercooked pork causes an infection of parasites called trichinosis. Now consider this: the Bible forbade the eating of swine more than 3,000 years before we learned how to cook pork safely. Even though these laws were absolute at the time they were given to Israel, now that we are in the modern times it's still good advice.
5. The Second Law of Thermodynamics (Entropy) explained (Psalm 102:25-26). This law states that everything in the universe is running down, as disorder increases. Historically, science once held to uniformitarianism, and believed everything was always the same. Yet modern science verifies that the universe is “grow(ing) old like a garment” (Hebrews 1:11).
6. Weather cycle described (Ecclesiastes 1:7; Jeremiah 10:13; Amos 9:6). 4,000 years ago the Bible declared that God “draws up drops of water, which distill as rain from the mist, which the clouds drop down and pour abundantly on man” (Job 36:27-28). Meteorologists now understand that the hydrological cycle consists of evaporation, atmospheric transportation, distillation, and precipitation.
7. Excerpt from pages 132 - 133 of Bert Thompson, Ph.D's book entitled Christian Evidences. Concerning light and darkness, the Lord asked Job: "Where is the way to the dwelling of light? and as for darkness, where is the place thereof?" (Job 38:19). Light is said to dwell in a "way" [Hebrew, "derek" - literally a "traveled path or road" (cf. Genesis 16:7)]. Darkness, however, is said to be a "place" [Hebrew, maqom - literally a "place, a spot, as standing" (cf. Genesis 1:9, 28:11)]. Dr. Morton points out: "Until the seventeenth century, it was believed that light was transmitted instantaneously. Then Sir Isaac Newton suggested that light was composed of small particles which travel in a straight line. Christian Huygens proposed the wave theory of light. Olaus Roemer measured the velocity of light as evidenced by its delay as it traveled through space" (op. cit., p 31).
8. Wind currents (Ecclesiastes 1:6). The Bible declares “The wind goes toward the south, and turns around to the north; The wind whirls about continually, and comes again on its circuit.” King Solomon wrote this 3,000 years ago with absolutely no evidence to support his claim. It was a theory, as valid as any other. Now consider this: it was not until World War II that airmen discovered the jet streams encircling the globe.
9. Medical quarantine instituted (Leviticus 13:45-46; Numbers 5:1-4). Long before man understood the principles of disease, God commanded the Israelites to isolate those with a contagious disease until cured.
10. Laughter literally promotes physical healing (Proverbs 17:22). Recent studies confirm what King Solomon was inspired to write 3,000 years ago, “A merry heart does good, like medicine.” For instance, laughter reduces levels of certain stress hormones. This brings balance to the immune system, which helps your body fight off disease. Patch Adams, anyone?
11. Intense sorrow or stress is literally harmful to your health (Proverbs 18:14; Mark 14:34). Researchers have studied individuals with no prior medical problems who showed symptoms of stress cardiomyopathy including chest pain, difficulty breathing, low blood pressure, and even heart failure – following a stressful incident.
12. Microorganisms (Exodus 22:31). The Bible warns “Whatever dies naturally or is torn by beasts he shall not eat, to defile himself with it: I am the LORD” (Leviticus 22:8). Today we understand that animals who drop dead usually die of disease which can be passed onto people, and that many of the world's predators will go after sick and dying animals because their stomachs can handle the diseases.
13. The Bible cautions against consuming fat (Leviticus 7:23). Only in recent decades has the medical community determined that fat clogs arteries and contributes to heart disease. Even though these laws were absolute at the time they were given to Israel, now that we are in the modern times it's still good advice.
14. Do not consume blood (Leviticus 17:12). A common ritual in many religions in the ancient world was to drink blood. However, the Creator repeatedly told His people to abstain from blood (Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 3:17; Acts 15:20; 21:25). Of course, modern science reveals that consuming raw blood is dangerous.
15. The Bible describes dinosaurs (Job 40:15-24). In 1842, Sir Richard Owen coined the word dinosaur, meaning “terrible lizard,” after discovering large reptilian-like fossils. However in the Book of Job, written over 3,000 years earlier, God describes the leviathan as: the largest of all land creatures, plant eating (herbivore), with great strength in it's hips and legs, a majority of weight in it's midsection, a tail like a cedar tree, tough skin, bones like bars of iron, and that no man could put a hook in it and pull it out of the water. No animal fits this description except a dinosaur. The book of Job also mentions that it can breathe fire, and some dinosaurs may have had the ability to emit a fire producing chemical. It coincides with stories of fire breathing dragons from many countries which had no Biblical influence.
16. Olive oil and wine useful on wounds (Luke 10:34). Jesus told of a Samaritan man, who when he came upon a wounded traveler, he bandaged him – pouring upon his wounds olive oil and wine. Today we know that wine contains ethyl alcohol and traces of methyl alcohol. Both are good disinfectants. Olive oil is also a good disinfectant, as well as a skin moisturizer, protector, and soothing lotion. This is common knowledge to us today. However, during the Middle Ages and right up till the early 20th century, millions died because they did not know to clean and protect open wounds?
17. Safe drinking water (Leviticus 11:33-36). God forbade drinking from vessels or stagnant water that had been contaminated by coming into contact with a dead animal. It is only in the last 100 years that medical science has learned that contaminated water can cause fatal diseases.
So there you have it, I would challenge any atheist to explain the odds of an ancient book having so many natural statements-of-fact, unable to be verified at the time of their writing, yet completely correct. I would further challenge the atheist and believers of other religions to provide a book or ancient writing containing more natural statements-of-fact, that could not have been known at the time of their writing, and yet have stood the test of time.