What is Biblical Physics?

It is impossible to interpret natural history without using principles. A principle is a fundamental proposition that serves as the foundation for a way of thinking. We balance our way of thinking on a basic assumption. This foundational principle provides the theoretical framework that permits one to select what is evidence and what is not. Principles are intertwined with methods so that one who follows a particular principle approaches all evidence from one basic idea, which results in a unique world view.

Biblical and scientific physics are not compatible because they are based on different principles. Consequently their definitions of matter and time and their methods of recognizing and analyzing evidence are different. This results in different earth-histories because they approach reality from opposite perspectives. The evidence itself does not change from one version of physics to another. We simply select and interpret evidence using our assumptions that existed before we even recognized what constitutes valid information.

A first principle, the grandfather of all the other physics principles, is so basic that it cannot be proven. However, one can show that a structure of knowledge based on a first principle results in nonsense, therefore it could not be true. This process is known in Latin as "reductio ad absurdum" - reducing the consequences of an assumption to absurdity.

Biblical physics is based on what the Bible states about matter and time. It is simple and non mathematical. It does no damage to the earth. (You cannot use biblical physics to calculate the trajectory of a bomb.) Its purpose is to interpret earth history. A child can understand biblical physics because there are no complex formulas or mathematical symbols. A child can see the evidence that supports biblical physics because it is visible, not based on complex ways of measuring or difficult to understand symbols.

Enormous inconsistencies between the text and the universe are apparent when we tailor the Bible to fit science. For several centuries now, Christians periodically reinterpret the Bible to fit changing scientific ideas. Despite these periodic adjustments, the most glaring disagreement between science and the Bible is the apparent age of the universe. The Bible clearly lists genealogies that only add up to about 4,000 Old Testament years. Yet scientists claim to measure rocks and stars that are billions of years old. Creation scientists have not successfully answered these inconsistencies in a simple way.

The inconsistencies are broadly and simply cleared up when we use what the Bible states about matter and time as our foundation for understanding earth-history. Foundational assumptions are very important. A seemingly minor assumption can produce vastly different earth-histories. Biblical physics is completely unlike scientific physics because it is based on a diametrically opposite principle, a biblical principle.

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Last modified March 2, 2010