The Bible records the creation of the Earth in an initial state of existence articulated as ‘without form and void114’: this is absolutely in line with scientific thought about how the Earth was formed from a cloud of gases115 which gradually cooled. The early gaseous existence of the Earth is perfectly represented in these words. The book of Job - believed by scholars to be one of the oldest books in the canon - says that the Earth is ‘suspended on nothing116’; a scientifically accurate statement verified about a thousand years after it was first written down. The book of Isaiah refers to the ‘circle of the Earth117’: this might be either the shape of the Earth or might refer to its orbit; either way it is a remarkable statement to have been made by an author writing in about 700 BC.

The Bible says that dry land emerged from the waters118: this is exactly what scientists believe, having found the fossils of sea creatures on the top of the largest mountains: in fact, ‘the summit of Mount Everest - where marine fossils have been found - is composed of limestone which was originally formed under the sea119’. It is believed that the sea bed has been thrust upwards by volcanic activity within the core to form a land mass which subsequently broke up into the continents as the Earth’s massive plates began to move.

The early formation of the Earth’s atmosphere120 is agreed by both the Bible and by geologists. The abundance of free oxygen which is available in the atmosphere is the product of millions of generations of bacteria121 which breathed in the acrid gasses and breathed out oxygen. The general sequence for the appearance of life on the planet, as recorded in Genesis, has been confirmed by the geological evidence and is broadly in line with current scientific opinion. Life appeared in the sea122 before it became established upon the land with man123 appearing last on the scene124.

If the Bible truly is inspired by God, might we have expected more detail than this simple level of accuracy? For example, should we have expected the text to begin with a description of the quarks - the subatomic particles which apparently formed after the creation of light. Should the text have begun with the problems of establishing the hydrogen atom; would the writer have understood? Indeed, if the true science of the early phases of the creation had been actually dictated by God, would we even now understand; the Bible itself suggests we would not.

The language used throughout Genesis to describe these momentous events is deliberately chosen to be understandable by the generations for whom it was written; spanning a period of well over two thousand years. It is certainly not intended as ‘a treatise on geology, biology or any other science125’. However, as we have seen, some of the language appears to be remarkably well chosen to the modern reader. It is both clear and understandable; but, perhaps most interestingly, it is also scientifically accurate.