The Tanakh, The Quran, and Science

Tanakh Logic: God creates all life out of the waters (Genesis 1:20-21) Vs  God creates all life out of the earth (Genesis 2:19)

Jewish Excuse: Copyist error.

Rebuttal: Tanakh Scholars admit that some of the errors in the Tanakh are attributed to copyist errors, thus confirming needing the Holy Quran to correct the errors.

Quran Logic: Today, astronomers are equipped with powerful telescopes that can view the formation of our neighboring galaxies.  From their studies, we have learned that galaxies are formed from the condensation of spiraling celestial “mists”.

“Then He settled unto the firmament (sky) when it was smoke….”  (Quran 41:11)

Tanakh Logic: The Tanakh says that the earth was created in six days (Genesis 2:1) while modern scientists state that according to archeological evidence, the earth was created in a time span of millions of years.

Jewish Excuse: Copyist error.

Rebuttal: Tanakh Scholars admit that some of the errors in the Tanakh are attributed to copyist errors, thus confirming needing the Holy Quran to correct the errors.

Quran Logic: The Quran is preserved and considered authentic in Arabic and thus the Arabic term in reference to the earth’s creation is “periods” or “eons” rather than days as in Tanakh versions:

“Surely your Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six periods of time, and He is firm in power; He throws the veil of night over the day, which it pursues incessantly; and (He created) the sun and the moon and the stars, made subservient by His command; surely His is the creation and the command; blessed is Allah, the Lord of the worlds.”  (Quran 7:54)

Tanakh Logic: Although, there are existing truths in the Tanakh, which come from God and have not been altered to this day, there are indeed other passages, which have obvious disagreements with scientifically known facts.

Another existing example presented is the growth of plant life on earth.   According to the Tanakh, Formation of plant life began on the third day:

“And God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, upon the earth.”  And it was so.”  (Genesis 1:11)

The problem is that God created the Sun on the fourth day (Genesis 1:14) and complex seed formation cannot occur without sunlight.

Jewish Excuse: Copyist error.

Rebuttal: Tanakh Scholars admit that some of the errors in the Tanakh are attributed to copyist errors, thus confirming needing the Holy Quran to correct the errors.

Quran Logic: The Quran clarifies that food appeared two eons after the light was in the Heavens:

“And He made in it mountains above its surface and He blessed therein and made therein its foods, in four periods: alike for the seekers.”  (Quran 41:10)

(Quran 41:11-12) use the adverbs (thummah and fa) which mean “a series of events.”  Neither of these two, however, is used in the 10th verse, which says four periods and uses the adverb (wa) meaning “parallel or overlapping” events.

Therefore, we see the total time to complete the mountain formation and food growth is four periods.  Within two of these four periods, we see light:

“So He ordained them seven heavens in two periods, and revealed in every heaven its affair; and We adorned the lower heaven with brilliant stars and (made it) to guard; that is the decree of the Mighty, the Knowing.” (Quran 41:12)

Tanakh Logic: Animals were created before man was created.  (Genesis 1:24-27)  Vs  Man was created before animals were created.  (Genesis 2:7, 19)

Jewish Excuse: (Genesis 2) is only descriptive and the two chapters do not exactly say when the animals were created.

Rebuttal: What Tanakh Scholars fail to comprehend is that in (Genesis 1), after God made the animals, the decision to make man was consummated.  While in (Genesis 2), after man was made, God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone,” then the decision to make animals was executed.

Quran Logic:   Logically, animals were created before humans in order for humans to have food.  The Holy Quran lists this sequence here:

“Hast thou not seen that unto Allah payeth adoration whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is in the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the hills, and the trees, and the beasts, and many of mankind, while there are many unto whom the doom is justly due.  He whom Allah scorneth, there is none to give him honor.  Lo!  Allah doeth what He will.”  (Quran 22:18)

Tanakh Logic: Trees were created before man was created (Genesis 1:11-12, 26-27)  Vs  Man was created before trees were created.  (Genesis 2:4-9)

Jewish Excuse: None available.

Quran Logic: We see that the sequence is outlined correctly and without discrepancy in the Quran:

“Is not He (best) who created the heavens and the earth, and sendeth down for you water from the sky wherewith We cause to spring forth joyous orchards, whose trees it never hath been yours to cause to grow.  Is there any God beside Allah?  Nay, but they are folk who ascribe equals (unto Him)!”  (Quran 27:60)

“Hast thou not seen that unto Allah payeth adoration whosoever is in the heavens and whosoever is in the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the hills, and the trees, and the beasts, and many of mankind, while there are many unto whom the doom is justly due.  He whom Allah scorneth, there is none to give him honor.  Lo!  Allah doeth what He will.”  (Quran 22:18)

Tanakh Logic: Despite the 180-Degree shift by modern Tanakh Scholars in comparison to the previous 15 centuries of Jewish scholars, we are still left with passages in the Tanakh, which strongly indicate the earth is flat;

“And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:12)

“that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it” (Job 38:13)”

 “The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the ends of all the earth” (Daniel 4:11) 

These passages clearly indicated that the earth has four corners and that the entire earth could be seen from one end to the other.  Modern day Tanakh followers may not interpret those passages as such, but centuries of Jewish scholars beforehand did just that.

Jewish Excuse:  That’s what is says but that’s not what it means, the four corners are actually references to north, south, east and west.

Rebuttal: If the Tanakh writers meant something else, then why didn’t they record it as it was meant? The Tanakh translators utilize a vast amount of vocabulary dictionaries and ancient texts to pick the exact interpretation. It is unacceptable to claim that the four corners were referring to navigational directions for three obvious reasons.  The first is that when the Tanakh depicts navigational directions, then it actually says those directions and not the square description of “four corners of the earth.”

“And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”  (Genesis 28:14)

The second reason why the Tanakh Scholars attempt to change the meaning of “four corners” fails is that the term “four corners” is used elsewhere to mean a square structure;

“And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.”  (Job 1:19)

Hence, confirming this earth is flat because if you can see all four corners of your house, then you are standing on a flat ground.

Quran Logic: The Quran clearly and consistently states the shape of the earth is spherical:

“…and the earth, after that, He (God) made it ‘dahaha’ (oval shape)” (Quran 79:30)

The Theological Intelligence Score of Judaism and Science is “0”