Does the pineal gland have any spiritual significance?
The pineal gland is a (relatively) tiny organ, part of the overall composition of the brain. In vertebrates such as humans, it sits directly in between the two hemispheres, within the epithalamus. Biologically, the pineal gland has a fairly straightforward purpose: to produce a hormone (melatonin) that signals the body when it is time to…
What does the Bible say about cavemen, prehistoric men, neanderthals?
The Bible does not use the term caveman or Neanderthals. So, according to the Bible there is no such thing as “prehistoric” man, in that sense. The Bible gives no indication that Adam and Eve accidentally evolved from lower life forms. Nor does it give any explicit indication that there were human-like beings prior to…
What was the leviathan?
The leviathan is a large aquatic creature of some kind. The Bible refers to it as a fearsome beast having monstrous ferocity and great power. The Hebrew word for “Leviathan” has the root meaning of “coiled” or “twisted.” Isaiah 27:1 speaks of “Leviathan the fast-moving serpent, Leviathan the squirming serpent; . . . the sea…
What/where was the land of Nod in the Bible?
The land of Nod was where Cain settled after he was punished by God for the murder of his brother Abel (Genesis 4:8). The Bible reads, “Then Cain went away from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden” (Genesis 4:16). No one knows where the land of…
What similarities are there between the Enuma Elish and the Genesis creation account?
The Enuma Elish, or the “Seven Tablets of Creation,” is a Babylonian creation myth that has a number of literary and cultural connections to the creation account in Genesis 1. The Enuma Elish is one of the oldest creation records ever discovered, likely dating to 1100 BC (Genesis, which is older, was written around 1400…
Why do men have nipples?
The presence of nipples on males seems strange, given that males do not produce milk. Are these vestigial organs? Remnants of evolution? Examples of poor design? Actually, there are a couple of good reasons men have nipples. One is related to sexual stimulation, and the other is simple efficiency. This may come as a surprise…
What does the Bible say about cryonics or cryogenics?
Cryonics, or cryogenics, is the process of storing human bodies at ultra-low temperatures in an effort to preserve them for long periods of time. Cryogenics’ supposed goal is to keep the body intact until medical science progresses enough to cure whatever disease had afflicted the body and restore the person to full health. The cost…
What similarities are there between the Gilgamesh flood account and the biblical flood account?
There are many similarities between the Gilgamesh flood account and the biblical flood account (Genesis 6—8), beginning most importantly with God choosing a righteous man to build an ark because of an impending great flood. In both accounts, samples from all species of animals were to be on the ark, and birds were used after…
How should a Christian view the idea of Mars colonization?
Human colonization of other planets is a recurrent subject of science fiction. From Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles (1950) to Andy Weir’s The Martian (2011), sci-fi authors have been imagining human civilization on Mars for a long time. With advances in technology, growing economic concerns, and worries about the earth’s environmental stability, the push for…
What is the behemoth?
The behemoth is a large animal mentioned in Job 40:15–24 as God addresses Job. God’s description of this animal focuses on its great size and strength in comparison to Job’s smallness and human frailty. Modern language has picked up on the biblical description and uses the word behemoth to mean “anything of monstrous size or…