By Greg Neyman
© Old Earth Ministries
This question was published in Dr. John's Q&A by John Morris in July 2001. Everyone knows that insects have six legs. However, it appears that Leviticus 11:21-22 says that some insects have four legs. Does this show that the Bible is not scientifically accurate? The verse says:
21Yet these you may eat among all the winged insects which walk on all fours: those which have above their feet jointed legs with which to jump on the earth.
22These of them you may eat: the locust in its kinds, and the devastating locust in its kinds, and the cricket in its kinds, and the grasshopper in its kinds.
Morris shows that these insects in question do walk on all fours...their front four legs are used for walking. Their back two legs are used for jumping. The verse in question treats the back, jumping legs separately from the front walking legs. Together, the four walking legs and two jumping legs equals six legs. Therefore, the Bible passage presents no false scientific claims.
Morris closes this answer by mentioning several issues which question evolution, but that have been addressed elsewhere in this book review.
Dr. John's Q&A #151, published on the web at https://www.icr.org/article/does-bible-really-claim-that-insects-only-have-fou
If you are not a Christian, and you have been holding out on making a decision for Christ because the Church always preached a message that was contrary to what you saw in the scientific world, then rest assured that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and you can believe in Christ and receive salvation, while still believing in an old earth. Click here for more.
Are you a Christian who believes in young earth creationism? Now that we have shown the many difficulties of the young earth creation science model in this and many other articles, how does this impact your Christian life? If you are a young-earth creationism believer, click here.
To learn more
about old earth creationism, see
Old Earth Belief,
or check out the article
Can You Be A
Christian and Believe in an Old Earth?
Feel free to check out more of this website. Our goal is to
provide rebuttals to the bad science behind young earth creationism,
and honor God by properly presenting His creation.