Background:
Two arguments are presented concerning a numerical proof of the inspiration of the bible.
1. The supporting argument (Theomatics) can be found at:
http://www.theomatics.com Theomatics Example Validation Using C-Program
These four examples are given on the Theomatics web site:
[Example 1] [Example
2] [Example 3] [Example
4]
[Hebrew Values] [Greek values]
Theomatics was developed after Ivan Panin studied the topic around the year 1890. An example of Panin's work is here. Another larger example is here.
Theomatics says there is a consistent hidden numerical pattern throughout the Bible, in the original language, that is too complicated for the human authors to have written, therefore God, who is capable of creating the pattern, must have guided their thoughts as they were writing. This pattern is unique to the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. No other documents, in any language, contain the same pattern. Theomatics makes calculations using a proprietary computer program. Sample results are shown on their web site.
2. The dissenting argument (Panin's Panic) is at:
http://cs.anu.edu.au/~bdm/dilugim/panin.html
Panin's Panic is an open source computer program written in "C" language. The program only runs on 64 bit Unix computers. The program is named after Ivan Panin who is credited as an early investigator of Biblical numeric patterns. The author of Panin's Panic says there is nothing unique about the Biblical patterns, and that such patterns can be found in just about any document in any language. Examples are given based on a random section of English language text.
Discussion:
1. I have compiled and run Panin's Panic on a Unix computer and have reproduced the author's example using the provided random section of English text. The program calculates individual "atomic features" and combined "features" composed of smaller "atomic features". Each of the features is based on one or more methods, shown on the web site, for converting text into numbers.
2. The results from Panin's Panic using the random English text resemble some of the quantities credited to Ivan Panin when he examined the Bible. For example, quantities like the numeric value of all the consonants in a section may be a multiple of seven. The program also shows that there may be a good number of multiples of other numbers as well, in a section of text. I followed the instructions provided and produced all kinds of multiples of all kinds of different things.
3. I think the author of Panin's Panic is correct when he says, in effect, that any section of text, in any language, can be converted into a large set of different numbers using various different methods of sorting and combining the individual "atomic features". Once this set of numbers has been established, it will contain multiples of various different numbers or combinations of numbers.
4. Theomatics presents examples that are not like the ones calculated with Panin's Panic. The examples presented by Theomatics are presented based on particular ideas or themes in the Bible. The Theomatic examples show the same numerical pattern in different selections of text that all have the same theme.
5. I think Panin's Panic and Theomatics are talking about two different things, and therefore Panin's Panic does not disprove Theomatics.
6. In order to compare the results from Panin's Panic with the results from the Theomatics program, Panin's Panic would have to be used in a different way. As the argument is stated now, Panin's Panic examines a section of text and determines a "set of features". The argument stops there.
7. This set of features could be called a "signature" for the text sample. This "signature" sounds more like the language that Theomatics is speaking.
8. Theomatics compares the signature of one occurrence of a theme to the signature of another occurrence of the same theme and says that they match.
9. Panin's Panic calculates different signatures for different sections of text.
Conclusion:
Panin's Panic is a well written and very interesting program but it
does not disprove Theomatics. Theomatics shows matching signatures.
Panin's Panic only says something like, given a random section of text,
a particular signature can be determined.
