The bible gets Pi wrong

By Gene X. Christian

In March 2024, around Pi Day, my belief in god was starting to unravel. As I looked more deeply into the text that had guided my faith for most of my life, I began to ask even more questions about what I was reading.

It’s funny how some will say, “read the bible” to have god reveal himself to you. It’s one thing to read the bible from beginning to end, and if you never dig deep into the passages, then you end up taking it at face value. But when you get past the surface-level reading of the texts, you see things you have never seen before.

For some, that means a deeper spiritual meaning to the text that they incorporate into their belief system. But for others, that means seeing things that don’t add up.

It’s important to note that the Holy Bible (the Hebrew bible and the New Testament) is the claim of proof. Although many believers tend to believe the bible is the proof, this is incorrect. It is a claim of proof, and we have to investigate more to determine if the claim is true.

What are the Bible’s claims about the Bible?

• “The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;” - Psalm 19:7

• “Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.” - Proverbs 30:5

• “For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” - 2 Peter 1:21

• “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” - 2 Timothy 2:15

• “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.” - Malachi 3:6

To me, it seems fairly cut and dry. The bible is god’s word, it is perfect, the words come from god, ]god does not change, and the text is true … unless it’s not.

The bible gets the mathematical formula for Pi wrong

Pi is a fundamental mathematical constant. Defined, Pi is the ratio of a circle’s circumference (which is the distance around a circle) to its diameter (the distance across a circle through its center.

It goes like this: Let’s say you have a bowl. You measure across the top of the bowl, in a straight line, from one side to the other. You note that it’s 10 inches across. That’s the diameter (D). You take that times 3.14, and the result is 31.4 inches.

The mathematical formula for Pi is:

C (circumference) = (is equal to) Pi (3.14) multiplied by D (the diameter)

C = π * D

We have determined our bowl is 31.4 inches around using the formula. Unfortunately, the bible gets Pi wrong.

In 1 Kings, it talks of a craftsman named Hiram who was skilled in working with “all kinds of bronze work.” Part of the work Hiram did for Solomon included making a basin (referenced as Sea in the text, part of the ornate decor Hiram did for Solomon).

Note: A cubit is about 17.5 inches.

“And he made the Sea of cast bronze, ten cubits from one brim to the other; it was completely round. Its height was five cubits, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.”

• 1 Kings 7:23

Using Pi, we can get the circumference of Hiram’s basin: 10 cubits X 3.14 = 31.4 cubits

But the text says otherwise: “a line of 30 cubits measured its circumference.”

If the bible is “true,” then the math would be right. But, it’s not, and no amount of mental gymnastics can take away from the fact that the math from this “true” and “god breathed” text is incorrect.

The math in the bible is wrong.

Happy Pi day!

Published on 2025-03-14

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