Science and Reason Are Not the Villains
I the early days of this blog I would at times talk about “Scientism.” That being a term to describe the trend within secularism to make science take the place of some more traditionally religious aspects of life: authority, prognostication, the only source of truth. As such, scientism is a threat to Christianity. It is a threat in the same way that other religions such as Buddhism or Islam are. And in that sense, it is not an existential threat to Christians themselves, but rather to people being led astray.
What is a greater threat to Christianity than Scientism or other belief systems competing with Christianity, is the trend being pushed on us to distrust science. Conspiracy theories and willful ignorance ARE an existential threat to Christianity. They are actively leading believers away from Biblical faith.
Science is not the villain you may have heard. It is nothing more than a tool that was developed by people who believed in the Biblical worldview of an ordered universe created by a logical intelligent Being. If the universe was intelligently designed and not a result of chaotic happenstance, then it follows that truth and consistent reality can be seen and understood.
Science is just an endless exercise in answering questions. We observe something in the world, or ask a question about something, and form a hypothesis that might explain what we are seeing. Then, we set up an experiment to test if the hypothesis is true. If we find that it is not correct, we keep testing other ideas. If, on the other hand, we find that the hypothesis holds up, that is not the end. It must be tested again and again by others to be sure it is true.
When charlatans take advantage of a misuse of science—such as Scientism—and convince people that all science is bad, they are able to convince a group of people that abandoning their senses is a true test of faith. And since many such charlatans are targeting Christians, we have an increasingly vulnerable faith in the west. Christians are more likely to believe crazy conspiracy theories than almost any other group. They are more likely to believe that the Earth is flat. They are more likely to distrust medicine and vaccines. They are ready to fall for any crazy idea that attacks science, education, or reason.
Throughout most of its history, Christianity has been pro reason, pro education, and pro science. We need to get back to that.
What is a greater threat to Christianity than Scientism or other belief systems competing with Christianity, is the trend being pushed on us to distrust science. Conspiracy theories and willful ignorance ARE an existential threat to Christianity. They are actively leading believers away from Biblical faith.
Science is not the villain you may have heard. It is nothing more than a tool that was developed by people who believed in the Biblical worldview of an ordered universe created by a logical intelligent Being. If the universe was intelligently designed and not a result of chaotic happenstance, then it follows that truth and consistent reality can be seen and understood.
Science is just an endless exercise in answering questions. We observe something in the world, or ask a question about something, and form a hypothesis that might explain what we are seeing. Then, we set up an experiment to test if the hypothesis is true. If we find that it is not correct, we keep testing other ideas. If, on the other hand, we find that the hypothesis holds up, that is not the end. It must be tested again and again by others to be sure it is true.
When charlatans take advantage of a misuse of science—such as Scientism—and convince people that all science is bad, they are able to convince a group of people that abandoning their senses is a true test of faith. And since many such charlatans are targeting Christians, we have an increasingly vulnerable faith in the west. Christians are more likely to believe crazy conspiracy theories than almost any other group. They are more likely to believe that the Earth is flat. They are more likely to distrust medicine and vaccines. They are ready to fall for any crazy idea that attacks science, education, or reason.
Throughout most of its history, Christianity has been pro reason, pro education, and pro science. We need to get back to that.
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