Defining Our Terms: Science

The word science tends to get thrown around a lot. But what does it actually mean? Simply stated, science means knowledge:

"The term science comes from the Latin word scientia, meaning 'knowledge.'"

It appears in the King James Version of the Bible, too:

"O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called" (1 Timothy 6:20; emphasis added).

In that context, the Apostle Paul was warning a young pastor named Timothy to avoid false science (i.e., false knowledge). False knowledge is a real problem, and God’s Word gives us the solution:

“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Proverbs 1:7).

True knowledge begins with a healthy fear (i.e., reverence) toward God! More likely than not, however, you’ve probably heard someone accuse Christians of being “anti-science.” This claim doesn't even make sense etymologically because Christians are not against knowledge; such a generalization ignores the fact that there are highly intelligent, God-fearing scientists in the world today, and ever since the beginning of the world.

Now, I want you to consider what a local biology professor said to me few months ago. We were talking about the fact that no one is unbiased or neutral and he said that

"Science has developed a method whereby we can test assumptions in a more unbiased and rational way."

I then wrote to him that science hasn't developed anything because science isn't a living, breathing entity (that's what we call the reification fallacy). Instead, people use science ("knowledge") to draw conclusions about the world and test those aforementioned assumptions. Typically, however, the person claiming that Christians are “anti-science” is actually referring to concepts like Darwinian evolution, the big-bang model, and so on.

But people tend to conflate what's known as observational science with historical science, so let's carefully define those two phrases:

• As the name implies, observational science involves observation and experimentation. Building a space shuttle is a great example of observational science because regardless of your views about the past, you can still put together a space-faring vehicle here in the present. You don't need to believe in Darwinian evolution or the Genesis account of history in order to build a space shuttle.
• On the other hand, historical science involves using evidence available to us in the present to draw conclusions about the unseen past. You and I weren't around to observe the origin of the universe and neither was anyone alive today. Thus, historical science involves speculation and interpretation regarding events from the unseen past (since we cannot replicate or observe those same events today). Clearly, that is a lot different than building that space shuttle!

By the way, these terms have been used by Christians and non-Christians alike. Contrary to what some have claimed, those who believe in the Genesis record of history did not invent such definitions. Here's one example of that for your consideration (emphasis mine):

"Darwin introduced historicity into science. Evolutionary biology, in contrast with physics and chemistry, is a historical science—the evolutionist attempts to explain events and processes that have already taken place. Laws and experiments are inappropriate techniques for the explication of such events and processes. Instead one constructs a historical narrative, consisting of a tentative reconstruction of the particular scenario that led to the events one is trying to explain."

Those words were penned by Ernst Mayr, an evolutionist who has been called "Darwin's apostle." Now, Genesis is amazingly consistent with what we see in the world around us. For example, animals produce after their own kinds. Dogs produce more dogs and cats produce more cats. We don’t see dogs producing cats and cats producing dogs! Moreover, the Scripture says

"And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so" (Genesis 1:24).

Such is one example of biblical truth being confirmed by true science. We can observe this here in the present. By the same token, the MRI machine is a great example of observational science (and it was invented by a man who believes the biblical account of Creation).

As for historical science, its value can be seen in the research that Christians have done concerning the Flood of Noah's day. Specifically, creation scientists are attempting to learn more about the exact mechanisms that were at play 4,500 years ago. Case in point, Dr. William Worraker's four-part series of technical papers regarding what happened to the heat generated by the Flood cataclysm:

"The Genesis Flood must have produced drastic geological changes involving extremely energetic processes which must also have generated an enormous heat load... This is the first in a series of papers intended to identify and, where possible, to quantify the most important sources of Flood heat."

Since God was present for the Flood, we have His authoritative eyewitness account to build our worldview upon (Genesis 6-9). We don't have to stumble around in the dark and rely on fallible assumptions about the unseen past. Instead, you and I can build our thinking on Scripture and see how the evidence around us confirms what we read in the Bible.

In closing, we need to remember that the word science means knowledge and that speculation about the past (i.e., historical science) isn't the same thing as observational science (e.g., building a space shuttle). There is a clear-cut difference between the two, and whatever you believe about the past doesn't disqualify you from practicing science here in the present. Moreover, God created mankind with the ability to learn more about the universe because His power is visible in heaven and on earth:

"For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (Romans 1:20-21; emphasis added).

Thanks for reading,

Angel