What is Science?

        The word science comes from the Latin "scientia," meaning knowledge.  How do we define science?  According to Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, the definition of science is "knowledge attained through study or practice," or "knowledge covering general truths of the operation of general laws, esp. as obtained and tested through scientific method [and] concerned with the physical world."

        Since science concerns knowledge, sometimes ideas and concepts are embraced that should not be included.  Scientists have done a great job at determining observable and repeatable aspects of life, nature and the physical world.  That is operational science, as opposed to historical science. 

        Historical (or origins) science covers areas of knowledge that are from times and/or places that we personally have not been.  Every event in history, from the building of the pyramids to astronauts walking on the moon, has only been experienced firsthand by those that were there and then.  We only have knowledge of them through the evidence left us by what they have said, wrote, or otherwise recorded.  That leaves a whole lot of knowledge that is dependent upon interpreting the evidence.

        There may be some overlap between operational and historical science, such as live coverage of events via television and radio.  Even these events, however, have the possibility of being distorted by bias or deception.

        So how do we determine what knowledge is true and factual?  How can we be assured of anything that we have not personally observed or experienced?  Can we even trust our perception of those things that we have personally witnessed?

        So far, I have only addressed science from a secular, physical perspective, and for this reason.  If there is doubt about the factuality of the knowledge that we have direct access to (through contact with first-hand witnesses), how much more so in those things that happened in the past?

        For instance, we all know that “Columbus discovered America”, but in reality he was not the first to explore these lands.  The Norse explorer Leif Ericson had built a temporary settlement 500 years earlier.  Columbus never believed he had found a “new” land.  He died convinced his voyages were on the east coast of Asia.  The Americas were even named after him, but after a later explorer whose journals convinced a German mapmaker that this was a previously unknown continent.  Even the notion that Columbus was responsible for proving the world is round is not true.  The idea that those in the Middle Ages believed the world was flat came from a handful of intellectual scholars that were ignored by the general populace.  Most people living in those times believed the earth was round.  The author Washington Irving wrote The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, a fictional story with the theme of the victory of a lone believer in a round earth over Bible-quoting, superstitious persons that were convinced the world was flat.

        That bias was against any belief in a Creator God who has given a Book Instructing Basic Life Education (Bible).  The push to remove God from the throne of knowledge began in the Garden of Eden and has been directed by the same person to this day.

        So where does this leave us?  If we can't trust history, we can't be everywhere (in time and space) at the same time, and we can't trust our own perceptions, how can we know Truth?  Science is touted as the process by which we find truth, but as we have seen, it is restricted to repeatable results of observable events.  Science dares to interpret evidence to “prove” naturalistic philosophies, while claiming to be unbiased.

        Science, as practiced in general today, is intent on promoting a naturalistic explanation for the origin of life.  Whether it is Darwinian evolution or “seeding” of life here by aliens from outer space, any theory that removes any sort of designer or Creator is considered valid.  Just by declaring, in essence, that since we are here therefore “evolution” is a “fact” is no more valid that finding a dollar bill underneath your mattress and claiming that “George Washington slept here”!

        As Christians, we acknowledge that the Bible is the inspired Word of God (2 Tim 3:16), and that the Word is Jesus (John 1:1ff), and Jesus is “the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).  It is not my purpose to go into the evidence to prove that statement in this article, and will present proofs to those who do not believe the above statement is true.

        For most Christians, it is hard to stand against the “body of evidence” for Darwinian evolution because it has been classified as “science” and therefore cannot be challenged.  Attempts to merge Creation and evolution only weaken the foundations of both concepts.  Either there was a totally natural, unguided process for everything in the universe or it had a designer or Creator.

        As I stated earlier, it is not my intent to prove the validity of the Bible as such, but merely to get you to think about the concept of:  What is Science” in the aspect of knowledge or truth.  We choose what we believe based on our perception of the evidence presented, and as such, you determine whether the points I make are valid or not.

        If you are a Christian and you believe that the Bible is true, why try to explain away the account of Creation that is included in Genesis?  If you don't believe the Bible as Truth, who (or what) are you believing in?  As we have seen, there is a serious problem in trusting history or observations by other people.  “Seek and ye shall find” is a concept revealed throughout the Bible and also acknowledged by the scientific community.  WHAT answers you get depend on: WHY you are seeking, WHO you ask, WHERE you look, and HOW you interpret what you find.  Remember, we all start with one of two different worldviews (Either God is Truth or Man determines Truth), and that determines what conclusion we come to in the end.

        We are each responsible for those conclusions, and cannot honestly accept someone else's without some reservation.  No amount of evidence will be 100% conclusive in historical science, but can present a preponderance of proof in the likelihood of occurrence.  Again, it is all dependent on WHO you believe.

        I have written a lot here, and you may still not be convinced that I have a point.  So let me simplify my point into a single statement: IF Science is the pursuit of knowledge and truth and God is the One who holds all knowledge and truth, shouldn't Science really be the pursuit of God's knowledge and truth?

        The concept of using science as a means of observing God's order of the universe is not a recent concept.  Many of the most important discoveries of how the world works are the result of the application of scientific observations by men who believed that God was the Creator and sustainer of this world.  The laws of motion, the law of gravity, the laws of energy conservation, and many medical discoveries were made by scientists that used their belief in God to direct their inquiries into the world they lived in.

        Sadly, today the vast majority of scientists profess to be atheists, and anyone who believes otherwise is ridiculed, isolated, ignored, or even fired.  Ben Stein did a great documentary on this is in: “Expelled – No Intelligence Required”.  Science is no longer a method to find the marvelous and wonderful ways that God has made our world, but a religion to prove there is no God.  Scientists read into their research what they want to find, according to their previously held beliefs, rather than following the evidence to its logical conclusion, which is what Science should be all about.

New Generation Apologetics

I was just reading an article on seanmcdowell.org titled "Apologetics for a New Generation". Several very important points are presented in that article that I would like to post here.

First, Sean says that too often young people today are caught up in day-to-day living and are not taking time to shore up their Christian faith with hard evidence, so when confronted with an opposing view, they lack the "intellectual tools and confidence to answer the challenges". This should bother us and motivate us to find a way to equip those young people with what they need to stand firm in their faith.

Second, many young people are leaving the church because "the Christian community is failing to engage their minds as well as their hearts". Jesus tells us "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt 22:37 ESV), and we cannot do that without "always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you" (1 Peter 3:15 ESV).

Third, he points out that "If we want to shape the behavior of young people, then, we must guide them to truthful beliefs about the world and help them to strengthen and build on their existing true beliefs and convictions" It is vitally important that we be sure to reinforce the beliefs that our young people learn when they first start learning about God and the Bible. Sean expands upon this point and says that "This is why it is so critical to help our youth come to terms with their actual beliefs and to help address their doubts, questions, uncertainties, and fears honestly".

And the last point I want to make here is the importance of teaching young people about Truth. In this article, Sean says, "I can’t help but wonder how many truly understand that Christianity is the truth, the only hope for salvation, and the sole opportunity for a relationship with the living God who created the universe".

So to all those interested in Youth Apologetics, there is a lot of young people out there to be reached with the hard evidence that Christianity is a reality that cannot be ignored.

Let's start a landslide!

Here it has been over a week now, and I haven't posted. Now how is that going look?

I have been reading a lot about how the Darwinian evolutionary theory is infiltrating every area of day-to-day life, and it saddens me that so many otherwise solid Christians are buying into this. I confess that I hold concepts that don't jive with a Biblical worldview, and conduct a "search and destroy" mission when I become aware of those concepts. As long as I can remember. I have been an ardent believer in a literal 6-day creation that happened some 6,000 years or so ago, but did not realize that there is a way to approach those who believe in Darwinian evolution using the same evidence used to 'prove' that theory.

I brought that up because, for me, there was not a need to convince me that what the Bible said about Creation, the Flood, or the Resurrection was true. I based my belief on the fact that the Bible is God's Word and if HE said it, it was true. Sadly, too many Christians today try to accomodate what they see as "science" and make the Bible fit whatever the prevailing theory being presented is. This was even done concerning the concept that the Earth was flat. Many historians present Christians as being the main supporters of a "flat Earth", but it was only a few out spoken radicals that ended up getting this label applied to all members of the Church. Most Christians of that era believed that the Earth was round or spherical, as noted in Isaiah 40:22. This is one example of how the secular worldview overrode the Biblical one.

Another example of an issue that the secular worldview has triumphed over the Biblical way of thinking is abortion. A recent poll shows that 86% of Americans would significantly restrict abortion, yet it is the law of the land.

As Christians, we need to not hide our light under a bushel, because an issue might come up that affects you and no one will be there to help. Standing together against the erosion of the moral standard that is written in the Bible is OUR job as a body of believers, and as separate parts of that body we need to use the talents that God has given us to heal the land we live in. As an acorn grows in a mighty oak, so your efforts will grow into a landslide of public opinion that can cause a change in the staus quo of the land.

Welcome

I want to give everyone a warm welcome to this blog. I have decided to set up a separate blog for general apologetic information that will complement my "Evolution is Dead" blog. I will be updating both regularly, but will address more general topics here, and the Evolution/Creation debate on the other.

I hope that you will comment on what I write, as it will allow an exchange of ideas that will enrich us both. Feel free to follow the blog and email me with any topics you would like me to cover or any questions you might have.