1 Timothy 6:20
“O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:”
Webster’s dictionary defines scientism as “an exaggerated trust in the efficacy of the methods of natural science applied to all areas of investigation”. True science is no threat to those who are unafraid of the implications of the Christian faith in the arena of science education. But scientism masquerades as true science. It is the false idea that science is the only genuine area of knowledge. It is scientism, not true science, which claims that all hypotheses reliant on spiritual or supernatural explanations are to be removed from science education.
Scientific investigation is about repeatable observations. If an experiment is repeated, using the same materials and conditions as the original investigation, then the same results will occur. Few scientists ponder why this is the case, believing it simply to be self-evident. However, as Christians we can see that this repeatability of observations is possible only because we live in an ordered universe, created by God, who is a God of order, not chaos. Many of the problems in science education come about because alleged one-time events from the past are taught as if they have the same level of authority as repeatable investigations. The alleged Big Bang, for example, was supposed to take place 13.7 billion years ago. It is not a repeatable event. Therefore, it falls outside the realm of investigative science. Teaching the Big Bang as if it were an established fact is not science. It is scientism.
Prayer; Thank You, Father, for the order with which You created this universe that enables us to investigate it. Amen.
Author: Paul F. Taylor
Ref: Taylor, P.F. (2007), Truth, Lies, and Science Education (Leominster, UK: Day One Publications), pp. 113-114. Image: The Big Bang, an example of scientism; Public Domain.
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