Science Vs. Scientism
Us Christians seem to get put in the camp of “science deniers” rather often. A seemingly repugnant thing to be labeled in our day, and like being accused of having cooties in elementary school, it’s effective as something most people will avoid being called at all costs. Science (the method of observation, testing, hypothesis, and conclusions based on gathered data) is the means by which mankind has made some of its most incredible discoveries. While the scientific method has helped us understand our world and beyond in some amazingly practical ways, the truth is, it’s always behind the eight-ball.
The ingenuity of how we created various medicines, can generate heat or cooling, or even giant structures that sway in the wind are amazing! But gravity, electricity, and medical properties of things on earth weren’t invented, they were discovered and harnessed after a LOT of trial and error. Seeing a far away planet that’s been there since time began might be new information to us, but the method isn’t creating that data, it’s simply doing its best to catch up to what already was - and that’s the idea of science. Unbiased observation as to arrive as closely to the truth as possible.
But like everything else we tend to do right, human pride and hubris pollutes the well. Like how human ingenuity engineered an “unsinkable” ship and then hubris and ignorance sank it on the maiden voyage, it’s incredibly important for us to recognize the difference between true, unbiased scientific conclusions that can be reasonably trusted, versus what hubris drives people to do with the idea of science. Humans are never all-knowing - in fact, it’s important to remember with all the things we do right, we confidently get it dead wrong A LOT of the time.
Today, rather than science being conclusions based on evidence, people wield “science” as a club in the form of an all-seeing, all-knowing force that must not be questioned. People use “science” to commandeer an issue, make biased, unsubstantiated truth claims, pick and choose which data is applicable, if any, and then present a conclusion while citing “science.” An endless shame loop. But that’s not science. It’s a religion called “scientism.” We see it all around us. Like with abortion - people cite science all the time as a means to somehow let us off the hook in order to abort thousands of babies every single day. It’s used as a tool to goad people into doing or believing a predetermined sociopolitical position regardless of actual data or outcome. And we fall for it all the time.
If it’s our desire to recognize and embrace the scientific method of observation, testing, and hypothesis, it is important for us to recognize the difference between science and what many are calling science. One of my favorite examples of “science” today is the idea that everything came from nothing. A scientific impossibility. It is literally the most anti-scientific sentiments in human history, yet people hear a “scientist” say it and it relieves us from having to think. Yet, if you disagree with the “science” on many things, you get fact-checked, shadow-banned, and labeled a science denier.
I am, indeed, a “scientism” denier.
“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” - Albert Einstein
