R & M Report 2012 - Science

A major source of trouble to the Church of Christ has arisen in recent times from an aggressively secular movement which claims to have scientific authority for its opposition to the Bible and to religious teaching. Prominent scientists have identified themselves with this movement and are increasingly seeking to influence the education system. This part of the report, prepared by Dr Alex Ross, addresses aspects of this important subject.

The “oppositions of science falsely so called”, which Paul warned Timothy to avoid, have for many years proven to be a fierce enemy of true religion. Great damage has been done to the church from the influential teachings of academics, supposedly reputable scientists that teach atheistic and evolutionary doctrines under the guise of science. The theories of Charles Darwin, and more recently Professor Stephen Hawking, are often appealed to by promoters of atheism and evolution in the media. In reality there are, and have been, very many who have been actively engaged in developing theories which are at variance with Scripture truth concerning creation and natural history. In their own minds, the repudiation of a creator that would interfere with their speculations is a necessary condition. Hawking's mathematical modelling of how the universe was formed, is a vehicle used to 'push-back' by their billions of years, that time when they inevitably must confront the reality of  their impotence to explain the beginning of the universe, in whatever form their latest theory has coaxed the universe to assume.

The futility of such an exercise must be apparent to all who perceive what true science is – the development of a body of verifiable knowledge pertaining to the material world. Not a single moment or aspect of the history of the universe is verifiable without a reliable witness to the events that actually happened. Through Scripture we are privileged to have such witness. Those who deny the truth of the Bible have no such reliable witness, and are therefore confined to the unending shifting sands of unverifiable speculations.  “The testimony of the rocks”  as the geologist Hugh Miller so unadvisedly put it in the title of his last book, is falsehood and a betrayal of the Creator. Neither the rocks, nor the stars, nor living things, nor any part of creation speak concerning their history, other than that which the vain speculations of unbelieving writers impose upon them. There are, no doubt, uncommon abilities and gifts manifest amongst those who develop such speculations which are consumed and believed by multitudes to their ruin. They may be very clever and sophisticated speculations, with much detail that is appealing to the natural man, with much seeming self-consistency; but that cannot make up for lack of verification. The palpable frustration of the atheist at this final and immovable impotency, leads them to attempt to change the meaning of words such as 'science' and 'fact', as for example in the recent utterly erroneous statement of the prominent atheist Richard Dawkins “We need to stop calling evolution a theory. In the ordinary language sense of the word it is a fact. It is as solidly demonstrated as any fact in science." (Daily Telegraph, Sept 19^th 2011)

The speculations of the theorists have been promoted by incessant propaganda from both the broadcast and print media, and by the indoctrination of the young in schools and universities. The charismatic broadcaster David Attenborough recently joined prominent atheists in calling for a ban on the teaching of creation in schools as part of  science education. Such teaching does not presently occur in public schools, but the enemies of truth are clearly fearful of the consequences of what will happen if it is allowed to expose the weakness of their speculations.  It is now very difficult indeed for children to go through their education without being tainted with falsehood concerning creation and natural history.  Where there is a godly counteracting of this falsehood by teaching within the home and church, there is hope for a child that it  will not cause them to cut adrift from the church, but alas there is a grave danger that such teaching is weak or absent, and there follows a disengagement from the ordinances of the gospel.

A widespread delusion exists amongst the general public that 'evolutionary science' is the building of a pyramid of knowledge which will ultimately lead to a complete knowledge of the history of the universe, physical and biological. The reality is very different - it is an ever expanding collection of loosely-tied speculative and un-provable theories, of which there are potentially a vast number of competing alternative theories that have not yet been considered; and those that have been are continually being reformulated in the light of new observations. These are often falsely reported in the media as if they were scientific facts. The absence of opportunity for verifiability regarding evolutionary theory has encouraged an appeal to its popularity – 'the vast majority of scientists believe it therefore it must be true'. By which method they hope to humiliate and silence its detractors. The recent promotion of anthropogenic global warming theory has preceded along similar lines in an attempt to eradicate scientific and political opposition. It seems that, for many, science is no longer about what is right, but rather about what is most popular.   

In practise, the chief motivation of the evolutionist has proven to be to move further away from the truth of the Bible. Any explanation is tolerated for serious consideration, in the light of a new observation which contradicts an existing speculation, so long as it is not contrary to that chief motivation. Thus, whatever may be the stated beliefs of the evolutionists, and those allied to them such as the Church of Rome, their practise is undeniably atheistic, by denying God His rightful place as the creator of the universe and everything in it, according to His own word. May the Lord hasten that day when the veil of ignorance that is upon the face of all nations, concerning the truth of creation, is removed.