Science has changed our lives in positive ways. But if we place our faith in science alone, we will find ourselves serving a man-made god of uncertainty and doubt.
Have you ever gone to your doctor, complaining of a fever, only to have him slap a leech on your arm so it can suck the blood from your veins? Probably not—these days doctors tend to be sensitive about malpractice lawsuits!
But a few hundred years ago, slicing open a vein to bleed a patient was not only common practice, but reasonable—after all, if any of the “four humors” (Hippocrates’ old theory about bodily fluids) were out of balance, what better way to fix the problem than letting them flow freely? That was the science of the day.
Don’t laugh too hard
Through better science, though, we’ve learned better treatments. We’ve also learned that the universe doesn’t revolve around the earth, rotten meat doesn’t transform into flies, and the bumps on your head don’t reveal your brain’s inner workings. But people accepted ideas like those, laughable as they are to us, as fact not so very long ago.
Interestingly, from this steady stream of scientific breakthroughs has emerged a great irony—that is, the more we discover, the less we can guarantee that all current theories and understandings are absolutely correct. In fact, you can virtually guarantee that 300 years from now people will be laughing at some of the ideas we hold dear today, just as we are now laughing at the theories from 300 years ago!
That’s why, as scientific discoveries continue to fascinate and excite us, to change our lives in so many positive ways, we would do well to stay humble.
What science can’t tell us
What does humility have to do with science, you might ask? Everything!
It is in the spirit of humility that one recognizes that science has its limitations. Yes, science is terrific for discovering more about the world around us, but it can only quantify, measure, compare and discover things physical. But it is the nonphysical problems facing humanity—hatred, greed, jealousy, etc.—that threaten our peace, safety, well-being and even, Jesus warned, our very existence!
Through humility, we acknowledge that we can never discover the solutions to our moral dilemmas through science. It was never designed to act as a moral compass.
Science can’t explain the difference between wrong and right.
It can’t chart a course to lasting fulfillment in life.
It can’t tell you your reason for existing—why you’re here.
It is no moral guide; it is no god.
Serving gods of uncertainty and doubt
But lacking humility, many have rejected God, choosing to put their faith only in science and/or human thinking. In doing so, setting ourselves up as our own gods, we have not anticipated an unintended consequence. When everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes, we end up serving gods of uncertainty and doubt.
I realize many people have spurned God because so many religions and their teachers have misused the Bible the way ancient doctors misused leeches to treat people’s health problems! But that reasoning is not valid. Do we reject science just because some ancients before us misused and misapplied it?
Please don’t hasten to reject God! With a good measure of humility, a desire to learn and a willingness to search His Word—the Bible—you can find the answers to life’s biggest questions: Who are you? What is your purpose and destiny? What is right and wrong? Does truth exist?
Spiritual questions require spiritual discovery. What cannot be found in a laboratory can be uncovered in the pages of your Bible. Join us in the search!
If you think scientific breakthroughs have changed your world for the better, wait until you discover the spiritual breakthroughs that await you in His Word!
