Taking every thought captive for obedience to Christ (2 Corinthians 10.5)

Disciplines
Science

According to Atul Gawande, mistrust of science is growing, and it is the responsibility of the scientific community to address this situation (“The Mistrust of Science,” The New Yorker, June 10, 2016, the 2016 commencement address for the California Institute of Technology.)

Science, Dr. Gawande explains, is a self-correcting enterprise, committed to understanding and improving the world. He writes, “The scientist has an experimental mind, not a litigious one.” His job is to discover truth, not to arbitrate it. Science must not be arrogant about its findings. All the knowledge science acquires is never “completely settled” but “just probable knowledge.” Cherished scientific “truths” are often overturned by new discoveries or better experiments. And not infrequently, what science touts as a new “truth” turns out to have been taught or practiced within other disciplines, often for centuries.

Dr. Gawande explains that people don’t trust science because it challenges many of their “intuitive beliefs.” That is, the findings of science seem to run contrary to much of what people have always assumed to be true. So, rather than abandon cherished beliefs and convictions, people simply mistrust science.

Also, people understand that scientific knowledge is incomplete and necessarily limited in what it can address. Scientists, however, seem to lose sight of this. Other groups and movements making claims to knowledge –including religious groups – exacerbate the problem of the mistrust of science, as Dr. Gawande sees it, by insisting that truth is not the privileged domain of science.

But it’s not science people don’t trust; it’s the scientific community. Most people understand that science is a reliable means of understanding and making use of the world around us. But the use to which many scientists put the truths they have discovered is troubling to some people.

The scientific community must take steps to restore the public’s trust in science. Scientists need to assert true facts, and to include in their assertions the narrative that explains those facts, presumably in terms people can understand. Scientists also need to expose bad science that misleads people, and to correct mistaken assumptions and findings.   

However, Dr. Gawande fails to address what to me is a leading reason why people might not trust science, and that is its insistence on drawing conclusions about matters which are simply beyond the scope of its portfolio. Science deals with the material world; its methods are only suited to making tentative conclusions about whatever can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, or tasted. As long as scientists insist on pontificating about areas of knowledge and experience beyond their ken – specifically, their insistence that God and spiritual beings either do not exist or are irrelevant, especially to the work of science – as long as this continues, scientists will provoke opposition from people who know by experience that their claims concerning such matters are not true.

Dr. Gawande insists that truth-seeking is a community endeavor, requiring “a group of people – the bigger the better – pursuing ideas with curiosity, inquisitiveness, openness, and discipline.” But he also holds that this is the work of scientists and the scientific method. Those who want to follow other avenues in the pursuit of truth are disqualified by definition from the conversation.

The assumption that all reality is merely material, and therefore that the scientific community is best equipped to make sense of all reality, expresses an arrogance that many people find difficult to bear. It is just such hubris and exclusivity that provokes many to resent and even distrust the scientific community.

For reflection
1.      Why is science not in a position to render judgments on spiritual matters? But why do members of the scientific community insist on doing so?

2.      If the scientific method is not the only way to truth, what might be some other ways? How can we know whether or not any of these is reliable?

3.      Science is a good gift of God. But like any good gift, it can be put to wrong uses. In your experience, do Christians believe the Bible to be a source of truth about the world and life? But is the method for getting at that truth a scientific method, or some other kind of method?

Next steps: What could you do to better equip yourself for assessing the truth claims of science by looking to the truth of Scripture? Talk with a pastor or church leader about this question.

Today at The Fellowship: Part 2 in our current ReVision study explains that our time is not ours at all – any more than we are. It all belongs to God. Take a look at the brief video introducing our booklet, If Men Will Pray, and calling men to a fuller and more consistent life of prayer. The current issue of Crosfigell points out that the appropriate posture for Kingdom citizens is that of a servant, like Jesus. Our newest books, The Kingdom Turn and The Poetry of Prayer can help you realize more of the presence, promise, and power for Kingdom living as a follower of Christ. We also encourage you to download this week’s PDF of our Scriptorium study of Acts 10 (Part 9). Finally, check out the state of your Christian worldview by watching the video and downloading the Personal Discipleship Inventory, a tool for evaluating your worldview and growing in Kingdom vision, disciplines, and outcomes.

Your support: We’re happy to provide The Week and other online resources at no charge. If this ministry is helpful to you, please consider joining those who support our work financially. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Dr., Essex Junction, VT 05452.

T. M. Moore