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

Disciplines
Social Science
It’s common knowledge that the scientific community likes to think of itself as the arbiter of truth. Whatever science demonstrates – and only what science demonstrates – should be regarded as truth.

This attitude is perhaps understandable among practitioners of the hard sciences, those scientists who deal with matter and its composition, properties, uses, and the like. Even these, however, can only speak with limited finality about their subjects. They can’t tell us, for example, what the Scriptures do about all manner of matter, that, being the product of divine creative and sustaining power, all matter reveals something about God and calls us to acknowledge, seek, and worship Him.

Material science is thus limited in what it can say about the stuff of the cosmos. But let’s be fair: the hard sciences have done a very good job of analyzing matter and helping us to understand its properties and potential, even though material scientists ignore or misconstrue the larger transcendent and spiritual implications of the fact of the cosmos itself.

The social sciences, on the other hand, have always been a little suspect when it comes to conclusions that might be regarded as true. Sociologists, economists, psychologists, educators, and so forth do not deal with the raw material of the cosmos, except indirectly; rather, the subject of their study is the human being, and the purpose of their studies is to identify tendencies, behaviors, inclinations, and so forth. The goal of such research is to identify universal traits, which can then be reduced to prescriptive behaviors.

Many of the findings of social scientists have turned out to be unreliable, and at least one of the reasons for this is that the subject pools of their research have been too small, too specific, or too changeable over time.

Robert Colville, writing in the July 20, 2016 issue of Aeon, provides an excellent example of the fallibility of social science (“Spot the WEIRDo”). He explains that many of the research conclusions which have been passed off as scientific truth and exported as valid for all societies have come from studies done with American college students in the confines of a research lab. Not only is this a highly unrepresentative segment of the American – much less the world – population, the restrictions of laboratory research can be easily gamed or can lead to findings that hold true in a lab, but not in life.

The results of social science research on US undergraduates gets reported as scientific truth in papers published in journals or read at conferences. These papers often become books purporting to have discovered a condition or behavior that should be regarded as normal for all human beings, when in fact, it’s not really clear that the condition or behavior is normal even for the subjects under study.

This may seem harmless and irrelevant when we’re thinking at the level of scientific conferences and academic papers. But when such papers become the ground on which drugs are created to alter or control behavior, or when they intend to instruct parents and educators on what constitutes normal for child development or behavior, or when the findings of such studies are put forward as a basis for moral decision-making, problems can arise.

The fact is, research in the social sciences often – perhaps most often – reports findings that are derived from tightly-controlled environments which are culturally-specific, separated from real life, and involving subject pools that do not represent the human population in the US, much less in the world. Mr. Colville concludes, “The fact that so much of what we think we know about human nature might apply only to US undergraduates – and, beyond that, to US undergraduates under the artificial conditions imposed by the laboratory – ought to set alarm bells ringing.” In fact, however, the scientific community merely shrugs and keeps on chugging.

It is inconvenient and expensive to do the kind of true research, in a variety of settings and cultures, that might yield the kind of information which can be considered reliable for all human beings. But there is money to be gained – from funding agencies, publishers, and drug manufacturers – by continuing in the status quo. No universal standards describing human nature and practice are acknowledged by the scientific community, so researchers must keep a finger in the wind and an eye on the sky. And the rest of us just have to hope for the best from what passes as scientific research on the part of those who want to tell the rest of us how we ought to think, feel, relax, raise our children, and in general, behave.

The Bible, of course, offers a wealth of insight to human nature and conduct, truths which have been shown to be reliable across cultures and through the ages, and which much of best social science research confirms, yet without acknowledging.

For reflection
1.  What would be some examples of universal truth concerning human nature found in the Bible?                                                               

2.  What does a casual reading of the Ten Commandments suggest about universal human needs, practices, or tendencies? Do the laws of our society seem to confirm any of these?

3.  Do you think social science research would be improved if social scientists were better informed about the teaching of Scripture? Explain.

Next steps: Use your answer to question 2 as a conversation starter with a non-Christian friend or co-worker. Can they see the wisdom encoded in God’s Law for guiding human relationships?

Today at The Fellowship
ReVision: While the currency of the Kingdom economy is grace, we still have to make our way in a world where an economy of getting-and-spending prevails. This week’s series, Kingdom Commerce, shows us how to keep the grace intact as the money changes hands. Download the free PDF by clicking here.

Crosfigell: Two spiritual disciplines have been the focus of our Crosfigell devotionals this week – feeding on the Word of God and learning to practice a self-watch. If you missed them, you can read them by clicking here.

Scriptorium: The Jerusalem council concludes, and the churches get back to the ongoing work of the Lord. Download this week’s PDF of our Scriptorium study of Acts 15.11-16.10 (Part 14). Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch, only to become caught up in a major doctrinal dispute.

Voices Together: John Nunnikhoven’s daily meditations can help you in the practical work of prayer and obedience.

In the Bookstore: 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.

Videos: 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.

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T. M. Moore