Science and faith… does one disprove the other, or do they work hand-in-hand? It’s a big question people have argued over for centuries. But this question takes on an even greater weight in light of the philosophical concept of Scientism – the belief that science is the only way to render truth about the world and reality. If that is the case, then how can we possibly hope to claim anything true about our faith, which cannot be tested in a laboratory.
‘Science yields facts but not “value judgements”; religion expresses values but cannot “speak of facts”.’ – Einstein
Kantian dualism has led to us believing there is a distinction between subjective values and objective facts. That science will only ever produce the latter, and religion will only produce the former. But is that really the case? I think that there is a problem here with this distinction, and that facts are not only found in test tubes and petri dishes, but in hearts and minds.
You can say all you want about living your own truth, but if I gave you these two statements:
- Torturing babies is wrong.
- The world is made up of atoms.
Scientism would have to say that 2 is a fact, but 1 is only a moral opinion. It is a widely held and generally accepted opinion, but they cannot categorically say that it is true.
But surely they are both true.
In the same way, scientism would have us think that the things we believe about God can’t be true, because they are not things that can be proven with science.
So what am I trying to say in all this?
If you hold science above all else, it may be time to re-evaluate what you consider to be true.
Are facts just the things science tells us, or can we know that God loves us, and sent his Son to die for us as truths? I would say the latter.
And why does this matter?
Well, because it is knowledge of truths that gives us the authority to act.
You don’t trust a mechanic to fix your car because he has the opinion that he can, but rather because he has the knowledge of how to do so.
In the same way, God has called us to live for him and make disciples because of the knowledge we have of Him. We don’t need to have scientific data to know in our hearts what is true.
Psalm 46:10 says: “Be still, and know that I am God.”
It does not say think that I am God, or have the value judgement that I am God, but know that I am God.
This article was written based on a session I attended by Tim Miller, Lecturer at Moorlands Bible College
