HAVE WE PUT SCIENTISTS ON THE PEDESTAL OF IMPARTIALITY?

 


Many scientists present themselves as completely impartial truth-seekers. However, the evidence reveals something very different. Scientist John C. Lennox has written:

• Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg, for one, has no hesitation in saying so: “The world needs to wake up from the long nightmare of religion… Anything we scientists can do to weaken the hold of religion should be done, and may in fact be our greatest contribution to civilization.” That is the New Atheists’ stated goal in a nutshell; and the observant reader will not miss the totalitarian sounding word “anything” in Weinberg’s statement. 

• [Richard] Dawkins states the goal this way: “If this book works as I intend, religious readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down,” even though in his next sentence he recognizes that this might just be presumptuous optimism. He wants not only to rally the faithful (atheists) and to encourage them to “come out” for their faith (for such it is, despite their protests to the contrary as we shall see); but also to proselytize —to “raise the consciousness” of others, by describing the attractions of the New Atheism —thus increasing the footprint of atheism on the demographic landscape.

“Award-winning Finnish biotechnologist Matti Leisola has written a fascinating account of what happens when a scientist follows the evidence wherever it leads. Leisola’s account of how he succeeded should inspire up-and-coming scientists who face the same challenge.” (Biologist Jonathan Wells, PhD):

• Over and over again I have encountered materialist fanaticism from people who are not ready to give up their views in the face of contrary evidence. Actually, they usually are not even interested in considering the evidence.

Why do scientists not consider any explanations outside of the naturalistic/materialize box?

• ...most scientists who go along with methodological materialism put about as much thought into it as they do breathing. I was that way. And in hundreds of discussions over the years I have witnessed a blindness to basic philosophical commitments in many kinds of people from at least thirty different nationalities. Even among scientists few are aware of their basic presuppositions. Most of them consider science a neutral search for truth.

Perhaps we have placed the scientist on an undeserved and impregnable pedestal.

WAITING ON THE LORD

 

 

One of the most puzzling things about the Bible is the promised blessings for obedience and the curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28,29). Well, what’s so puzzling about them? Often, the Psalmists lament at seeing that the evil are blessed and the righteous cursed:

 

·       For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek. They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind. (Psalm 73:3-5)

 

He therefore was tormented by what he had been observing:

 

·       All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. (Psalm 73:13)

 

Are the promised blessings for the righteous a vain hope? Should we instead live like the unrighteous do? The Psalmist finally was comforted by a divine revelation and enabled to see the big picture:

 

·       When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you. Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. (Psalm 73:21-24)

 

What made the difference? God had enabled him to see the eternal reward. The promised blessings would be fulfilled in heaven. Therefore, the Bible instructs us to have patience and wait:

 

·       Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! (Psalm 37:5-7)

 

One source claimed, “The word “wait” appears 139 times throughout the books of the Bible.” Clearly, patience and waiting are thoroughly Biblical:

 

·       But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)

 

Therefore, we shouldn’t be discouraged if our prayers seem to go unanswered, and we are afflicted as Paul had been (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Meanwhile, we are required to persevere in well-doing:

 

·       And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)

 

If we receive immediate blessings when sowing our good deeds, do not expect to receive an immediate payoff in the future:

 

·       Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains… (James 5:7)

 

Waiting is the norm, despite the claims that we should expect immediate prayer results:

 

·       Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame; they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous...Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. (Psalm 25:3, 5)

 

We are required to suffer as Christ had (2 Corinthians 4:10-11). Therefore, our Reward is not to be found in this world. Instead, like Jesus, we endure by looking to the next world:

 

·       looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2)

 

Nevertheless, along with the painful trials, our Savior will also deliver us, in due time, to teach us to trust in Him:

 

·       No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

 

But God often doesn’t provide the “way of escape” on the next block. He has His own timetable (1 Peter 5:10).

 

If we are prepared to wait, we will not so easily become discouraged. If we expect immediate results, we might think that something is terribly wrong with what God had promised or even our faith.

 

Why do we have trouble waiting? I think that one big reason is that we fail to understand the need for it. Therefore, we grieve when we have to endure “needless” suffering.

 

Perhaps we are relying too much on our own limited reasoning, but we are warned against this:

 

·       Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding…Be not wise in your own eyes. (Proverbs 3:5, 7)

 

Sometimes, I am wise in my own eyes. I had to endure four setbacks due to lower back spasms, and I could see no purpose in it! Result—anger and despair. Instead, I had to remind myself that my Savior has a blessed purpose for it (Romans 8:28) preparing me for heaven:

 

·       For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. (2 Corinthians 4:17)

 

We might not be able to see it, but we must praise Him for it (Romans 5:2-5). We must grow in the appreciation of how little we know (1 Corinthians 8:2). Then, we will be more willing to trust in what the Lord knows.

TRUSTING GOD

 

 

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.”

(Isaiah 26:3-4)

 

I think that depression, anxiety, and worry result when we obsess on ourselves. What then is the antidote? Trusting in God! Isaiah claims that we are kept in perfect peace by trusting in God, by directing our mind to obsess on Him. As a result, I try to carry my memory verses whenever I go to prompt me to rejoice in Him. Jesus taught:

 

·       “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)

 

Our Lord is the only answer, even for our righteousness and self-esteem:

 

·       Indeed, I count everything as loss [as a source for self-righteousness] because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. (Philippians 3:8-9)

 

Not to say that his education was rubbish! However as a source of righteousness, Paul had despaired of earning it through obedience to the Law. He could only obtain it through faith in Christ. This wasn’t an easy lesson to learn. He first had to despair of self-trust, something almost impossible for those who regard themselves as “accomplished”:

 

·       For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:8-9)

 

The Christian must graduate from self-trust to God-trust. It seems that this isn’t possible without a great deal of suffering, which gradually enables us to take our eyes off ourselves and onto our only Hope!

 

You might think, “It is just too difficult to trust in God?” It’s not hard. Just make a commitment—“I will decide to trust in God, even though it seems to be beyond my ability”:

 

·       Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. (Psalm 37:3-5)

 

Let us simply decide to commit our lives to Him, and He will do the rest! This means that we also commit our lives to faithfulness and to confess our sins when we fail.