Articles
In Theory...
In Theory…
Or are we just guessing?
Launched in December of 2021, the new James Webb Space Telescope is truly a marvel of modern engineering. Its high-tech, high resolution, infrared imaging systems make the already awe-inspiring Hubble telescope look like a child’s backyard telescope in comparison. Scientists can peer into distant galaxies in ways they could never see before, and they have discovered something. Lead study author and professor of physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University, Adam Reiss, described this discovery: “With the measurement errors negated, what remains is the real and exciting possibility we have misunderstood the universe.”
Science is a topic often kept at arm’s length by Christians because of the connotation it brings in modern times of atheism and anti-God mentalities. It is true that, like any other passion in life, science can become a “god” and “religion” in its own rite, that fact does not mean we should reject it outright. Man has engaged with scientific endeavors since the beginning of time. Let us look at Adam. In Genesis 2:15, Moses writes, by inspiration, “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” This was man’s first job, and it gave him purpose. Working in a garden, you figure out which ways work best for certain jobs. While we may not think of it that way, the process of observing what is happening, formulating a question about how to manipulate the things in the garden, making a plan on how to do what needs to be done in the garden and how he thinks that plan will work out, executing the plan, analyzing the result and adjusting to do it better the next time is what we call today the scientific method. Following this idea, eventually man finds new ways to do things, produces new inventions, finds new ways to make mistakes, and eventually finds out that having knowledge about how the world works improves all our lives and gives us the ability to further praise God. Louis Pasteur, the man who discovered the process of pasteurization, and discoverer of the principles of vaccination, is attributed to saying this about science: “Science is the praise of God by studying His creation.”
So, what is Adam Reiss so excited about being wrong about? The theory of the big bang has been proven incorrect. People who profess Christianity will sing praises to this because we know the original creation of the universe, but theory is a jumping off point to understanding truth. Christians should not be afraid of theory and understanding of it. Theories like big bang, evolution, relativity, string, quantum, behavioral, etc. are good to be understood for what they are: theoretical. Scientists who hang their entire existence on such things are to be pitied. Especially when those theories are proven false because they lose their understanding of their life and origin. Their false god falls from on high and is destroyed because it was not God in the first place. The scientist who worships the creation of his own hands and work is an idol worshiper just like the carpenter in Isaiah 44:14-17:
“He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, ‘Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!’ And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, ‘Deliver me, for you are my god!’”
Isaiah continues to pity the man noting that he took that wood and burned half of it, cooked with it, and then elevates the wood to something more than what it is. Isaiah calls these actions “shame” (v. 9) and marvels when he looks at this act wondering why the carpenter does not ask the question, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (v. 20)
Note that there is nothing wrong with the wood. It is good to warm oneself and to sustain oneself with cooked food and shelter, but when it comes to worship, then the evil is created, NOT revealed.
Learn and understand science. God blessed man with a mind that can understand and reason. In Isaiah 1:18 God invites man to, “Come now, let us reason together,” for the purpose of understanding who God is and what He does for us. One way we can do that is through the examination of His creation. Romans 1:20 says, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.”
Try your best to understand and embrace science. It is the creation of God to be able to create things like medicine, technology, and other things in life which improve our ability to live happy and productive lives in God’s service. Like with all things, pray never ceasing, keeping God at the front of your mind so that those things do not lead any of us astray. Pursue God through knowledge and understanding, and not pursuing knowledge and understanding as a god.
Lance Byers
10/12/2024
- In_Theory_10-12-24.pdf (56.35 kB)
