I often refer to Wikipedia, that unassailable bastion of compiled wisdom, not because I believe it to be particularly accurate, but because
it provides as good an understanding of how people currently use language as
can possibly be obtained. A Wikipedia definition is the gold standard for
lowest common denominator human knowledge. So while it may not represent what
everyone down through human history understood by the term “science”, let’s
give their definition a browse:
“Science (from Latin scientia, meaning “knowledge”) is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe.”
Sounds reasonable, no? So let’s get some things clear here:
I am not anti-science — and more importantly, neither
Christians nor the Scripture itself are anti-science — if by “science” we mean using
our God-given intelligence to puzzle out how things work and make life better
for each other. Who could reasonably be against the search for objective truth?
Who wouldn’t like better hygiene, a cure for cancer or buildings that remain standing in earthquakes?
“Science” in this sense is a perfectly sensible concept, and
something man was clearly designed for. It’s in our nature to ask questions and
look for answers.
I am, however, profoundly anti-science, if by “science” you
mean what most people actually mean by it: agenda-driven, government- or
special interest-funded pseudo-authority masquerading as universal truth.
Boiled down to its essence, it is a propaganda hammer used to bludgeon the most malleable minds into what are — today, at least — the most politically acceptable shapes.
It is about as far from the original concept as it is possible to have come.
