December 2, 2007

 

Cawson St. Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia

Mural Worthey

 

Is Science Ever Wrong?

 

Introduction: Recently, I was listening to a discussion on television about global warming. Many scientists have signed off on this theory that man has, in large measure, caused the earth to warm by carbon pollution. Others have shown great skepticism over the subject. What caught my attention was the attitude of one speaker who suggested that no one should question the finding of scientists. Science is always right. This same disposition is evident regarding the theory of evolution. Evolution is presented as proven fact; case closed. Only the unlearned and ignorant would deny evolution, they imply.

 

Therefore, I want to raise the question, Is science ever wrong? Have scientists ever been confident of their findings only later to discover that it was very wrong? We could say that true science (which means to know) is right. But Paul referred to oppositions of “science falsely so called.” (1 Tim. 6:20, KJV.) The NIV says “falsely called knowledge.”

 

The apostle Peter named one of the reasons for blunders among scientists. He said that some believe that no catastrophe in nature has ever occurred; these were those mocking the Second Coming of Jesus and the destruction of the world. But, Peter added, they are willingly ignorant of the flood. (2 Peter 3:4-5.) If geologists admitted the world-wide flood of Noah’s Day recorded in Scripture, it would keep them from making many false assumptions about the age of the earth and what they find in the strata of the earth. One of the great mistakes of scientists is based upon what Peter pointed out here. Non-believing geologists believe in the doctrine of uniformitarianism instead of catastrophism. Jesus called the Flood a cataclysm.

 

Yes, of Course! We could simply answer the question, Is science ever wrong, by saying, Of course it has been. Every field of study has made propositions that it later regretted and retracted. Have religious teachers ever been wrong? Yes, but what we are maintaining is that we can know the truth about life and eternity. Truth does not change with time; it does not become obsolete. Absolute truth is available.

 

Jesus said, “If you continue in my word, you shall be my disciples indeed; you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32.) This is the rub. Many people deny that truth is knowable. One man wrote, If any man thinks that he has found the truth, he is mistaken. Jesus said that it is possible to know truth.

 

Science and philosophy are the two areas of human endeavor that has, in large measure, set themselves over against religion. They promote the virtues of science over the claims of revealed religion.

 

Due credit to science. I want to give due credit to the field of science. They have given us great benefits in the improvement of our lives on earth. No one should deny the astonishing advances in science. On the other hand, we should not overstate the case. Science is always a growing and learning process. Old theories are cast out for new ones. Science learns new things every year. But herein lies the difference between Christianity and science. Truth does not change. We do not have a different gospel to preach today than in the first century. Creation is the truth about our origin; evolution is not accurate. We ought not to allow science to become our god; but in America and around the world, we have done so. Science can harm people by misleading them, not only about science, but about God. Science is speaking out of its field when it speaks concerning matters of faith.

 

It is almost blasphemy for anyone to suggest that science could possibly be wrong. All we have to do is to look in the past in order to see that science has been wrong and there were many things that it did not know.

 

Science and art. The attitude toward the supremacy of science can be seen from how people talk about science and art. Many speak of art as being subjective, not controlled by set rules; a free expression of the individual. Some will say, But that is art not science. They speak about science as if it is exact; always accurate; controlled by rules and indisputable facts.

 

 

Some Examples of Science Being Mistaken

 

1—Germs and diseases. Medical scientists once did not know about something as prevalent as germs and diseases. Doctors went from one patient to another without washing their hands or wearing gloves. They were blind to the existence of micro-organisms. Louis Pasteur of France, 1822-1895, showed that diseases can be spread by bacteria. Hospitals and doctors in his day first resisted his insistence that they should wash carefully before each surgery. Now it is standard practice and meticulously done.

 

In his day many scientists did not understand that living things come only from living things; that bacterium is a living organism. They believed in spontaneous generation; that is, that something alive could arise spontaneously from dirt. Pasteur showed that it was not so, but that bacteria could live in the ground or anywhere. More importantly, he argued that bacteria could be controlled by washing, sterilizing and vaccinations. Today we speak of pasteurized milk and cheese in honor of the work of Pasteur. Have medical scientists always been right? No, many of the advances in science and technology have been made in the last two centuries. They were and are wrong about spontaneous generation.

 

2—Vestigial organs. Scientists make many mistakes because all the sciences are based upon a fundamental and foundational error—the belief in evolution. Due to that single error, many other mistakes are made. The false doctrine of spontaneous generation is based upon the errors of evolution. Another follow-on error of evolution is the belief that certain organs of the human body are not necessary. They call them vestigial organs. Some of these are wisdom teeth, the appendix, tonsils, gall bladders, and hair. Evolutionists believe that these are left-over organs that man no longer needs.

 

The idea of vestigial structures was promoted in 1895 by German anatomist Robert Wiedersheim who claimed to have identified 186 vestigial structures in the human body. (See Reason and Revelation, Michael Houts, Nov. 2007, 85.) Since 1895, functions have been found or identified for all of the supposed 186 unnecessary organs of the human body. Here are some of those functions that have been discovered.

 

What about the appendix? Recent studies have identified numerous functions of the appendix, especially in early childhood. Its greatest importance is the immunological function it provides in the developing embryo, but it continues to function even in the adult. Its functions seem to be to expose circulating immune cells to antigens from the bacteria and other organisms living in your intestines. Digestion requires a large amount of bacteria. When certain illnesses kill the good bacteria, the appendix reboots the digestive system. By the time you reach adulthood your body can identify friend from foe and the appendix is not as useful.

 

What about the gall bladder? Is the gall bladder unnecessary? No, it has a function in the body. The bile in the bladder flows to the liver and into the small intestines to aid in digestion. When the bladder becomes infected or stones form, it must sometimes be removed. But it does have a function. When it is removed, some people must drink a solution before they eat to aid them in the digestion of their food.

 

What about some of our DNA? Evolutionists once argued that large portions of our DNA were left-over junk from our evolutionary past. However recently, the human Genome Project has completed its study of the human DNA and their argument about large portions of it being unnecessary with no known function has evaporated.

 

What about the tonsils? Doctors once did not hesitate to remove the tonsils if you were experiencing difficulty with them, but now they are more hesitant to remove them. Why? Because they have a function in the human body. Though we do not know all the functions of the tonsils, medical scientists believe that they aid in protecting the respiratory and digestive systems from infection. Can you live without them? Yes, but that does not mean that they do not have a function.

 

What about wisdom teeth? Why do most adults have their wisdom teeth removed? Are they an evolutionary piece that we do not have space for?

Wisdom teeth are vestigial third molars. In earlier times, when tooth loss in early adulthood was common, an additional molar had the potential to fill in a gap left by the loss of another tooth. It has also been postulated that the skulls of human ancestors had larger jaws with more teeth, which were possibly used to help chew down foliage to compensate for a lack of ability to efficiently digest the cellulose that makes up a plant cell wall. As human diet changed, a smaller jaw was selected by evolution, yet the third molars, or "wisdom teeth", still commonly develop in human mouths.^[6]   Johnson, Dr. George B.. "Evidence for Evolution (Page 12)." Txtwriter Inc.. 8 Jun 2006.

Actually, we have three sets of molars on each plate to grind our food. The third set of molars is called wisdom teeth because you are older and wiser when you have these teeth. Have you noticed that some people are larger than others?? A man in Norfolk recently was in the news because his wife called the Guinness Book of Records due to his size. George Bell is 7’-8’’ tall and wears a 19 shoe. He works as a security guard, which is a good job for a giant! He is the tallest man in the USA. He would probably have room for four or five sets of molars. The overall size of the body makes a difference in jaw size.

 

3—No human being has ever seen a dinosaur. Science books continue to propagate this erroneous view. Recently we viewed a video series by Dr. Brad Harrub on “The Dinosaur Dilemma.” He mentioned a notation inside a science book which read: “No man has ever seen a dinosaur.” This is one of the great blunders of unbelieving scientists. It is caused by the presupposition of evolution. This single false judgment has produced many offspring.

 

If no man has ever seen a dinosaur, how did the Indians in the Grand Canyon draw very accurate pictures of them on the walls of the caves? How do we have human foot prints in the same rock strata with foot prints of dinosaurs? Job 40:15-24 describes a dinosaur. (Dinosaur is a Greek word coined about 1845; Job was written in Hebrew centuries before. Therefore, the word dinosaur does not occur in the Bible.) God said that he moved his tail like a cedar tree. How could God be telling Job about something that he had never seen? The truth is that dinosaurs did not live millions of years ago. They were created on the sixth; the same day that all mammals and man were created. Dinosaurs and man have the same birthday.

 

4—Drain blood to cure illnesses. Medical scientists for a long time did not know that life was contained in the blood of man and animals. Yet, Leviticus recorded that truth long ago. (Lev. 17:11.) Doctors would often drain large quantities of blood from a patient in an effort to save the person; yet it often killed the patient.

An article on the internet about what caused Washington’s death is as follows: “Washington was stricken with several diseases in his life which brought him near death. This predated the science of bacteriology at a time when medical men thought major diseases were spread through fog, or miasma. Modern science has since relegated a number of diseases to the history books.

“Bloodletting as a form of treatment began in prehistoric times. Medical men of the 18th century continued the ancient practice which had its roots in magic and religion. Supposedly the bad blood or sickness was allowed to escape with the bloodletting. Perhaps originally it was to appease the spirit by sacrificing blood, the fluid of life.

During Washington's day it was felt that one's blood was a carrier of the impurities of disease and with bleeding, new healthy blood would replace what was lost.

The more serious the health problem the more blood would be taken. It was erroneously felt at the time that the blood would be replaced in the body in a few hours. Patients were actually bled to death or weakened to the point that death ensued.

"Nearly all men die of their remedies and not of their illnesses," French dramatist Moliere wrote in the 17th century.

George Washington died at the age of 67 due to the mistreatments of the day; mistreatments that were used to treat a throat infection.”