Journal 9/8/15 Is there anything in your life that you are 100% certain about? Anything you know for sure? Objective Tonight’s Homework To learn about the limitations of scientific reasoning. none

Certainty of Knowledge Let’s dig deeper with this journal with a class discussion.

Limitations of Science Science has limits. It’s not meant to do everything and discover everything. So let’s define science. What is science?

Limitations of Science Science has limits. It’s not meant to do everything and discover everything. So let’s define science. What is science? Science is learning about the observable world by performing tests that can be repeated. Science can only answer things that can be seen and tested. It doesn’t cover the spiritual world because that world isn’t observed here on Earth directly.

Limitations of Science To be scientific, something has to be testable. I can come up with any theories I want on how evolution supposedly worked millions of years ago, but if there’s nothing for me to test or observe, it’s not really science. To be science, it has to be repeatable. God designed the universe with set and constant rules. If I see something or know of something but can’t make it happen again, on command, it’s not science. This is why people with “psychic” abilities aren’t connected to science. They claim they can’t make their abilities work on command.

Limitations of Science So science can only answer the “how” and “what” of the world. It can’t answer why we exist, what we should do with the things we learn, whether something is right or wrong, or whether we even should know something. Science is a tool to explain the world, not an instruction manual on what you’re supposed to do with that tool.

Limitations of Science Science also has limitations. The biggest is us. Our frail, mistake-making human bodies. Sometimes we observe things wrong, record it wrong, or simply lie about what we’ve seen. We put too much value in “facts”, when facts can change. 100 years ago, it was common scientific “fact” that you could measure the shape of someone’s skull to learn about their personalities and what kinds of skills they were good at. It was called “phrenology” and it turns out it’s 100% wrong.

Limitations of Science Science is also limited in how we’re supposed to use it. Science can’t make value judgments. It can’t tell us if something is right or wrong. Only God can give us that understanding. Science can also never be 100% sure of something. We’ve seen that stuff falls when I drop it, but all we need is for something to break this rule once, and the whole thing falls apart. Science can never prove things… just disprove them.

Limitations of Science Science is just a tool. It’s neither bad nor good. To learn about value judgments and proof, we have to turn to God. He can answer “why we’re here”. He can tell us what’s right and wrong. He can reveal what’s happening in the unseen spiritual world. Science and religion answer different questions. The world will try to make you believe that science “disproves” God because we have no scientific evidence. But science is just a tool. You can use it to support Christianity as well. Always remember that these two disciplines answer different basic questions.

Limitations of Science One last thing: Science often falls into what’s called a “bias against the supernatural”. This means scientists assume things like miracles are automatically false because they have no evidence. Instead of starting neutral and seeing what the evidence says, they’ll start by being against it and be looking for things that support that view, even if they’re not doing it on purpose.

Limitations of Science Let’s wrap up class with a classwork activity about this. On the next slide are a number of scientific topics that seem to damage or be against religion. Use what you’ve learned about the limitations of science to come up with a good argument for how these don’t “disprove” religion.

Limitations of Science 1) After Moses led the people out of Egypt, a million Jews wandered the desert for 40 years. And yet there’s no evidence of this in the desert. That’s too many people not to have left a trace! 2) Both geology and astronomy claim that the universe / world is many billions of years old. Doesn’t that disprove the Bible right there? 3) People used to think that thunder was God’s wrath and disease was punishment from God. People just seem to use “God” as an explanation for things they don’t understand. 4) If miracles are real, why is it that no one you personally know has actually seen one or had one happen to them? Shouldn’t there at least be youtube videos?

Exit Question What kind of question can science not answer? a) Why do certain people groups hate others? b) How old is the oldest recorded human city? c) Do people generally live longer if they believe in God? d) Do people actually have a soul? e) All the above are scientific f) None of the above are scientific