BIOLOGY THE SCIENCE OF LIFE AND THE GOD OF LIFE

GOD AND SCIENCE In Biology we see all sorts of amazing things, as well as a lot of disease, death, and suffering Why?

DEFINITION OF SCIENCE Science Nothing more than a tool, used by people We can gain knowledge on how the physical world around us works. Faith Heb 11:1 now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen Science requires a degree of faith Scientism Religious belief behind the theory that the earth evolved from a molten mass of rock to it’s present form

WHAT IS TRUTH? Is it what everyone believes? The Majority? Is it a hunch that works? Is it whatever is repeated by observations? Is it that which is logical? Deductive reasoning Proceeds from generalized premises to a specific conclusion If p then q, p therefore q Inductive reasoning Proceeds from specific examples to general conclusions If p then possibly q, p so more than likely q is true

WHAT IS TRUTH Is it that which is accepted by faith? Truth is the Word of God A worldview based on the Bible as the ultimate standard leads to knowledge of the Truth Remember – we cannot know anything apart from the Biblical God

GOD’S TRUTH AND SCIENCE Revealed truth Truth expressed in Scripture Theory Thought to be true, is not revealed truth, but may be a part of unrevealed truth Fallacy Any statement not a part of revealed or unrevealed truth Truth by Definition True because man has defined it, mathematics, grammar, spelling, and the meaning of words

THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD Observe Collect Classify Analyze Choose Verify Predict What if I told you that the Scientific Method is a Logical Fallacy?

FOR EXAMPLE Hypothesis If ice is added to a glass of water than the temperature will decrease observation Conclusion I added ice to a glass of water and the temperature decreased

AFFIRMING THE CONSEQUENT If p Then q p Therefore q In Formal Logic, Affirming the Consequent is a Logical Fallacy

WELL WHAT HAPPENS IF IT TURNS OUT FALSE? If P Then q Not q Therefore not p This is called Denying the Antecedent in Formal Logic

EITHER WAY YOU SLICE IT The Scientific Method itself is a Logical Fallacy This leads to some big questions: If it’s a Logical Fallacy, why does it work so well? How do Secular Scientists explain this? Why is the Scientific Method treated with such high esteem in our classrooms?

KARL POPPER – SECULAR PHILOSOPHER OF SCIENCE “Without waiting passively, for repetitions to impress or impose regularities upon us, we actively try to impose regularities on the world. We try to discover similarities in it, and to interpret it in terms of laws invented by us. Without waiting for premises, we jump to conclusions”

WHAT DOES A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW SAY OF THIS? Genesis 8:22 As long as the earth endures, seedtime in harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night will not cease. God is the Creator of Logic, it is a reflection of His mind. We have been created in His image, so we are able to use His Logic. He created patterns in the universe, so we expect to see patterns.

CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTS Control group vs. experimental group Independent variable The difference between the group Control group Not exposed to independent variable Experimental group Exposed to independent variable Dependent variable Factor measured in both control and experimental group

LIMITS OF SCIENCE Must deal with observable, repeatable, and measurable phenomena Can only describe not explain No experiment can be completely controlled Observations can be faulty Cannot establish truth People Bias – what someone wants to believe, in order to gain something

SCIENCE AND THE CHRISTIAN Scriptures Scientific Challenge God created Man in His image God gave stewardship over the earth God expects Man to use Science God told us to subdue and have dominion over the Earth Improper attitudes of Christians towards Science Science is anti-God, therefore to be rejected Proper attitudes of Christians towards Science The heavens Declare Gods’ Glory Worship

BIOLOGY THE STUDY OF LIFE What are the attributes of life? Exhibits movement Internal or external Assimilation Intake of food, breakdown and assembling to make up part of it’s living system Reproduction Comes from preexisting life Law of biogenesis Composed of cells

THE STUDY OF LIFE The Microscope uses light rays The Electron Microscope Uses electrons Can see much smaller organisms because electrons are smaller than light rays

VARIABLES IN BIOLOGICAL STUDY Harder to identify Harder to control Examples Age Gender Health Size

VALIDITY OF BIOLOGICAL STUDY Because there are far too many errors… Errors can be made in observations Errors can result if the specimen is atypical Errors can be made when techniques are crude Biologists must repeat many times with a high percentage of results

MODELS Representation of a concept, or thing Heliocentric model of the universe Plant cell Based on Workability What might work now, might not work given new information