“Why Do You Hate Science?”

Cloyd B. Frock, Jr.
Parsons, Kansas
It’s 2014, and that means it’s time for another round of politics as we edge closer and closer to November. It also means that we will begin to hear some old familiar rhetoric in popular media; one question that seems to be gaining in popularity with each election cycle is this: “Since you don’t believe the theory of evolution, why do you hate science?”
The purpose of this question, of course, is to stoke the flames of the decades old debate between those who accept God’s word concerning the creation of the heavens and the earth, and everything on the earth (Genesis 1-2), and those who accept man’s word that the heavens and the earth, and everything on the earth, was merely the product of energy/matter coming together, in just the right way, by stupid chance. Their hope in asking this question is to publicly discredit any candidate who agrees with the apostle Paul’s statement in First Thessalonians 2:13 “…when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God…”¹
Interestingly, both Christianity and science agree that someone, or something, must have existed eternally, because it’s universally acknowledged that if ever there were nothing, then nothing could now exist; and so, if something now exists, then something must have existed before!
In order to “get around” an eternally existent God, atheists needed an alternative theory to God, and “the law of conservation of energy” was developed.
Either God or Energy/Matter.
The law of conservation of energy is said to be a fundamental concept of physics, and states that the total amount of energy in an isolated system (such as our universe) remains constant, implying that energy can neither be created nor destroyed; only changed from one form to another (i.e., pure energy to matter, and matter back to pure energy). According to the California Energy Commission, “Energy can be transformed into another sort of energy. But it cannot be created AND it cannot be destroyed. Energy has always existed in one form or another.”² Yet, the apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:16-17, “For by [Jesus Christ] all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.”
This leaves us with a strong disjunction: either “all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible…by [Jesus Christ]” (Col. 1:16), or “…energy was not created…energy has always existed.” Both possibilities cannot be true! And, these two possibilities exhaust all possibilities for consideration!
Recognizing the choice before us, let’s revisit that argument we are likely to begin hearing in a few months, which states that “If one does not believe the theory of evolution, then he or she must hate science.” I’ll give you a moment to think about it. That’s all it should take you – just one moment – because it should quickly impress any rational thinker that one need NOT agree with EVERY scientific “theory” in order to agree with SOME scientific “theory.” Indeed, in his own scientific pursuits, Albert Einstein rejected portions of Isaac Newton’s theory of gravity; did Albert Einstein, therefore, hate science?
Christianity is NOT Opposed to Science.
The question then arises, “May a Christian reject some scientific theory (such as the false theory of evolution), while continuing to believe other scientific theories and observations?”
Paul wrote in Romans 1:20, “…since the creation of the world [God’s] invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead…” We also read in First Thessalonians 5:21 that Christians are to “test (prove, KJV) all things; hold[ing] fast what is good.”
In other words, our Christian faith is based not on that which we cannot see and prove, but rather on that which we can see and prove. What our atheist friends fail to recognize is that Christianity is a “thinking man’s” religion! Our faith in what cannot be seen is founded upon the evidence of that which we can see and analyze (science).
God has given us a mind with which to properly reason, and then make conclusions that are warranted by the evidence; by far, there is more than sufficient evidence that the God of our Bible IS the creator of all things in the universe.
Conclusion.
If there is adequate evidence that God created all things in the heavens and on the earth, then why are so many people determined to continue arguing to the contrary? The answer is simple. If energy/matter is the author of all life, including mankind, then who cares how one lives? Live anyway you like, because there is no objective standard of morality that originates from rocks and dirt. If, on the other hand, the God of our Bible is the author of everything (and He is), and if He has revealed to mankind an objective standard of morality by which to operate within the universe, transcending every standard of morality that man, or a society of men, might devise (and He has), then all mankind, everywhere, is subject to the authority of God, and to His objective standard of morality.

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