As young people increasingly adopt the worldview of naturalism, secular peer-reviewed science is often viewed as the only evidence-based investigation of reality. Little do they know, the perception that science can answer all of our issues is deeply flawed. It is not science, it is scientism.

The Devil’s Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions is a book written by David Berlinski, a secular Jew, in response to Richard Dawkin’s book The God Delusion. Below is a quote from Berlinski.

Has anyone provided a proof of God’s inexistence? Not even close.

Has quantum cosmology explained the emergence of the universe or why it is here? Not even close.

Have the sciences explained why our universe seems to be fine-tuned to allow for the existence of life? Not even close.

Are physicists and biologists willing to believe in anything so long as it is not religious thought? Close enough.

Has rationalism in moral thought provided us with an understanding of what is good, what is right, and what is moral? Not close enough.

Has secularism in the terrible twentieth century been a force for good? Not even close to being close.

Is there a narrow and oppressive orthodoxy of thought and opinion within the sciences? Close enough.

Does anything in the sciences or in their philosophy justify the claim that religious belief is irrational? Not even ballpark.

Is scientific atheism a frivolous exercise in intellectual contempt? Dead on.

Yet, even with these glaring issues, those who adhere to scientism treat the beliefs of religious people as if they were simply faith-based and not evidence-based. The following quote from Richard Dawkins exemplifies scientism’s view of faith.

Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence. (Dawkins, 2006)

On the contrary, the Christian view of faith is not blind faith. In fact, the reason why the word ‘faith’ needs to be qualified with the adjective ‘blind’ is because faith itself is not intrinsically blind. Scholar John Lennox in his book God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? provides a brilliant definition of faith.

Indeed, faith is a response to evidence, not a rejoicing in the absence of evidence. (Lennox, 2007)

I’ve written posts on the evidence for God’s existence and the evidence for the Bible being both reliable and credible. The purpose of this post is to help people understand that the Bible is not in conflict with science. 

There are two major categories of science. First, empirical or observational science which deals with events in the present which are observable and repeatable. Second, historical or forensic science which deals with events in the past which are unobservable and unrepeatable. 

In terms of the alleged discrepancies between the Bible and science, the age of the earth and evolution are often talked about. It’s important to recognize that these issues are of secondary importance and not of primary importance because it is possible for people who hold Scripture in high regard to come to different conclusions. Of course, I believe the position I take is correct and that other positions are wrong. However, the issue of primary importance is the reliability and credibility of Scripture. Therefore, no one legitimately rejects Christianity based on issues such as the age of the earth and evolution, especially given the variety of views within Christianity.