July 7, 2004 (Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -

The following is an excerpt from the article “Science and the Bible” by Gary Zoella, from http://www.dtl.org/bible/article/science.htm --

So in the fields of biology, physics, and astronomy, theories and "facts" which were once accepted as true had to be modified or replaced by new ones.

Karl Popper, a leading philosopher of science, sums up the situation:

“First, although in science we do our best to find the truth, we are conscious of the fact that we can NEVER be sure we have got it.... We know that our scientific theories ALWAYS remain hypotheses. In science there is NO ‘knowledge’ in the sense in which Plato and Aristotle understood the word, in the sense which implies finality; in science, we NEVER have sufficient reason for the belief that we have attained the truth.... Our attempts to see and to find the truth are not final, but open to improvement; ... our knowledge, our doctrine is conjectural; ... it consists of guesses, of hypotheses, rather than of final and certain truths (quoted in John Robbins, "An Introduction to Gordon Clark: Part 2" in The Trinity Review, August 1993, p. 3).

Even Dr. Paul Kurtz (drafter of Humanist Manifesto II) states, "The change of a theory is to the credit of science. SCIENCE IS NOT ABSOLUTE. IT'S NOT FIXED. IT'S NOT FINAL. It's an open method of investigation" (quoted in John Ankerberg, Secular Humanism, 1986, p.14).

Theologian John Robbins explains why science is of such a nature:

One of the insuperable problems of science is THE FALLACY OF INDUCTION; indeed, induction is an insuperable problem for all forms of empiricism [attempts to attain knowledge by the senses]. The problem is simply this: Induction, arguing from the particular to the general, is ALWAYS A FALLACY. No matter how many white swans one observes, one never has sufficient reason to say all swans are white (Robbins, p. 2).

So science is, "always learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth" (see 2 Tim 3:7). As such ... science CANNOT prove the Bible is false. A discipline which is always changing, and which can never be sure it has actually arrived at truth, cannot be used as a standard for determining truth. ...

To determine issues of truth and falsehood, and right and wrong, we need an unchanging and infallible standard. And this standard is found only in the Bible.

The Bible is God's unchanging revelation of truth. Only it presents a reliable, logically consistent, and coherent explanation of reality (Acts 17:22-31). As such, the Bible is the standard by which all claims to truth, including those of science, are to be judged. It is also the starting point for discussing all ethical issues.

"To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20).