Date: December 12, 2022
Host: Jim Schneider
Guest: Jay Seegert
MP3 | Order
How many times have you heard the phrase: settled science. It’s been used in regard to man-caused climate change, the use of COVID masks, social distancing, and more. We’re told that the debate is over and we must act now because if we don’t, there will be grave consequences. If you resist or even dare to ask probing questions, you’re labeled a science denier.
How should a Christian respond when confronted like this? Joining Jim for discussion on this issue was Jay Seegert. Jay is the keynote speaker and managing director of The Starting Point Project. He is the author of Creation to Christ, Creation & Evolution, and Faith is Not a Four-Letter Word. He also has produced numerous videos. He holds degrees in both Physics and Engineering Technology. He’s a former president of the Creation Science Society of Milwaukee.
First of all, what is science? Jay explained that in the Bible, science means knowledge, but it doesn’t mean wisdom. He went on to note that most major areas of science were birthed out of the Christian community. For example: antiseptic surgery, calculus, chemistry, computer science, electrodynamics, fluid mechanics, galactic astronomy, gas dynamics, genetics, hydraulics, hydrostatics, oceanography, optical mineralogy, paleontology, physical astronomy, thermodynamics, thermokinetics, the scientific method, and many more were founded by Bible-believing Christians.
The founders of these fields of study took it for granted that God created everything and since God is a God of order they expected to see order in His creation. So a simplistic definition of science would be the search for explanations in the natural world around us to see how it functions. In other words, what did God do to get these things to work.
Since then, the definition has been hijacked. Ruling out the supernatural from the beginning, now it’s become the search for “natural” explanations for the world around us.
With this definition changed, some are misled on their science in sincere efforts to accomplish something they believe is good. Others use it as a “club” and an opportunity to beat others into submission to get them to do what they want. For example:
- They will purposely engage in that which is overly technical in order to avoid push-back.
- Elephant Hurling—This involves the use of large, vacuous statements like, “Evolution is an absolute fact!” or “It’s proven from every area of science!” These are simply large statements thrown out without any supporting evidence.
- Appeal to Authority—This is when someone says something must be true because the world’s leading authorities say it’s so.
- Shaming–This is where people will state that if you don’t believe something or do what you’re being told, you’re obviously a science denier.
As you can see, the idea of “settled science” can have a lot of misleading elements attached to it. Find out what to watch/listen for and how to respectfully respond when you review this edition of Crosstalk.
More Information
