This morning Russia Licenses Faith Healers topped my new mail. The one who forwarded it to me commented, They are soooo far ahead of us.
A brief search brought the article up in a number of places including a blog entitled Physics and Physicists. And this is just the type of strawman than both major and minor Oracles of Science would point out as an example of why faith should be left in the dust by the progress of science Which brings me to the three attributes of science as inferred (and at times stated/incarnated) by the six Oracles of Science, according to Karl Giberson and Mariano Artigas. Note: the first is not relevant to the above story, but I’m including it so all three are on the table.
- Science is mainly about origins and most scientists are working on some aspect of either cosmic or biological evolution.
- Scientists are either agnostic or atheistic.
- Science is incompatible with and even hostile to religion.
I confess that my two streams of thought are too much for one post, but none-the-less here you go and we’ll work them out in future posts (or through comments):
- Do we really need the Oracles of Science to guide or at least strongly influence the way we respond to news such as Russia Licenses Faith Healers or are the Oracles of Science only part of a larger drift in contemporary culture? Or possibly not even necessary to question Russia Licenses Faith Healers as such practices tied to money making have been questioned across time/culture.
- Do the above three attributes of science represent science in its totality? My short answer is No.
About the author:
Tom enjoys daily conversations regarding living out the Biblical Story with his wife Theresa and their four girls, around the block, at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church (where he teaches adult electives and co-leads a small group), among healthcare professionals as the Northeast Regional Director for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations (CMDA), and in higher ed as a volunteer with the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN). For a number of years, the Christian Medical Society / CMDA at Penn State College of Medicine was the hub of his ministry with CMDA. Note: Tom served with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA for 20+ years, including 6+ years as the Associate Director of ESN. He has written for the ESN blog from its launch in August 2008. He has studied Biology (B.S.), Higher Education (M.A.), Spiritual Direction (Certificate), Spiritual Formation (M.A.R.), Ministry to Emerging Generations (D.Min.). To God be the glory!
My first take on those three “attributes of science” is that all three are false.
I wonder if the Oracles of Science mindset (i.e. choosing vehemently secular scientists as examplars rather than people like Collins) is part of the same movement as the so-called “new atheism” (Harris, Dennett, Dawkins, etc).