Probably the single most significant principle of modern-day science is materialism: the thought that everything in existence consists of nothing but matter and energy. (And, according to Einstein’s famous equation, E=mc², matter and energy are really just the same material.) Materialism assumes that all thought of non-physical things such as the soul, emotion, morality, angels, beauty, purpose, or most importantly, God, are not really there. If I can’t experiment on it, or observe it in some physical way, it must either not exist (for instance, God), or it must be something solely chemical that we’ve misunderstood as metaphysical (for instance, emotions). Considering that there are nonmaterial things which obviously exist, materialism is pretty backward—but it’s what we have to deal with today. It’s a result of the corruption of our race and the hostility towards God that is present because of the Fall.
I should clarify something important before I give the impression that science is unchristian. The scientific method should be materialistic, in the sense that science’s proper place is to examine only the material world. But we should never as Christians adopt materialism as our philosophy of nature. The Christian scientist who wants to know more about the world can use the scientific method in its proper place, and at the same time he can still hold that there are things (e.g. beauty, morality, history) out-of-bounds for scientific, materialistic thinking. The pagan scientist doesn’t think that way, though.
There is a huge danger in believing materialism and doing science at the same time. If you believe everything is material, science governs everything. And when science governs everything, there are dire consequences. For example, when science is allowed to play history, it fails miserably, and has led to the theory of evolution. Politics deals with body-and-soul people; so when science is allowed to play politics, politics can become population control or eugenics. A materialist scientist will see abortion as a viable option to deal with a new person, because to him life is a chemical process. He will choose not to value a person who is old or disabled, assigning him a “low quality of life,” as if life had scientifically qualified levels.
As time goes on, scientists will be forced more and more to reckon with the metaphysical. Quantum mechanics and relativity blend into the realm of philosophy and metaphysics, and the more scientists dig into these areas, I suppose they will have to do more philosophy and metaphysics. Materialists are the last people we want doing these things! Since opposition to God is the core of their belief, they will side with the demons before they believe God and His Word. This is why it’s so important for us to teach our students sound doctrine and how it informs scientific thinking. We need Christian people who can use science to its fullest and in its proper place. Then, instead of finding only death and doom for the universe, they can see the beauty and life God continues to provide the world.
In Christ,
Mr. Hahn
