Scientists are People, Too

Last night Dr. Carl Werner presented his evolution research at my church. Please check out his website! His writing and video production are superb. If you click on the video in the teacher/curriculum section, you'll see my testimonial about his books. One of the best lessons Carl taught me is that scientists are people, too.

I continue to be surprised by the number of people who have complete faith in science. It's as though science is fact, devoid of human error. I confess to sharing that viewpoint at one time, especially since I was trained in the sciences. Yet that very training should have convinced me that science is not immune to humanity.

We can all laugh about the people who thought the earth was flat, that the earth was the center of the universe, and that blood-letting cured disease. But for some reason, we readily believe that the days of scientific error are over. We comfort ourselves with the notion that if the majority of scientists are convinced of the veracity of something, it must be true. I direct you to the aforementioned scientific "truths" and countless others like them which the majority of scientists believed at one time.

Scientists may be smarter than most of us, but they aren't less human. Scientists have opinions about their area of study, the origins of the universe, and politics. Try though they might to remain neutral, it simply isn't possible. And neither are scientists immune to the desire for money, fame, and power that plagues the rest of us. We've sadly decided within my lifetime that clergy are not completely trustworthy, yet we continue to cling to the idea that scientists are.

Having worked with scientists, I can tell you that they are fully human. They can be lazy, foolish, disorganized, selfish, biased, and prideful just like you and me. Of course, they can also be hard-working, wise, orderly, generous, open-minded and humble just like you and me. I understand this longing we have to find at least one kind of person we can really trust. Sadly, there is no one on earth worthy of that kind of faith. As a Christian, I am so thankful that I can trust God without reservation. If you don't share my faith in God, at least consider the idea that scientists aren't worthy of your faith either. Remain skeptical, even when you hear that 'all leading scientists' believe thus and so. Be willing, as I am, to be called a fool for refusing to trust something just because a scientist says it's so. If we are fools in this, we are certainly in good company as many of the greatest advances were made by men and women courageous enough to say, "I am willing to stand alone in my beliefs."

Comments

[carl werner]

Skepticism is healthy, especially in science. Your blog is powerfully written and helps us to keep science in balance. Thanks! Carl Werner