THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE

THE LIMITS OF SCIENCE

“For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolish of what was preached to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:21).

In recent years “scientism” has made it’s debut. J. P. Moreland offers this definition: “Roughly, scientism is the view that the hard sciences—like chemistry, biology, physics, astronomy—provide the only genuine knowledge of reality. At the very least, this scientific knowledge is vastly superior to what we can know from any other discipline.”

While science cannot tell us where we came from, what we are doing here, or where we will go when we die, the limits of science are also illustrated by the stories of two famous young women.

First, “Mummy Juanita”. She had been dead for 500 years but was discovered in 1995 by anthropologist Johan Reinhard on the top of Mount Ampato in Peru. She is also known as the “Ice Maiden”. Being quick frozen preserved her internal organs, tissues, hair, blood, skin, clothing, and even the contents of her stomach. Time Magazine honored her as one of the world’s 10 top discoveries. Her corpse was fully clothed in garments resembling the finest textiles from the Inca capital city of Cusco. These accoutrements were almost perfectly preserved, providing valuable insight into sacred Inca textiles and on how the Inca nobility dressed. Found with her in the burial tapestry was a collection of grave goods: bowls, pins, and figurines made of gold, silver, and shell.

Radiologist Elliot K. Fishman concluded that she was killed by blunt trauma to the head. He observed that her cracked right eye socket and the two-inch fracture in her skull caused a massive hemorrhage filling her skull with blood and pushing her brain to one side. Science estimates that she was 12 – 15 years of age and was a child sacrifice which was a key component of the Inca Empire.

Through extracting DNA from Mummy Juanita's well-preserved hair, scientists were able to logically determine her diet. The analysis of her hair indicated that Juanita was eating foods such as animal protein and maize. These foods were the diet of the elite, unlike the standard Inca diet of vegetables. The final six to eight weeks of life for a sacrificed Incan child consisted of the heavy use of drugs and alcohol. With a combination of coca and alcohol, the children would be in a highly intoxicated psychological state. Markers in Juanita's hair indicate that she was given coca and alcohol prior to her death, suggesting that she was in a state of near unconsciousness. Do you know her now? Would you want to marry someone based upon this “scientific” knowledge?

Rene Descartes made famous the expression “Cognito, ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am). This statement became a fundamental element of Western philosophy. While other knowledge may be important, the ability to think distinguished us as a person. Juanita was not just a bag of chemicals, she was a person. She had her own unique dreams, hopes, and aspirations. While science can tell us “what” she was, it cannot tell us anything about “who” she was. Science does have it’s limitations!

Now let us consider another young woman. Her name is Anne Frank. She died in 1945 in Bergen-Belsen, a Nazi concentration camp. She was 15 years of age. Since we do not have her body, the “hard sciences” like chemistry, biology, and physics can make no contribution to our understanding of who she was. We cannot analyze her stomach to see what she ate for her last meal, or scrutinize her DNA. Fortunately, however, we know a great deal about Anne Frank for she wrote a diary. Her diary “reveals” who she was and what she thought about almost everything. By reading her diary we can actually come to know Anne Frank. Her diary has been translated into over 70 languages and a play about it won the Pulitzer Prize in 1955. Shelley Winters won an Academy Award for her role in the film version of the play. Today Anne Frank is one of the most famous young women in the world.

But let us return to our text. The world in it’s wisdom does not know God. God is a “Spirit” and the “hard sciences” can offer zero information about God or anyone else. We know that God is real, however, because He has “revealed” Himself in the Bible. Those who preach God’s Word make Him known. God is a real person and He has made us in His image (Gen. 1:27). Just as God reveals Himself by what He says, so do we. Thank God our speech is not limited by science! Thank God we are are more than a bag of chemicals and have the ability to reveal who we are to whom we please!