TITLE: A Symphony of Miracles Book 1 Guesswork Scientism (Part 1) 9/23/14 By Richard McCaw 09/23/14 |
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Guesswork Scientism
In 1974 two men, Donald Johanson and a colleague, Tom Gray, discovered a piece of hominid arm bone sticking out of a rock at Hadar in Ethiopia. Not far away they also found other pieces of bone, and soon recognized that they had stumbled upon part of a skeleton. Within three weeks they also came upon about 40 per cent of a female hominid skeleton. Excited about their amazing discovery, they celebrated long into the night while drinking bear and listening to an old Beatles song “Lucy in the sky with Diamonds.” Thus their find was named “Lucy” after that song.
However, the faith of these two men must have been shattered in 1994 when an older fossil, Ardipithecus ramidis was discovered. And perhaps the hearts of many more scientists may have skipped a few beats when the news was spread among the community of believers.
The glaring truth is that not only evolution but many more scientific beliefs that have been held by seemingly intelligent, well educated people are many of them only a part of a scientific religion. Belief is an integral part of man’s innate need for religion and without faith some men give up and die and others kill themselves. Man must have something to believe in. But what he believes must be examined critically and honestly by the rest of us. Hence the need to unravel what is presented to us as fact, and to watch for catch phrases that occur in scientific documents.
God allows Christ rejectors to believe lies
For example, listen to the ridiculous view that many scientists cling to. A complex organism, they believe, can evolve from simple to complex over extended periods of time. “Scientists argue that organs that are irreducibly complex, e.g. the human eye, with its independent lens and optical nerve, evolved from simpler light-sensing organs, and gradually discarded superfluous cells and features, just as an arch in a cathedral now stands without the scaffolding that made its construction possible.” Of course, that is such a foolish comparison, since the cathedral was constructed according to an intelligent blueprint, and engineered by skilled craftsmen, who considered carefully where each plank and steal fell in place.
Even Darwin admitted the incredulity of such beliefs. “To suppose that the eye, with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.”
Similarly, evolutionists try to convince us that “blood coagulation can be shown to have evolved in steps, as nature mixed and matched proteins and processes already used for other biological purposes.” When they say “can be shown” they are really saying that they have invented an idea that helps them to accept the tenets of their religion. Why do we deduce that? Because they never saw any such thing. But to save their careers as scientists, protect their prestige and their religion, they must present some defense of it. That kind of mental gymnastics is common in cults from earliest times.
However, the same objection holds for the above unintelligent proposition. The purpose of blood coaglation is obvious to the mind unprejudiced by scientific guesswork.”
We have already considered the parts of an automobile evolving gradually and being able to drive itself down the road. Even if we could see such a machine driving down the road without a driver, we would know that some remote entity is responsible for its progress on the highway, much like intelligence machines are propelled into space by the Space Center without astronauts on board.
Scripture describes such deceivers, who are deceived, and who deceive others. They operate “with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie”
The Deception process
When a deceiver approaches, his language will never be clothed in statements to disclose his intentions, but will refer to distinquished people who buy his product.
i) A typical example occurs perhaps regularly on television. A famous NFL player appears walking with another player who lights up a famous brand of cigarette. Or on the front page of a risqué magazine a pretty movie star appears suggestively dressed. The unsuspecting public concludes that if famous people support a product or lifestyle it must be right to follow the crowd.
ii) Often reference is made to the number of people who believe or the qualifications of those who believe. You may have heard, “numerous highly qualified scientists make certain assertions.” However, if you listen closely you may hear this qualifying statement as well, “In a common view though, the evidence for it is admittedly incomplete.”
And listen to this statement “Anthropology is one of the few sciences in which it is possible to be famous for having an opinion. Until more facts emerge such speculation is bound to remain.” This religion is founded upon opinions and speculations, but it is not valid science.
iii) Sarcasm and scorn is often used to intimidate the public, such as a reference to “intelligence.” Here is a comment by Nobel Prize winner James D. Watson, co-discoverer of the structure of DNA: “Only people who put their common sense on hold doubt evolutionary theory.”
iv) Reference is often made to the length of time people have believed, usually linked to some great organization that approves a belief. “Natural selection has survived 146 years of scientific scrutiny and has been called the “most important concept in modern biology” by the US National Academies of Sciences.”
If you listen closely you will discover the identifying marks in this cultic religion that resemble the activities, deceptive practices and subtle steps that entangle those who are unsuspecting and easily influenced by seemingly impressive arguments.
TO BE CONTINUED
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