Science is one of the “golden calves” of our day. Many people worship the scientific process, believing whatever scientists say is absolute truth (unless, of course, it contradicts one of the other golden calves, such as LGBTQ, abortion, etc.)—and those who are even so much as hesitant to jump on the latest bandwagon are “science deniers” standing in the way of progress. But what if science isn’t always so scientific?
A recent article is just one of many that are calling attention to a big problem in the scientific literature: fraud and corrupted research. The article states,
After months of investigation that identified networks of reviewers and editors manipulating the peer review process, [one group] plans to retract 511 papers across 16 journals . . .
These abuses involve fraud, but inevitably there are also “rings” of scientists who do not use false identities, but who mutually scratch each other’s backs to build up a record of publication by favorably reviewing each other’s work. The reward system in academia requires publication of articles in journals, and measures the number of citations those articles receive. Such a system is inherently vulnerable to cooperation among like-minded scholars who push each other’s work into print and cite each other.
The problem is “massive” and even when important papers are withdrawn, some continue to be cited and relied upon for further work. Science becomes a joke under such circumstances, with the possibility of real world catastrophe if the phony results become the basis for real world actions.
In other words, peer-review, which is supposed to ensure only solid research is published, is open to corruption. This should not be surprising to us as Christians—every person, even a scientist, is a sinner with a deceptive heart and often very selfish motives. So, we’re not surprised that sinners are doing sinful things!
But it is a reminder to Christians not to get sucked into the “science says” mentality. Sadly, many Christians have jettisoned biblical teachings (such as a young earth or a global flood) because they’ve been convinced that “science” has shown that what the Bible says simply can’t be the case. So, they reinterpret the Bible in light of certain interpretations of the evidence. But I remember my father teaching me that just because we don’t know the answer to an objection against biblical truth yet doesn’t mean there isn’t an answer—it just means we don’t know it yet!
Sometimes “the science” contradicts the Bible because it’s a misinterpretation of the data due to the wrong starting point (i.e., evolution and millions of years). Other times, it very well could be because of fraud and corruption in the scientific literature (especially when it comes to the “soft sciences” that deal with social issues). But nothing in science, when accurately understood, will actually contradict the Word of God because God’s Word is true from the very first verse, and unlike science, every word is flawless (Proverbs 30:5).
Oh, atheists mock articles in AiG’s Answers Research Journal as they claim we should have them peer-reviewed by the secular scientists! At least our reviewers are Christians who strive for truthfulness and accuracy!
Instead of trusting sinful man’s ever-changing fallible opinions, let’s trust the perfect, all-knowing God’s infallible Word.
