Man’s Limited Knowledge[1]
“Modern science” sometimes
asserts that religion is based on subjective faith in unverifiable myths, which
were originated by superstitious ancients. Opposing this “subjective” religious
faith is “objective” modern science, based on proven facts. Consequently, some scientists
ridicule Christians for believing in the inerrancy of the Scriptures. Clough
asserts that their ridicule and arguments are disingenuous, in that they, also,
believe in inerrancy. The only difference is that they move inerrancy to a
different location; the inerrancy to which they hold is located in their own
minds.
Clough uses the following diagram
to depict how all scientific knowledge, indeed all of man’s experience, is
local, both in Time and in Space. The data used by all scientists, must of
necessity come from within the shaded part of the diagram.
[ We are used to having chronological time on
the X-axis—having past history on the left and the future progressing to
the right. Please notice that Time on the X-axis is not chronological time, but
rather increasing quantities of time, from tiny units of time on the left
to large extents of time on the right. ]
In Time, all of us live in
the “Direct Observation” box (with the vertical lines), bounded on the
left by units of time in some fraction of one second (where 10–1
= 1/10 second), and bounded on the right by units of time about one long
lifetime (note that 109. 5 seconds = 100 years). Scientists
can observe action in smaller units of time, to the left in the
diagram, with ultra-speed film. Furthermore, they can read “Historical
Testimony” (box with the horizontal lines), expanding their knowledge base by a
few millennia in time (note that 1011. 2 seconds = 5,000
years). Scientists can go only so far to the right, by reading others'
accounts. But, none of us can go to the right of the vertical line—beyond the
wall of silence—before written history.
The Y-axis depicts how
scientists can also mitigate their being limited in Space, by observing God’s
creation in larger spatial units with the use of telescopes, and in smaller
spatial units with the use of microscopes.
But, in the end, they (we)
are limited to a small fleck in time and space. All of their
"science" about what happened more than a few thousand years ago,
must be pure conjecture. Their faith is in their own abilities, deductions, and
conjectures; but it is nothing else, other than faith.
Science has provided many
wonderful things for all of humanity. Exploring God’s creation is exactly what
God would have us do. However, scientists have no "objective scientific
data" to prove anything about
how the universe came into being, much less why we are here.
“The heavens declare the
glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork.” — Psalm 19:1