By CE Marshall
In Holy Scripture, otherwise referred to as "the Bible" there are frequent warnings to not be swayed by false gods or idols. Over and over in the Old Testament Moses warns of the mistake to offer up all adoration to the gold calf or any other idol or craven image. Putting all your faith and attention towards something physical is really what it is saying.
The ten commandments lists two specific warnings to such activity;
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before Me.
“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the Lord your God, am a jealous Goda"
Fast forward to today, the parallel to adoring and worshiping something can easily be interpreted through the prism of modern life; worshiping money, power, technology, work, careers, the stock market, government, the self, our children. It's easy to get the meaning behind such instructions. Do not depend on the physical world to bring your mind and conscience to joy and peace because it won't happen.
Underlying all of this is the field of science. Our modern false gods can all be categorized within the realm and field of science and scientists. I respect science. I admire the hard work of scientists. But I don't think it's advisable to hang on their every thought and theory as the only answers to this consciousness known as life. They don't have all the answers, and theories are not answers. They're theories. The rest of the false gods listed above can all be set on the table of science. It is the "go to". It is the "they" that are bringing us more comforts and delights. Science is the god of the modern world and it is seen as the source and solution to every manner of living. We, modern mankind, depend on it and all its "spokes of influence" through academia, corporations, entertainment, and government for our self-worth and comfort and "reason for living". That is the problem. That is the sin. What should be worshiped is the creator of science and the creator of our very lives. The breath that breathed into us a life of wonder and experience and love. God is a jealous God because we as a people are filled with wonder at what other men can do but not filled with wonder at the impetus behind the entire manifold. The whole machinery is His design and many doubt there is ANY creator whatsoever.
Worshiping or lending attention to one's interpretation of the world through the adoration and dependence on science is offering wonder and enthusiasm for the results of physical life rather than the cause of the entire process. The Creator of life itself. It is like admiring a baby while ignoring the mother that just birthed it and even doubting the importance of the mother. The baby simply occurred and it's up to science to ultimately explain the how and the why. In other words, science is the God here because only it can ultimately explain where the baby came from. Given enough time and numerous theories, the answer will be concluded by the scientist and said theories. One elusive theory will finally explain the baby. Therefor, the theory becomes fact even though it is a theory, not a fact. In the mind of mankind only science could possibly answer the question "Where did the baby come from?" The ideas and theories of the scientists are now the "truth" in the minds of mankind and the concepts of the mysterious "mother" giving birth is morphed into myth and superstition. "What mother?"
I love the humor and or sarcasm that is demonstrated in Holy Scripture so frequently and this one jumps out at me today. Moses is warning the people against false gods for the final time. Note the sarcasm. To put it on context- the "their" is those that worshiped false gods. Their "science" as it were.
Deuteronomy 32:36-38
“For the Lord will judge His people
And have compassion on His servants,
When He sees that their power is gone,
And there is no one remaining, bond or free.
37 He will say: ‘Where are their gods,
The rock in which they sought refuge?
38 Who ate the fat of their sacrifices,
And drank the wine of their drink offering?
Let them rise and help you,
And be your refuge."
Science cannot explain everything., and it never will.
