“Science will win because it works.”
Stephen Hawking said that in a 2010 interview with Diane Sawyer. Whether we would say it out loud or not, a lot of us believe some version of it.
We trust progress. We trust that the right research, the right technology, or the right plan will eventually fix what is wrong with us.
There is a lot to be thankful for in science. It has blessed us in countless ways. But there is a difference between science and scientism. Scientism is science cut off from any notion of God. It promises to lead us forward and asks us to follow.
Every age has gods that promise direction. Ours promise answers. The gods of Canaan promised rain. The question is whether any of them can actually deliver when you are standing at the edge of a flood.
Israel was about to find out, standing on the bank of a river in full flood.
Scripture: Joshua 3:10 — “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites.”
The nations on the other side of the Jordan worshiped Baal. In their story, Baal died every summer when the land dried out. Then the fall and winter rains came, and Baal came back to life. Around and around it went, year after year.
Now picture where Israel was standing. The Jordan was at flood stage. The water was roaring down the valley and spilling over the land. This was the season when Baal was supposed to be at his strongest. It was Baal’s game day.
And the living God walked right onto the field and stopped the water.
Our God is not one who dies every year and comes back every spring. He is the living God who died once and lives forevermore. Every miracle he does points to that glory.
We are not usually asked to bow to idols of wood and stone. But the idols of our age still make promises. Scientism promises that progress alone will carry us where we need to go.
Two things stand in its way. First, the very idea of progress is a Christian idea. For much of history, people believed life just went around in circles. Scripture taught that creation is heading somewhere and that Jesus is building a kingdom.
Second, science cannot change the human heart. Tim Keller made the point that science can tell us how to split the atom, but it cannot tell us where the bomb should be dropped. It has limits. It can measure a flood. It cannot stop one.
The living God has no such limits. He stood in the river when everything around his people said they were helpless. He still steps into the places where our other gods run out of answers.
Reflect: Where are you tempted to trust progress, plans, or experts more than the living God? How can you bring that area to him in prayer this week?