Speaking at the most recent Dallas Conference on Science and Faith, Frank Turek was dynamic, funny, and self-deprecating. The video is up now. His common-sense argument reminds us, among other things, that “science doesn’t say anything; scientists do.” That is, when someone tells you to “Follow the science,” there’s a good chance you’re being hustled. You should ask “Which science?” To have any meaning, following the science must really mean “following the scientists,” because science isn’t a person that issues statements. But scientists rarely speak in unison about the things that matter most: specifically, origins. Ask them how life works, and they can inform you pretty well. Ask how life originated, and they are clueless, with only guesswork to offer. So, the consumer of science has to engage in intelligent discrimination: which scientists do you believe?
Turek’s presentation in five bullet points:
- We know God by His effects, and science is a search for causes of effects. Some effects discovered by scientists provide positive evidence FOR an intelligent being like God.
- Knowing how something works doesn’t explain its origin.
- Since all data needs to be interpreted, science doesn’t say anything; scientists do. Atheists often interpret wrongly because they’ve ruled out intelligent causes.
- Science would be impossible without orderly, goal-directed natural laws. Such laws are best explained by God.
- There is no conflict between the Bible and the natural world. There may be conflict between some interpretations of the Bible and the natural world.
Watch the whole thing here: