Is science neutral?
Suppose I have a note of 100 dollar. Now I am assuming that
all of us know ‘good’, ‘evil’, ‘neutral’ properly. Many would say that the money in itself is
neutral, it just depend on how I use it. Certainly there is some truth in that
statement. Indeed if I use the money to sin, to do things in contrary to the
holiness of God, to do evil, to harm other, then it is not good. It is evil. Not
many will against this idea.
But I think not just that. I think that the note in itself
constitute good or evil, but not neutral.
First consider the origin, or source of the note. That is to
ask, “How I come to posses the note?” Do I posses it by force, through robbery,
fraud, cheating, or other illegal means? Or I gain it through hard work, or a
gift from other? The note does not exist by itself. Someone, or something, must
bring to its existence. It doesn’t just appear in my hand, unless divine intervention
happened, it must have a source or origin. Is that source good or evil?
Next we also consider the note in itself. If it is fake,
that is, it is not genuine note that is produced and distributed by authorized
body, then how can we deem it as neutral? Even if it is real note, supposed it
is stain with oil, worn out for certain reason, tore into pieces, that it may
not be used, or not in the original form that it supposed to be, would we still
consider it is neutral, that it is neither good nor evil?
So we see other than the purpose/how the object is used
determines whether an object is good or evil, we need to see the origin/source of
the object and the object itself to determine if it is good or evil.
Now let us look at science.
Many of us in these days think
that science is neutral. Scientific discovery of the world is neutral, and it
is good if we use those knowledge to serve the well being and benefit of
society, and bad if it is used to destroy (although not all think that using
technology to create more powerful weapon is bad). So I shall not spend much
time on these, although there is actually something that worth looking at, such
as how do we really defined ‘well being and benefit of society’.
But I want to look at the motive of doing science. Why do we
study the phenomena of the world? Do we do it to glorify God, to know how
majesty and awesome is His knowledge, creativity, power? Or do we do it just to
satisfy our own curiosity, to show that we can conquer the natural world intellectually,
even to prove that God does not exist so that I can do what I want how I want
to? For the LORD is God who searches through our heart, and weigh us according
to our thought, so science is not neutral when the motive of doing science is
considered.
Also, scientific knowledge itself is not neutral. It is
either in accordance with truth or it is not. Bad science is not good science. Moreover,
our scientific knowledge or discovery or formulation or methodology is indeed
moral action. If this world is really created by God, that He is the Father of
the universe, but if our scientific methodology and systematize of knowledge do
not reflect and honor His Lordship, is it not then we violate His right on the
knowledge of the world?
For Christian, a biblical Christian, science can’t be
neutral. Knowledge is not neutral. No human action is neutral, for all human
action has its motive, namely to glorify God or is not, the righteousness of
the action itself, whether it is in tune with truth, and uses or consequence of
the knowledge. No human action is done in vacuum. We ought to learn to glorify
Him even in our eating and drinking. We are created to glorify Him, and enjoy
Him forever. Let us learn and train ourselves that in all we do, we do it for
His glory, we do it rightly in accordance of truth, we do it in reverence heart
of worship.
