In Pursuit of Knowledge
Many people want to contribute to the expanse of human knowledge. Particularly in the field of science, our understanding is advancing quickly. The combined efforts of researchers have resulted in amazing technological advances.
But as researchers we can spend half a lifetime simply catching up to the current level of knowledge in a field. One only has the remaining half with which to try to expand the field. The field itself is likely to be just a subspecialty of a specialty.
Though I am drawn to science as a vocation, I can still see that the current breadth of our knowledge is narrow, and one person’s contribution is liable to be disappointingly small, even at its best. There are so many bounds—yes, frontiers to push on—but overall, we do not know much.
After three summers of work at Lombardi Cancer Center, I was startled to find that our cancer research characterized just one protein among thousands. Entire labs were competing or collaborating on one single protein. Our techniques were not even assuredly reliable, because the necessary experimental conditions poorly mimicked the tumor environment.
Seeing this, I became confused about the pursuit of knowledge, and curious about what drove researchers nevertheless to continue their hard work.
The Biochemistry Retreat
While on a biochemistry department project, I was invited to a posh departmental retreat. In hours-long sessions, principal investigators took turns presenting their work and problems they grappled with. To me, the science and the discussions generated were stimulating.
At times, the researchers’ findings supported their idea of how the present natural world came to be. Our department sections proteins and nucleic acids and analyzes each component for function. Sometimes, a component was focused to be common to many species, linking bacteria to flatworms and humans. I noticed the scientists were pleased with and spurred on by this apparent progress.
Many more times, however, a particular submolecular component stood out as unique and specific to the species in which it was found. These results might even suggest that the component had to have been intelligently fashioned particularly for that single species. The results were reproducible as they stood, and as for understandings and interpretations, the scientists came out empty-handed. I even noticed an uneasiness settle over them.
The scientists’ problem was not a mere disagreement on evolution; it went deeper.
A Glimpse of the Irrational
And there, I think that I came upon the crux of the problem. I cocked my ear to hear objective scientific questioning, but instead I heard only childish possessiveness of their views. Why were they so protective of their particular theory even when results clearly pointed in the opposite direction? The problem was not a mere disagreement on evolution; it went deeper.
Often what we want to believe affects what we see. People tend to choose according to their hearts’ desires rather than their reasoning; and the mind only makes reasons or excuses afterward to justify the heart’s choices. Worse yet, the Bible shows that the human heart to suffer from a moral disease called sin, which confounds the soundness of our choices.
We have all seen or heard of researchers promoting their own theories and as a result missing out on greater things. For example, doctors for years had sent patients suffering from ulcers to psychologists to deal with their presumed stress problem. Subsequent research discovered there was indeed a medical explanation for certain ulcers. Now, antibiotics are prescribed regularly to target the bacteria discovered to be responsible.
Joy at Retreat’s End
Before I became a Christian a few years ago, I too would have been baffled at the apparent contradiction to theory the researchers’ results presented. And there was no overturning of experimental evidence.
But instead of being dismayed because the results did not support a man-made hypothesis, I saw that they shed light and understanding on what I knew to be true; I marveled at God’s creation, his handiwork. Wow, with what precision and efficiency our Creator designed our universe.
And at session’s end, I overflowed with praise for my Maker. Radiant with joy, I was just slightly disappointed I had no one to share it with.
On the contrary, the last speakers before dinner would always crack jokes about keeping the presentation short so we could all indulge in cocktails soon. That night is firmly etched in my memory: I watched the grad students get so drunk that they themselves could not remember it.
To his skeptics, the Creator has declared that round about all of us, his creation speaks of his existence. “For since the creation of the world, God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1)
While mental errors and misconceptions are famous in the history of science, more damage and waste of effort has stemmed from wrong-heartedness than wrong-headedness.
Evolutionary theory plainly makes no allowance for God. Not only does evolution explain God away, but it forcefully – and really with much more authority than what scientific findings can support – rejects God. Thus, those who uphold evolution themselves have also rejected God, a stand taken from the heart.
God in His word predicted that evolutionists (among others) would arise: ” Although [men] claimed to be wise, they became fools … They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator.” (Romans 1)
The evolutionist-scientist lacks the foundational knowledge that would give him the proper perspective, not only on his work as a scientist, but also on his whole life and its meaning. Scripture says, “The fear of God is the beginning of knowledge.” (Proverbs 1)
But where men refuse to acknowledge God, their hearts are in the wrong places, and they live in the futility of their thinking. “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” (Ephesians 4) They pursue knowledge of small specialties, seeking fulfillment and a sense of accomplishment in achievements that swiftly lose their significance.
But the Lord invites us to have a heart for Him, and to receive a new heart through belief in Jesus, that we may see aright. And not only so our academic research would go well. Rather, we discover that the wonder of the Lord only begins in what our research uncovers. For because of sin, God hid knowledge of His ways from men. But He delights to reveal it to those who would choose to find out about their glorious Maker.
God has a higher wisdom reserved for His people: “God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
“None of the rulers of this age understood it for if they had, they would not have crucified [Christ], the Lord of glory.” (1 Corinthians 2)
Denise Chen, Branford ’95