The Limits of Science

I learn new things about other religions from our international students all the time. For example, in a recent conversation at the park, with Pranav, a graduate student from India who grew up Hindu, I found out that many Hindu temples have a bell to ring upon entering that is said to remove all germs from one’s body. Pranav told me he believes it, and that Hinduism has many such beliefs that scientists are discovering to be true.

I later googled the subject and, sure enough, in addition to many spiritual reasons given for the practice, there were claims of a scientific basis behind it as well. Here is one of them, which claims the practice leads to the healing of the body: “Here is a scientific reason behind Temple bell presence; Bell is not made up of just your ordinary metal. It is made of various metals including cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, nickel, chromium and manganese. The proportion at which each one of them mixed is real science behind a bell. Each of these bells is made to produce such a distinct sound that it can create unity of your left and right brain. The moment you ring that bell, bell produces sharp but lasting sound which lasts for minimum of seven seconds in echo mode good enough to touch your seven healing centres or chakras in your body.”

I’m sure there are sceptics of Hinduism who would mock and ridicule teachings like these, just as there are sceptics of Christianity who make fun of scientific claims within Christianity. They would love nothing more that to disprove religion by using science, but, at least when it comes to Christianity, I’m not so sure this is necessary, except maybe for debunking the claims of false teachers who would try to profit from making them.

I think Jesus taught an important principle about the limitations of human government that applies to the limitations of human scientific reasoning as well. In his case, the sceptics were religious people, the Pharisees, who doubted that after God was silent for 400 years, He would have finally sent his Messiah:

“Then the Pharisees went out and laid plans to trap him in his words. They sent their disciples to him along with the Herodians. “Teacher,” they said, “we know that you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are. Tell us then, what is your opinion? Is it right to pay the imperial tax to Caesar or not?”

“But Jesus, knowing their evil intent, said, “You hypocrites, why are you trying to trap me? Show me the coin used for paying the tax.” They brought him a denarius, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. Then he said to them, “So give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” When they heard this, they were amazed. So they left him and went away.”

Jesus taught that there were levels of authority that God has delegated to earthly rulers, and others that He has reserved to Himself. I believe the principle would also apply to science by saying that there are levels of knowledge that God has delegated to scientists and others in various areas of expertise, but that there are many areas of knowledge He has reserved only to Himself and His holy Word.

Many Christians don’t understand this, and often make the mistake of trying to fabricate scientific rationales for spiritual teachings. They often end up sounding about as scientific as the above Hindu explanation involving the “seven healing centres or chakras in your body”.
God never said man’s knowledge – science – extends to all the teachings of the Bible. We don’t need to try to force science into places it was never meant to go. We need to accept that just as there is no human authority that can go past God’s sovereignty, there is no human knowledge that can go past God’s wisdom.