Science Must be Elevated to a Primary Theological Authority

A Call for a New Reformation, Part 3

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In the ancient world, philosophy was considered to be the “queen of the sciences.” It covered everything. And since the ancient world made sense of their entire existence through the lens of philosophy, it held a supreme authority.

In the second century BCE, Christians began using the philosophy of their day to understand and articulate their theology to their world. During this time, Clement of Alexandria (living from 150 to about 215 CE) downgraded philosophy to the “handmaiden of theology”. After all, theology was ultimately about God, and any other discipline must be secondary to and supportive of it. 

Hundreds of years later during the Enlightenment, John Locke declared philosophy to be the “handmaiden of science”. Rather than using abstract thought to uncover the secrets of the universe, science would reveal the secrets through observation and testing, and then philosophy would make sense of them. 

Fast forward to today (well, 20 years ago anyway). I was reading a book (I believe it was Paul Lakeland’s Postmodernity: Christian Identity in a Fragmented Age) which argued that science has replaced philosophy as the handmaiden of theology for postmodernity. 

Personally, I prefer to describe the postmodern relationship between theology, philosophy, and science as a menage a trois. The problem is that we’re used to philosophy being an authority for theological inquiry, but we’re not used to science being a full theological authority in its own right.

This needs to change, but there’s something in the way of elevating science to its rightful status: biblical supremacy. 

Postmodern culture is experiencing a meaning crisis.

Why have we lost sight of Meaning?
Is there any hope of getting it back?
Better yet, is the loss of Meaning really a bad thing?

If you long for a path forward, Drinking from an Empty Glass: Living Out of a Meaningless Spirituality is the book you’re looking for.

The problematic authority of the Bible

Q: Why do some fundamentalists believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old? 
A: Because, according to them, the Bible says it. 

Q: Why do some flat earthers believe that the Earth is not round, but flat. 
A: Because, according to them, the Bible says it. 

Q: Why do some evangelicals and fundamentalists believe that homosexual relationships are unnatural and therefore sinful? 
A: Because, according to them, the Bible says it. 

Are you seeing a theme? 

The problem I'm trying to point out is how the Bible tends to be used among certain Christian circles. When it comes to authority, it's the ultimate trump card. 

Of course, there are very few Christians today who would argue that the Earth is 6000 years old or that the Earth is flat. We know that the universe is much older than that. We know that our Blue Marble revolves around the Sun. We have known this for hundreds of years. These facts are universally accepted. Both of those stances are seen as downright ignorant by Christians, at least for the vast majority of us.

But what about that last one regarding homosexuality? As many Christians read the text, they conclude that homosexuality is “unnatural”, and therefore an offense to God. This has been the basis for marginalizing self-identifying homosexuals in church and society. 

That's why the issue of homosexuality within the Christian religion is an excellent example of why we need to de-emphasize the Bible and officially make science a primary theological authority.