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Atheistic Scientists Who Play God—Where It Might LeadFor science to work properly it has to be governed by moral values and ethical standards.by John Ross SchroederModern science and religion have had an uneasy relationship often marked by suspicion and contention. Despite recent attempts to forge a common philosophical approach and considerable media publicity about efforts to harmonize science and theology, the relationship remains a difficult one. In fact, a recent survey shows that fewer scientists believe in God than ever before. Today only about 7 percent of leading scientists profess belief. Doubt, disbelief and agnosticism reign in the world of science. The statistics are not encouraging (please see sidebar). Britain's Richard Dawkins is in the forefront of militant atheism. Noted journalist Paul Johnson has named him as a prime candidate for the title: "The most dangerous man in Britain." Dawkins presently occupies a specially created professorial chair at Oxford University. Writes Mr. Johnson: "Dawkins, a handsome, plausible and self-confident performer on TV and radio, uses his position not only to undermine belief in God, but to press the case for scientific adventurism of the kind many find frightening." Professor Dawkins is a strong advocate of human cloning. Paul Johnson continues: "When Dolly the sheep was cloned, Dawkins said he looked forward to having a copy of himself made, 30 years younger, so that he could go on pontificating well into the 21st Century." Two Types of Scientific Inquiry There is both a right and wrong type of scientific inquiry. In many ways science has made every day life in the 20th Century a better experience for millions upon millions of people. As Mr. Herbert Armstrong has said, "It is not the thing itself, but the wrong use of the thing." A good thing that science creates could be put to a wrong use, or the thing itself could be intrinsically wrong. For science to work properly it has to be governed by moral values and ethical standards. No field of human endeavor can exempt it itself from basic rules, and still avoid horrendous consequences. It helps a great deal if scientists truly believe in God and the Ten Commandments. But atheism can be dangerous! Those who advocate human cloning are not usually strong believers in God and the Bible, but the very opposite. In the past, questionable inventions in the scientific laboratory have been misused by irresponsible political tyrants seeking to impose their godless doctrines and ideologies on many others. Human cloning may soon be added to the already extant dangers of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Mr. Johnson points out that "the desire to produce armies of identical superwarriors is an ancient one in China, as thousands of recently-unearthed terracotta figures, more than two millennia old, testify." Dictators using human cloning on an industrial scale is a frightening prospect. What about Saddam Hussein's notorious revolutionary guards, chosen for their size, strength and cunning? We live in an uncertain world filled with all kinds of jeopardy. Certain aspects of scientific inquiry threaten to go amok. Only the principles of the Bible can keep scientists on the right track. That is one reason why atheism, twinned with the rejection of Scripture, is so potentially dangerous to humankind. Sources: The Daily Mail (London), February 1, 1999; The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, February 7, 1999; Newsweek (Atlantic edition), July 27, 1998. Leading Scientist Reject God This survey was conducted by asking 1,000 scientists listed in a reference book of top scientists about their religious beliefs.
Source: Nature Journal (quoted by The Atlanta Journal—Constitution) |
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