Science Views

Oard (2009a) Misrepresents My Views of Science

Kevin R. Henke, Ph.D.

May 4, 2014

Oard (2009a, p. 113) claims that I believe that science explains “everything.” Nowhere in my 1999 essay or in any of my other writings do I ever make such a claim. This is Mr. Oard's invention and another example among many of how he failed to properly read my writings. I do not believe that science can provide ethics or tell us whether a painting is good art or not. I also fully recognize that there are still plenty of mysteries in the geologic record and part of the fun of geology is testing hypotheses, deciphering the mysteries and finding solutions. In my 1999 essay, I was appropriately cautious, yet realistic and optimistic, about scientists and science:

“Scientists, like any other humans, sometimes make mistakes. Hopefully, they or their colleagues will quickly correct the mistakes. Scientists have methods, like the multiple working hypotheses, that are designed to minimize and correct errors.”

“Despite the shortcomings, our understanding of the Earth is good enough to predict and find petroleum and ore deposits.”

“Although the apparent purpose of Chapter 2 in Oard (1997) is to show how often scientists make mistakes, time after time Oard really shows how science is self-correcting and how scientists continue to make important discoveries. Scientists, and not YECs, are finding and correcting mistakes in 20^th century science.”

If Mr. Oard ever attended any of my classes, he would recognize that I view science as having very important, but limited, applications in our society. Science never promises to explain everything, but its explanations are often very successful. Everything from medicines to petroleum exploration to space travel are testimonies of the successes of the naturalistic scientific method, including actualism. In contrast, young-Earth creationism and Flood geology are mythology and are worthless in locating ore deposits or explaining any of the Earth's past.

References

Oard, M.J. 1997. Ancient Ice Ages or Gigantic Submarine Landsides? Creation Research Society, Monograph No. 5, Chino Valley, AZ.

Oard, M.J. 2009a. "Landslides Win in a Landslide over Ancient 'Ice Ages'", chapter 7 in M.J. Oard and J.K. Reed (editors). 2009. Rock Solid Answers: The Biblical Truth Behind 14 Geological Questions, Master Books: Green Forest, AR, pp. 111-123.