“Is Science Enough?”

“On the dark, gray morning of December 18, 1944,the waves in the Philippine Sea were monstrous, as winds roared at up to 140 miles per hour. Visibility dropped to near zero. It was reported “the 60-foot waves looked like vertical mountains bearing down on us….when one wave hit, the ships’ bows would rise high out of the water, then smash down heavily, spume reaching beyond the bridge. Now and then, a wave would strike broadside and push the ships over at an angle—sometimes as far as 72 degrees.” The losses to Admiral Bull Halsey’s Third Fleet were staggering. Typhon Cobra had sunk three ships, damaged 29 more, one hundred forty-six aircraft were destroyed, and 790 sailors perished.” What the Japanese Navy was unable to do, mother nature almost did…destroy the United States Navy. 

“Sunspots can release huge amounts of energy, leading to solar flares and storms. These flares can have a major effect on radio communications, Global Positioning Systems (GPS) connectivity, power grids, and satellites. Yikes, I’m trying to get to Gramma’s house, over the mountain and thru the woods, and some sunspot, 93 million miles away, knocks out my GPS. 

We know that bad weather can bring the best of technology to its knees…. delayed flights due to weather…. snow storms preventing travel… satellite launches waiting for better weather…. droughts killing crops, etc., etc. 

We could expand the areas where man’s best efforts and latest technologies just aren’t enough to save the day. We hear the phrase that “science will save us”… whether it’s regarding Covid, the climate, new energy sources, the latest weapons, etc.  Technology has a place and has provided many positives to mankind…. but it’s just not enough. The intricacies of God’s creation dwarfs man’s understanding. Wise and humble men know this; wise and humble scientists know this.

So what’s the point of this BLOG? Well, if we are wise and humble, we should always submit our latest plans and hypotheses and theories before the Lord. He knows fully…we know a little bit.  In December, 1944, a  frustrated General Patton asked for a prayer for good weather that would improve the chances for victory; no matter how brilliant a general he was, he couldn’t control the weather.

In today’s gospel reading from Mark 5:21-43, we see a comparison between the latest science and Jesus. How did things work out?  “And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse.” Woe….. no healing, suffering for 12 years, no improvement, spent all her money…. Strike 3 !!!  “She came up behind Jesus …. touched his garment, and immediately she was healed of her disease.” Home Run !!! 

I actually have a lot of respect for science and the medical profession…. many in my own family have been involved in it. My father was in medical school in the years following the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic, a top graduate of St. Louis University Medical School, post graduate at Harvard under the famous Dr. Paul Dudley White. 

The great scientists are humble; “they know what they don’t know”. I have a good friend, a wise and smart doctor,  who begins each session with his patients with a prayer…asking God to help him. He knows that he can do his part, but God is the true healer.

So, let’s pray for all the wise and humble men and women who do so much to make our lives better. Let’s pray that they will always submit their “discoveries” to the Lord and allow God’s truth to carry the day. When that happens, things on the earth will be better.