unit 1 foundations

UNIT 1Foundations

Chapter 1Finding Your Way in God’s World

Science isn’t what it used to be…

Open up to the beginning of Unit 1Let’s read…Unit 1 covers Chapters 1-3– Finding Your Way in God’s World– Matter– Measurements

Finding Your Way in God’s WorldChapter 1A - Lose Your Place, Lose Your Life

Objectives/AssignmentDescribe presuppositions and how they work together to form a worldview.List the most basic presuppositions of Christianity.Describe scientism and explain how it is the basis for a secularist worldview.Discuss how the Bible is essential to true scientific investigation of our world.Assignment: Section Review, page 9

Lost with Map in Hand

The Story of Admiral Shovell–

Science as a Map

What can science tell us?– Observations– Conclusions– Relationships that exist in the physical world– Production of life-saving medicines and energy

efficient methods of transportation

Science as a Map

What about other important questions, can science answers these?– Who are we as humans– Where did we come from– Why are we hear– Where are we headed– Where do we fit in– Can Science prove that there is a God, that we

survive death or the difference between right and wrong

Science and a Christian Worldview

As Christians we need a greater authority than a map: the Word of God, the Bible.The Bible gives us presuppositions.– An idea that is not proved but that we use as the

basis for proving other things.

The most basic presupposition is that God spoke to us in the Bible.All Humans have presuppositions.

Science and a Christian WorldviewPresuppositions form a worldview.– An outlook from which a person interprets all of life. What

is YOUR worldview??

A Christian Worldview can be summed up in three main points:1. God made the world and placed humans at the center of that

world.2. The world has fallen into a broken condition because of

human sin.3. God is working to redeem this world to Himself.

With this worldview we can make proper use of the map of science.


God made the world and placed humans at the center of that world.– Our world is only a few thousand years old, not

billions.– We are made in God’s image: we can learn and

love each other equally.– We are to have dominion, or power, over His

creation, known as the Creation Mandate.• God’s command to exercise dominion over the world

by wisely using the resources He has placed here.


The world has fallen into a broken condition because of human sin.– We rebelled against God– Hurricanes, disease, death, earthquakes are not

normal events of an evolving world, they are the effects of sin.

– We are under God’s curse.


God is working to redeem this world to Himself– God’s Word gives us hope!– He has promised to redeem us.– Commanded us to teach all nations.– We can use our knowledge of God and science

to help others hear the gospel.

Science and a Secularist WorldviewMany Scientists believe that science needs to be kept secular.– Free from religious influence

Key presupposition of secularists is a faith in scientism.– The belief that the only things we can know with confidence

are the things we learn through scientific study.

We can only know what is on the map, if it is not on the map then it is not worth asking.The map is the only thing we can trust.High view of science, low view of humans.

Science and a Secularist WorldviewThe physical universe is not the creation of a personal God.– It always existed.– The present condition is due to natural

processes that have gone on forever.– Humans are not in the image of God, they are

complex chemical beings.– We exist to satisfy our desires, just like animals.– Love, joy, peace are not gifts from God, just

chemical reactions in the brain.

Science and a Secularist Worldview

We are not under God’s curse.– Suffering and death are part of the ongoing

natural processes that have produced us.– Chemical bonds eventually dissolve and the

elements are absorbed into other systems like plants and animals.

– Science can not distinguish between good and evil.

Science and a Secularist Worldview

No true redemption.– Extend our lives by decades– Save us from death?– Why spend so much money on “chemical

beings”? – Why not let the forces have their way?

Scripture and Scientific Study

The Bible needs to take its place in the study of science.– Many believe this will cause science to become

pseudoscience, false science.

The Bible establishes science.– Records creation– Explains the difficulties of nature– Shows us our place in this world.

Chapter 1B - Science: The Map in HandObjectives– Describe various kinds of scientific models and their

single most important property.– List and briefly discuss the attributes that science is

believed to have but does not.– Discuss the overall structure of scientific knowledge.– Compare and contrast theory, hypothesis, and law.– Define science in a biblically acceptable way.– List several scientific concepts that cannot be clearly

defined.– Describe the subject areas of physical science.

Assignment: Section Review, page 15

Maps, Modeling, and ScienceScience is about modeling and a map is essentially a model.– Anything that is a simplified depiction of a far

more complex object or concept.Physical models: miniature representations of full-sized objects.Nonphysical models: a conceptual model like particle theory.– Allows a person to organize what he has

observed or knows into an understandable idea.

Maps, Modeling, and Science

Digital Numerical models: computer programs.Mathematical modelsModels are never entirely complete or accurate, the goal is workability.– The usefulness of something for a particular purpose.

Workability is the most important property of a scientific model.

What Science is NOTScience is NOT a source of settled truth.– No scientific concept is exempt from the

possibility of being changed because of a new discovery.

Science is NOT a progression toward the correct view of the world.– Every major model for observing the world in

the past has been replace by different models; we are no closer to the “true” view of the world.

What Science is NOT

Science is NOT completely objective.– Scientists are not supposed to rely on their

personal inclinations, their biases; this is not the case.

Science is NOT always based on direct observations.– Theories have been based on particles to small

to be seen.

What Science is NOTHistorical Science– The study of the evidence for the origin of all things,

also called origins science.Inference– A process of reasoning used to suggest what may have

caused past events or processes based on observations of current events and processes; conclusions drawn from indirect evidence.

– Largely based on presuppositions.At best, scientific knowledge represents our diligent attempts at a workable model of some aspect of the natural world.

Structure of Science

Scientists are educated from the same collection of knowledge and view of the world available at that time, a paradigm.– The accepted body of knowledge, theories,

hypotheses, and experimental approaches to answering questions of science; a generally accepted worldview.

Structure of ScienceScientists acquire new knowledge using a framework of theories, hypotheses, and laws.– Theory

• An overarching model that describes the behavior or a related set of natural phenomena. (observable object, process, or property)

– Hypothesis• A temporary, testable explanation of a phenomenon that

stimulates and guides further scientific investigation.– Law

• A simple statement, often expressed as a mathematical equation, that models or describes the relationship among natural phenomena under specified conditions.

Laws describe what happens while theories explain why it happens.

Defining Science

Science from the Christian perspective:– The collection of observations, inferences, and

models produced through a systematic study of nature for the purpose of enabling humans to exercise good and wise dominion over God’s world; the systematic methods that produce the observations, inferences, and models.

The what, how and why

Defining ScienceSome of the indefinable phenomena studied in this course:– Matter-that which has a measurable volume and

mass– Energy-the ability to do work– Space-a physical extent measured in three

dimensions to which matter exists and phenomena occur

– Time-a nonphysical continuum that orders the sequence of events and phenomena

Physical ScienceDeals with two major divisions of the sciences: physics and chemistry.– Physics – the study of matter and energy and

how they interact.• Mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity, optics,

acoustics, nuclear physics, quantum physics, and relativity.

– Chemistry – the study of the structure, composition, and properties of matter and how matter acts in the presence of other matter.

• Biochemistry, organic, inorganic, physical, and nuclear chemistry

Chapter 1C - Doing Science: The Map in Use

Objectives– Compare becoming a scientist to entering other

professions.– Compare operational science to historical science.– Discuss the general sequence of scientific methodology

from question to published research report.– Describe various ways that a scientific question can be

recognized.– Differentiate between the two major kinds of scientific

data and state the ways that data can be collected.– List the various things that a professional scientist may

do.


Becoming a Scientist

Preparing for a career in science is far different than other professions.For each area of science there exists only one paradigm.Other professions recognize the existence of other paradigms.– Art – impressionistic, realistic, etc.

Scientists eliminate competing paradigms.

Scientific Methodology“The Scientific Method”

Methodology – a system or collection of tools, rules, and procedures used within an area of study.Scientific methodology – a collection of standards that govern how scientific work is conducted, based on the existing scientific paradigm.

Scientific Methodology

Asking Scientific Questions (Step 1)– Questions may arise out of the blue or from

these:• An unexpected observation• A prediction made by a theory• Numerical or physical patterns observed in data• A desire to extend human knowledge• A need to solve a technological problem• A desire to improve the human condition

Scientific MethodologySuggesting a Hypothesis (Step 2)– When a question occurs it is a natural tendency

to suggest an explanation from one’s one experience or try to find an answer.

Hypothesis – forms a starting point for further study and

investigation.– guides a scientist– is a temporary, testable explanation that is not

final and subject to change. (Review)


Testing the Hypothesis – Data Collection (Step 3)– Data – information collected through

observation• Qualitative Data – observations that cannot be

numerically measured, usually consisting of verbal descriptions of an observation

• Quantitative Data – information obtained by measuring, usually expressed in numbers


There are different ways to collect data depending on personal preference and type of matter.– Data Mining– Collections– Surveys– When opportunity presents itself– Trial and error (rarely)– Controlled experiment (most familiar)


Evaluating the Hypothesis (Step 4)– One test is not enough, scientists need to repeat

in order to have valid results.• Experimental replication – repeating an experiment

to validate its results• An honest scientist will be objective even if the

results do not support the original hypothesis.


Reporting Conclusions (Step 5)– Write a formal report to submit to a

professional journal.– First must be submitted to peer review

• The analysis of a scientific paper by other qualified scientists for comment and correction to ensure that the paper meets the high standards necessary for scientific work.

What Scientists DoOperational Science– Science that develops answers to natural world

questions by directly testing and observing present day phenomena

– Examples: computer model of a thunderstorm, understanding the molecular structure of a cell, developing a nuclear fusion reactor, etc.

Historical science– Completely dependent on ones presuppositions

• Evolutionism verses creationism

Educate the next generationProvide expert opinions

Chapter 1D – Charting Your CourseObjectives– Discuss the activities associated with theoretical

science and applied science.– Show how a scientist can obey the First Great

Commandment in his work.– Explain that dominion science is science that

fulfills the Creation Mandate.– Describe various ways that a scientist can obey

the Second Great Commandment.


IntroductionScientific work is divided into two major areas– Theoretical science

• Science that extends the current scientific paradigm by discovering new facts about the natural world. The knowledge gained does not have to provide immediate practical benefits.

– Applied science• Science that discovers new ways to use existing

scientific knowledge for human benefit.

Loving God with Science

The First Great Commandment– Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, with

all your soul, with all your mind.

Adore His greatnessMarvel His intelligenceLive out the Creation Mandate– Operational science will be referred to as

dominion science in this book, a tool to obey the Creation Mandate.

Loving Your Neighbor Through ScienceThe Second Great Commandment– Love your neighbor as yourself

More likely to listen to people who have saved lives and enriched the lives of human beings through his work– How?

• Warning of a tsunami• Diagnose disease without even entering the body• Drinkable water in remote locations• Many more….

TOMORROW!!

Vocabulary Quiz– Includes all vocabulary throughout the entire

chapter, PowerPoints, and front board; not just the box at the end.

Complete Chapter Review in Class

Study for Chapter 1 Test

unit 1 foundations

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