My Bible study group recently completed the fifth lesson of the The Truth Project, Science: What is Truth? Prior to watching the lesson, I was skeptical because many Christians seem to be anti-science. Dr. Del Tackett acknowledged the skepticism in the audience. He admitted that scientific investigation is a valid way of ascertaining truth. Then he asserted that man has exchanged the truth of God for a lie (evolution). Although he made some valid points, in defending one view of creation and categorically condemning another, he threw out the baby with the bathwater.

The apostle Paul said that though what may be known about God is plain to all of us, man has exchanged the truth of God for a lie. Tackett argues that man has transformed straightforward scientific inquiry from a search for truth into a philosophy that excludes the Creator; central to this anti-God worldview is Darwin’s evolutionary theory.

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Romans 1:20

Before I get to the rather antagonistic claim that The Truth Project makes about people who believe evolution is true, I want to summarize some of the good points.

The Work of His Hands

Dr. Tackett started out with David’s beautiful psalm about the heavens proclaiming the work of God’s hands and revealing knowledge of his creation.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
   their words to the ends of the world.

Psalm 19: 1-4

Tackett presented a compelling case for intelligent design versus randomness. He asked us to imagine the likelihood of forming two lines from Shakespeare’s Hamlet by randomly dropping Scrabble tiles on a tabletop. Of course, you would also have to imagine that mere chance could account for the tiles having letters on them.

Tackett asked the important philosophical question, why is there something rather than nothing? We all know that we can’t create something from nothing. But I believe that there had to be an ultimate beginning, an ultimate source of all material and living things. Christians believe that God is the ultimate source; the Latin phrase creatio ex nihilo refers to God creating something from nothing.

My favorite part of the lesson on science was a video that illustrated the activities of the complex “machinery” within cells that converts DNA into specific types of proteins. I believe that DNA is undeniable evidence of an intelligent creator but my appreciation of the complexity of genetic codes was enhanced by seeing an illustration of the intelligent processes of transcription and translation. How in the world can this sophisticated design be the result of chance?

The Truth Project’s Battle Against Evolution

The Truth Project teaches that there is a cosmic battle between God’s truth and the lies of the world. On the subject of science, Dr. Tackett claims that Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory is central to an atheistic philosophy that excludes God as the creator.

The lesson guide summarized Tackett’s message about science as follows:

…fallen man ignores the plain evidence of objective scientific inquiry and promotes the atheistic philosophy of evolutionary theory primarily because he is determined to do as he pleases without answering to a higher authority.

The Truth Project, Science: What is True?

After making this generalization about people who believe in evolution, the lesson guide goes on to say that if group participants are uncomfortable with this claim, it is “precisely because it hits so close to home.”

Dr. Tackett used an inflammatory quote from atheist C. Richard Bozarth (“evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus’s earthly life was supposedly made necessary”) to support his claim that evolutionists are antagonistic towards anyone who questions whether evolution is a theory or a fact.

Dr. Tackett spent much of the lecture presenting The Truth Project’s arguments against evolutionary theory, which are primarily based on the concept of irreducible complexity and on the lack of fossil records.

Critical Thinking Under Attack

Before I watched the lesson on science, I was aware that the Truth Project has been criticized for indoctrination. Still, I watched the science videos with an open mind and found some positive points. I can understand why Dr. Tackett throws out the claims of atheists like Bozarth. But he also throws out the critical thinking of people of faith who disagree with his beliefs about evolution.

After I watched the lesson on science, I was curious about why people have issues with TTP’s teaching on this subject. I read a critique from a rather snarky mathematician/attorney. I can understand why Dr. Tackett ruffled his feathers but his response turned me off. He ridiculed Dr. Tackett and said that if your degree is in business management (like Dr. Tackett), you have no business refuting evolution. I have an MBA but that doesn’t mean that I can’t comprehend scientific concepts.

Dorothy Boorse, a Professor of Biology at Gordon College, wrote a review of the TTP’s lesson on science that was both respectful and comprehensive. She says she wants to heal “the rift people perceive between science and Christian faith.” There are a wide range of views in the Christian scientific community and Boorse would have liked to see these views presented. Tackett discussed only extreme views, which present a false dichotomy between worldviews. He dismissed evolution but did not provide a legitimate alternative. He also defined and used words incorrectly. Boorse notes that evolution makes no philosophic claims. It is not a worldview that denies the existence of God. That would be scientific naturalism or materialism.

A Christian blogger, Elliott Ritzema, came to the same conclusion about the science lesson on his blog, All is Grist. While he agrees with much of what Tackett says about science, in attacking evolutionary theory, Dr. Tackett has “chosen the wrong bad guy.” The battle should be against scientific naturalism.

I think that Del is right in many of the things that he says about science, but he has unfortunately chosen the wrong “bad guy.” The bad guy here is not the theory of evolution, which, as I mentioned, many Christians who work in the sciences believe in. No, the bad guy is scientific naturalism, which says that the only real things are the things we can examine through science. This is the worldview that needs to be addressed.

Elliot Ritzema, All Is Grist

Another concerned Christian created a website called The Truth Problem, addressing his concerns with the entire TPP video series. The site includes a Science Fact Check and provides links to other Christian points of view. In Creation & Evolution – A Case for Inclusivity, he makes the point that we should be “humble and open-minded especially towards Christians who take the Biblical creation account metaphorically.”

Although I have been critical of Dr. Tackett myself, I like him. We’re on the same side, though I suspect he would throw me out with the bathwater too.