Operational Vs. Historical Science

I was listening to a discussion of creation versus evolution and it got me to thinking about science. In our culture today when you attach the word “science” to anything it is taken as absolute truth. This is not always the case and we should be more discerning with our judgments on such claims.

There is a huge difference between operational science and historical science. One is legitimate, the other is not. The theory of evolution falls under the latter category.

Operational science is based on observation and the scientific method. It seeks to study how things “operate” today. You remember learning about the scientific method in junior high. There are several steps involved. One of the steps is that something tested must be repeatable, etc.

It is impossible to apply operational science and the scientific method to something that is not around. It is impossible to observe how something operated in history. Scientist cannot observe how things supposedly “evolved” in the past, because we cannot subject those things to observable, measurable, repeatable tests.

I am not saying that you cannot study history. We can and we should. Disciplines like archeology are important and informative. They can look at things we find and use those to help connect the dots. But, it is incomplete at best and is especially problematic the further you go back in history.

This does not disprove evolution. It does couch the debate in different terms. Evolution is a “theory”. A theory is a supposition or an assumption. Sometimes a theory can be based on current observable information. But, to take the fact that some birds’ beaks have slightly modified (i.e. Darwin) and then to jump to the statement that they must have evolved over millions and millions of years, is not science! It is not even a good assumption.

Tell that to a biologist and watch the fur fly! But, it is true! If public schools want to teach Darwinian Evolution that is fine, but it is not a scientific fact! And it shouldn’t be taught as such.

Vacation Fun

Last week our family went to the mountains of Colorado. We spent several days in South Fork, and skiing in Wolf Creek. We had a blast of a time.

Up in the mountains we had no internet, and very little cell phone coverage. There was a t.v. but we didn’t watch it that much. It was nice to be away from the hustle and bustle. The mountains are beautiful and a wonderful reminder of the creative power of God.

The girls love the snow—real snow. Back here in Texas if we get a tiny bit of sleet and ice we close the schools. There was several feet of fresh powder on the ground in South Fork. We sledded, played, made snow angels, snow balls, and had a grand time in real snow.

I love these times with the family. With the girls getting older our schedules are becoming packed. I think it is important for us to take time away to spend some time with just us. My prayer is that the Lord will use these times to grow us closer together as a family and, most importantly, closer to Him.

Failing and Quitting

I have recently read over a couple of books. Neither of them are spiritual in nature. In fact, one is a business book on leadership/management. But, they were fascinating and gave me some things to think about and “chew” on.

Failing Forward by John Maxwell

The Dip by Seth Godin

One book is about failing and the other book is about quitting. Sounds real uplifting doesn’t it.
The failure book was basically on the necessity to learn to handle failure in a way that it can be used to better your life instead of ruin it. The quitting book was more about when to persevere and when it is the right time to pull out of whatever it is you are doing.

The “dip” is basically the tough part of anything. It is when effort is at a maximum and results are at a minimum. The dip is the place most people quit, when they shouldn’t. The dip is the place you should work harder to fully realize the desired end result.
An example given is weight lifting. When you are doing a set of push ups, it is only the last few that produces the benefit in your muscles. The last few are also the ones that hurt the most, the ones that you don’t want to do, the ones where most people stop. That is the dip.




Think about some of these quotes.

From The Dip

“Only talented people fret about mediocrity.”

“The stupid thing to do is to start (something), give it your best shot, waste a lot of time and money, and quit right in the middle of the dip.”

“A woodpecker can tap twenty times on a thousand trees and get nowhere, but stay busy. Or he can tap twenty thousand times on one tree and get dinner.”


From Failing Forward

“We are all failures --- at least, all the best of us are. J.M Barrie”

“People think failure is avoidable—it’s not.”

“Failure isn’t so bad if it doesn’t attack the heart. Success is all right if it doesn’t go to the head. Grantland Rice.”

“God uses people who fail – because there aren’t any other kind around.”

“As Harvard psychologist Jerome Bruner says, ‘You’re more likely to act yourself into feeling than feel yourself into action.’ So act! Whatever it is you know you should do, do it.”

“Get over yourself—everyone else has.”

“Don’t let your learning lead to knowledge; let your learning lead to action. Jim Rohn.”

“There always comes a time when giving up is easier than standing up, when giving in looks more attractive than digging in. And in those moments, character may be the only thing you have to draw on to keep you going.”





I don’t necessarily have any brilliant spiritual insight from these things. I just wanted to give you some “food for thought”.

Sure Success

"“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." (Isaiah 55:10-11, ESV)


This is one of my favorite passages of scripture. I make this my prayer almost every Sunday that I get up to preach. It gives me such confidence to know that the impact of the sermons I preach are not dependent upon my words, but upon His Word.

This passage of scripture is one of the reasons that I preach the way that I do. I attempt to allow the text of God’s Word to set the agenda for the sermon. I do this because I want His Word to go out and accomplish His purposes in our lives.

I love the promise found in Isaiah 55. There is a great picture here of how God uses His Word. The rain and snow that falls from the sky always finds their mark. They never miss. They always hit the earth and bring the gift of life and productivity. In a similar way, God’s Word hits the mark that He determines. Through it we find the necessary ingredients for a lifetime of true discipleship to the Lord Jesus Christ.

The promise of this passage is also why I try to put myself under the influence of scripture as often as possible. I try to read, memorize, listen to, meditate on, and be taught the scriptures. I know that this will put myself in the line of fire of God’s purposes. That is always a good place to be.