Truth Is ...

Dr. Don Johnson (with earned Ph.D.s in both informational and natural sciences), the founder of Science Integrity, once believed anyone not accepting the "proven" evolutionary scenario that was ingrained during his science education was of the same mentality as someone believing in a flat earth. With continued scientific investigation, paying closer attention to actual data (rather than speculative conclusions), he began to doubt the natural explanations that had been so ingrained in a number of key areas including the origin and fine-tuning of mass and energy, the origin of life with its complex information content, and the increase in complexity in living organisms. It was science, and not religion, that caused his disbelief in the explanatory powers of undirected nature that had been protrayed as truth. The fantastic leaps of faith required to accept the undirected natural causes in these areas demand a scientific response to the scientific-sounding concepts that in fact have no known scientific basis. Scientific integrity needs to be restored so that ideas that have no methods to test or falsify are not considered part of science.

 Science Integrity deals only with science, describing my background, books, and secular presentations.  The books (both scientist and non-scientist versions) are a concise refutation of undirected natural processes as the cause of nature with over 350 references.  They are totally secular, using only empirical and known science to prove that nature demonstrates Intelligent Design (ID).  The secular Website and the books make no claim as to the identity of the agent of design, which is a philosophical or theological belief (as opposed to empirical science).  As such, the books are totally non-religious, and would be appropriate for secular schools or other venues in which the Bible or promoting religious doctrine would be inappropriate.

This site goes beyond empirical science to explain beliefs and the reasons for those beliefs.  As I've pointed out to Christian audiences, if I could prove that the God of the Bible is the Designer, faith would be unnecessary since the Christian God would be proven fact.  This site is meant to build up the Saints and equip them to teach their children in an intellectually satisfying and scientifically-based manner.  If you are not a Christian, you are free to study the evidence even if the Bible may not have any significance to you, personally.

When presenting science, I do not start with "the Bible is true and totally accurate" (which may upset some Christians), but stick to scientific evidence which supports the Bible (I don't use science to "disprove" a Biblical account).  I realize that all knowledge is only partial understanding, and may not be intuitive.  For example, if you had never studied atoms, would you guess that a "solid" object actually consists mostly of empty space?  Making dogmatic beliefs based on a perception of reality has caused major problems.  For example, people were executed by the church for believing the heretical view that the Sun, rather than the Earth, is the center of our solar system.  This false belief was based on the false literal interpretation of Joshua 10:12 "O sun, stand still" (not "Earth stop rotating").  As a mater of faith, I believe that the original Bible manuscripts were verbally inspired by God and error-free (and have been preserved with miraculous fidelity).  But I recognize my understanding of truth may be faulty, so I'm careful about dogmatism without overwhelming evidence.  I also don't try to scientifically explain miracles (e.g. Egypt's plagues or Jonah's great sea creature).

Even though my books are totally secular, they do affect a reader's faith.  An example is the Amazon review of Probability's Nature and Nature's Probability: A Call to Scientific Integrity labelled It restored my faith, (Mark A. Capuano).  "As an elder and an engineer, I'd always thought I had a pretty good balance between science and religion. I had't noticed over the years, how a strong diet of PBS and Science Channel specials had shifted many of my fundamental beliefs in God, and the nature of creation. I found myself questioning everything, and was becoming quite fatalistic in my 60's. This book changed all that. Over the course of two days my brain experienced a major reality check. As "common thought" and scietific assumptions failed the tests of statistical possibility, the inevitability of an intelligent source to all life began to emerge anew in my reasoning. Certain facts of science should not be explained by religion. But when scientists attempt to explain certain realities of faith through faulty application of methods and reasoning, and then clings to these tenets in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they just end up looking silly. This is what I came away with from my two day journey. The book was extremely detailed and yet very readable. I give it an A+. It may have been the most significant book I've read in 10 years."

Changes (jncluding views on "truth") will be made as time permits.  Please check often and tell others of this site.

A new book "Programming of Life" is finished.  Every cell has thousands of interacting computers reading billions of bits of digital information, including implementation of extremely complex digital computer programs.  Microsoft founder Bill Gates has written "Human DNA is like a computer program but far, far more advanced than any software we've ever created" [The Road Ahead]. Can you imagine how believable it would be if someone were to suggest that the Windows 7 operating system just arose by natural processes?  If all goes well, the book should be available in August.  This project has delayed other projects, such as updates.  I've been asked to write a chapter for a peer-reviewed book, which also (unfortunately) is going to result in further delays for updates at this site.

"The Word" video presentation (link to PDF here) clip

6-part series on Creation, Evolution, and Science Facts (start audio, then click on PDF/msg to see "slides")

Video clip from the 3rd session (links to other clips display)

Video of first session of 6-part series (others display, also)

Bioinformatics: The Information of Life video (at UNCW)

Is Undirected Naturalism Sufficient? video

Video clips from secular presentation "The Information of Life"

Full  "The Information of Life" video (if it's still there)

Discovery Institute Interview: part 1 part2 Cell Computer System 

Interviews on 90.5 FM Radio, Wilmington:  Aug-09 Jan-10  

Creation Magazine Interview

Contact djbiblescience@gmail.com (or don@scienceintegrity.net for secular) for presentation inquiries

Truth Is ...Relative? Conditional? Absolute? Unknowable?  

Truth may seem unknowable to some since examples can be envisioned to categorize many things as being both true and false.  For example, take a lukewarm pan of water and have two people place their hands in it, one coming from ice water, the other from very hot water.  One will say the lukewarm water is hot, the other cold, and both are correct since hot and cold are relative "truths".  A 50 degree temperature may be "cold" inside a room, but "hot" for an outdoor Minnesota winter day.

The statement "2+2=4" may seem absolute, rather than conditional, but what if you are told the numbering system is base-3 (which has a maximum digit of 2, so that 2+2=11), or base 4 (where 2+2=10).  An assertion that something is "impossible" is often conditional.  One can correctly assert that based on current US law, it’s impossible that Arnold Schwarzenegger (born in Austria) will become US president, but since the law can be changed, one can’t accurately assert the impossibility of his presidency.  Based on the second law of thermodynamics, a perpetual motion machine is impossible. One doesn't have to construct every conceivable machine and demonstrate that each and every case that could be conceived will not work. If someone claims that such a machine is possible, that person would need to prove that claim (and a single instance of such a machine would suffice as proof), thereby proving that the law of increasing entropy is incomplete or inaccurate. In a similar way, all the known laws, theorems, and principles of information science indicate that codes, algorithms, and complex specified information cannot arise without an intelligent source. Therefore, based on information science, an undirected source of those features as found in life are impossible to have arisen without intelligent direction. Thus, based on accepted information science, it is impossible for life to have an undirected source.

Sometimes truth may be true for one person, and not for another.  For example, a father can tell his daughter (that most would classify as "homely") that she is beautiful, which could very well be truth for him.  Consider a Ubangi woman with an extremely enlarged plated lip.  While most Americans would probably use other adjectives, a Ubangi man may speak truth in calling her beautiful since beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

What about religious truth?  Many believe it doesn't matter what one believes since all paths lead to God.  Others believe that the "sincerity" of belief is what's important.  Since there are so many religions, wouldn't it be bigotted to claim only "my" religion is true, with all others false?  Are there absolute truths?  This important question deserves its own page (but it won't be available today).

The Word from Don Johnson on Vimeo.