Theories that Grow Up to be Truths

I have a good LDS friend named Rich who has his doctorate and a successful career in the sciences.  In the course of his career, Rich has worked both in the medical field and astronomy.  But religiously speaking, Rich is a fundamentalist.  In our discussions about science and religion, Rich makes the point that the development of scientific theories never really stops.  Thus, he believes, we should not try to conclude too much from the findings of science.  Since the finer points of any theory are always being adjusted, Rich proposes that they are never truths.  Since they are never truths, adjusting our religious beliefs to accommodate scientific findings is unnecessary.  Rich used the example of how Isaac Newton’s theories and equations for planetary motion were changed by Einstein’s equations linking gravity, speed and time.

I have heard other members use this same mental trick to avoid having to change their religious beliefs due to scientific findings.  The Big Bang is only a theory.  Evolution is still only a theory.  Carbon-dating and genetics analysis are still unproven technologies.  Since none of these members monitor Nature, Science, or other scientific journals, this denial can go on for decades.  

But the vast majority of astronomers would scoff at the suggestion that The Big Bang model of the universe is just a theory.  Similarly, biologists and medical professionals would disdainfully dismiss any assertion that evolution is only an unproven theory.  There is simply way too much confirming data that these models are true.  My reply to Rich’s example is that Einstein’s theory of relativity merely tweaked Isaac Newton’s theories.  Newton’s equations were not invalidated.  Will we continue to learn more about genetics and evolution?  Yes.  Will those learnings completely topple two sciences?  Not even close.  We are still learning more about gravity, but gravity is not a theory and I am not going to challenge its existence. 

Over my years in the LDS church, I have heard wild speculation from my most conservative friends and family that evolution is a conspiracy by scientists to destroy Christian faith, that carbon dating is wildly inaccurate, and that DNA analysis must be bogus.  (One distant family member told me that global warming over the last 50 years is not real, it’s just that our measurement of temperature has improved.)   Church members can stay in denial for their whole lives if they wish.  But the Big Bang, evolution, and genetics analysis are not theories any longer and they are never going to go away.