“Science is hope” read one of the signs at the 2017 NY city march for science. It was also a chant during part of the march. I understand the sentiment… perhaps; just perhaps, some scientist might find a painless path through the future that avoids trashing the planet. This is very unlikely. If it were to come to pass, then most likely the effect would be to simply delay the day of reckoning. “Science is hope” raises the questions where should we place our hope for the future?

Science is a form of knowledge, and technology is the craft that draws on the knowledge of science. Both can be practiced without wisdom. Both science and technology are useful tools that can help us with the problems we face today and in the future. But science and technology can also be used in a way that destroys the planet. The internal combustion engine is an example of an invention that has radically altered our culture. It has brought both great benefits and great harm. Science without wisdom is as likely to destroy the planet as save it.

Today we need wisdom. More science and better technology can help, so long as we have the wisdom to use them well. You can earn multiple PhD’s in many disciplines, and still not find wisdom. You can study philosophy, literature, religion, etc. and still not find wisdom. All too often our cleverness is a way of delaying the enviable, avoiding the agony of the hard decision that requires wisdom, at least for now. Wisdom is not found in a textbook, in an equation or in a logical argument.  Where then is wisdom found?

“Science is hope” passes from the realm of science towards the frontiers of faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (to quote the King James).  “Science is hope” places faith in science.  Put more concretely, it is the hope that scientists will “find a way”, suggesting that we need to give enough funding, with better education, better laboratories, etc. to increase the chances of a “solution.”   I too want increased science funding, better educational opportunities, and better equipped laboratories. But I am under no illusion that this will solve our problems.

Such an eschatological hope pinned on science passes from the realm of science into the realm of eschatology, of things hoped for, of what ought to be. At the very least such eschatological thinking lies at the edges, if not the heart, of religion.  To put ones faith in science is to put ones faith in both human ingenuity and to have faith in the wisdom of humans to make the correct use of that knowledge and craft. There is precious little historical evidence to back up such a hope.

One common thread among many religions is the rejection of putting our faith and hope in human effort.  The alternative is to kick humankind off the pedestal of the demigods, and to seek out that which is truly divine. Wisdom is not simply harmonizing knowledge and heart, but also includes a divine spark. The path to that spark starts with humility.  It allows us to see the image of God in the face of those we oppress and marginalize, if not directly, then by our participation in a culture that does.  Perhaps, if we can come to acknowledge that we have put ourselves in a position from which there are no painless solutions, we can start to have the humility to seek the wisdom necessary to find a way forward.  Part of the way forward is coming to understand our role in the problem and seeing reconciliation and forgiveness.

Perhaps the best thing we can do is to pray for wisdom, not the wisdom found within human efforts, but the wisdom that comes from seeking out the divine.