The use and limits of science in making ethical decisions

Abstract

As Christians, we have the ethical responsibility to be good stewards of God’s creation and to advocate for care of creation in public decision making. In our technological and scientific society, creation care relies on using our best scientific knowledge to aid in this decision-making process. Technological advancements can bring benefits but also have side effects that could cause harm to the environment. For example, the use of advancements such as clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) to defeat illness may have unintended consequences. Technological advancements often promote economic activity, and this economic activity promotes the use of the new technology. This has always been the case for human beings as we create new technologies, but over the last one hundred years, certain advances (the use of carbon based fuels by cars, airplanes, factories for examples) have led to consequences for the climate."