Science Falsely So-Called

 1Ti 6:20 — 1Ti 6:21

O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen.

In his closing exhortation to Timothy, the apostle Paul gives some golden advice that is relevant, perhaps even more so, in our age of information overload.

First and foremost is the "keeping". Keeping the sound and good doctrine, of the glorious gospel, of the truth in godliness. (vv. 1:10,11; 3:16; 4:6,13; 5:17; 6:3). This is the one major theme in this epistle that the mentor wanted to drive home and impress upon the young evangelist. And likewise to us. There can be no acceptable action, there can be no better guard against the wiles of the devil, against false teachers and doctrine, apart from the doctrine of Christ.

Then there is the "avoiding". Obviously not in the manner of shutting out utterly and living as hermits, since we are to go out into the world to preach the gospel (cf. 1Co 5:10), but not to be caught up in unfruitful discussions that only generates strife (2Tim 2:23) not to be focussed on "intellectual" study while missing the big picture and bending the Scripture for "scholarship sake" (cf. 2Pe 3:16).

Included in this category is the "science falsely so-called". The ESV version renders it clearer as "what is falsely called “knowledge”". The Greek word, translated as "science" here in the KJV, "Gnosis", refers to present and fragmented knowlege, in contrast to the "epignosis", which is a more intense version where the knowledge seeker is more deeply involved. 

And thus we need to be discerning to "fads", "designer doctrines", things that serve to "scratch ears" (2Ti 4:3-4), as opposed to real truths that is established in the entirety of the gospel.

What's more alarming is the danger and reality of such coming from even within the church, that had Paul warning Timothy on mulitple angles in both epistles.

And today, it is so much the more relevant because of the ease of access to knowlege and sad to say, majority of which is merely "science falsely so-called". Just look at the tsunami of information that comes crashing through in the social media. And far too often, we get caught up and become unwitting participants, when we share without discernment, when we make a comment or even click a "like" without understanding.

The platform of social media offers new opportunities but is definitely not a good or even suitable stage to engage in deep discussion. It is but a tool for us to generate interest for some offline deep discussion and study, which we cannot do without, if soul saving is our goal.

Do not be caught up in "profane and vain babbling" online. It is often counter productive and may cause one to be disheartened, and even loose one's faith, not to mention the potential to stumble others unwittingly.

Let us continue to study and keep the sound doctrine and hang on to the basics, even as we try to engage soul saving opportunities in this digital age.