FALSE SCIENCE
O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: (1 Tim 6:20)
The reference to science has been removed from almost every modern version that. Let’s look at what has been done with this verse.
RV: O Timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee, turning away from the profane babblings and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called;…
ASV: O Timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee, turning away from the profane babblings and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so called;
RSV: O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:
NIV: Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge,
NKJV: O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge–
The NASV, NLT, Living Bible, ESV, Amplified, NAB, and many others have also used knowledge. Every version that I found perverted the left out the word ‘science’ as well.
The word in question is gnosis, which does mean knowledge, but then so does science. The difference is that the word chosen by the KJV translators had a prophetic significance, which would not have been recognized in 1611, but later would have great significance. In the early 17th century belief in God and the Bible was taken for granted; in later times, establishment science became hostile toward Christianity, and even theism itself. False knowledge is virtually the same thing as false science, but translations that use knowledge completely fail to capture the full significance of this verse, and they do so intentionally.
What does science mean in English? Science is derived from the Latin scientia. Scientia is defined by Scheller and Luenemann’s A New and Copious Lexicon of the Latin Language as meaning knowledge, science, skill, and expertness. The Oxford Universal Dictionary (English) defines science as meaning: “1. The state of fact of knowing; knowledge or cognizance of something specified or implied; also, knowledge (more or less extensive) as a personal attribute. Now Theol., and occas. Philos. 2. Knowledge acquired by study; acquaintance with or mastery of any department of learning . late ME. b. Trained skill. Now esp. (somewhat joc.) with ref. to pugilism 1785. 3. A particular branch of knowledge or study; a recognized department of learning; often opp. to art… ME. b. A craft, trade, or occupation requiring trained skill -1660. 4. A branch of study which is concerned either with a connected body of demonstrated truths or with observed facts systematically classified and more or less colligated by being brought under general laws, and which includes trustworthy methods for the discovery of new truth within its own domain 125. 5. The kind of knowledge or intellectual activity of which the ‘sciences’ are examples. In early use, with ref. to sense 3: What is taught in the Schools, or may be learned by study. In mod. use chiefly: The sciences (in sense 4) as dist. from other departments of learning; scientific doctrine or investigation, late ME. b. In mod. use often = ‘Natural and Physical Science’…”
Scott Jones has passed it on to me that Demosthenes 18.224 used the word gnosis in the context of inquiry and investigation – “tas twn dikasthriwn gnosis” and again in 21.92 “thn kata tou diaithtou gnosis” and that numerous other ancient Greek authors did so as well. So, to quote him verbatim, as he told me I could do, “anyone who says that “science” is inaccurate is an ignoramus.”
Other Bibles that do have science, include: Tyndale, Coverdale, Bishops’ Bible, Geneva, the Italian Diodati, the Fench Ostervald, Martin and Louis Segonde, the Spanish Reina Valera, and many other older Bibles, as well as a number of modern ones. Interestingly, Luther’s Bible has Kunst, which means art, but in a broader sense than it has in English. Its meaning is different from the modern concept of Wissenschaft (science), but was probably less so at the end of the 16th century. I’ll have to leave it to a German specialist to settle the issue, but its meaning is clearly much closer to the KJV than it is to the modern versions. It is not difficult to understand why the modern versions have removed science from this verse. The translators of modern versions are overwhelmingly influenced by evolutionary theory, either in its straight form, or in the form of so called divinely guided evolutionary theory, or gap theory, and they are almost entirely made up of men and women who lack the discernment to see through the fallacies presented in virtually every branch of science today. Their god is not the God of the Bible, but an entirely different god, and modern establishment science is an integral part of that god. It should be noted that these versions changed the verse to read “knowledge” about the same time that Darwin, Wellhausen, and atheist-centered science, archaeology, textual criticism and even theology were becoming fashionable. These apostate translators knew that science and knowledge meant basically the same thing, but they also knew that science had taken on a more specific meaning, which made it even more relevant than it has been in 1611. Why would Christian men want to protect wicked and anti-Christian science by altering this important verse? The answer is easy; they wouldn’t. Christian men had nothing to do with these translations, except perhaps for a few who repented later after they realized the evil that they had done.
I actually had a young earth creation scientist demand that I edit an article in which I called modern establishment scientists, false scientists. Amazing! He did not even recognize a Bible reference when he saw one. Or perhaps the fact that it was derived from the KJV is what riled him up. This is the most important quote in the entire Bible in regard to false science and false scientists and a creation science publisher either failed to recognize it, or knew that is it is from the Bible and objected to it! Yes, we are truly living in a day of absurdity and simplemindedness. The explanation for this is that the average creation scientists is little more than a babe that has been fed on artificial mother’s milk. They have seen beyond some of the lies of modern day science, but due to spiritual malnutrition they have not seen beyond the myriad of other layers of lies that Satanic forces have presented to the world. This is why most of them are grossly ignorant of lies based on textual and theological issues, as well as lies in regard to the political system under which they live, its monetary system, medical system, and so forth. They prefer the acclaim of man over truth and know that if they were to take a stand against Bibles created by Darwinists, they would lose the following of the apostate church. The apostate church, of course, dwarfs the remnant church of Christ many times over. Such men will always choose quantity over quality, and popularity over estrangement. Their intellectual weakness and cowardice not only helps promote false science by covering its biblical condemnation, but it places them among the ranks of false scientists. According to the historical meaning and use of the word science, the word encompasses more than just what is defined as science today. It includes all branches of knowledge, and that includes theology, archaeology, linguistics, and other fields that are relevant to understanding the Bible. The majority of creation scientists do exactly what Paul is warning Timothy against doing when they derive their views of scripture from atheist Bible-scoffing critics; they are taking part in vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called. In the end they are not Bible defenders at all, but theistic Bible critics who work for government corporations (501(c)3) and only promote the apostate harlot church that has neither standards nor commitment. They do the cause of Christ a great disservice while they claim to be furthering it.
Proverb 26:7: The legs of the lame are not equal: so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
It is in our best interest as Christians to heed the wisdom contained in 1 Timothy 6:20. Science falsely so called has permeated every aspect of modern life and thought. Government school and most private school education, Hollywood, the news media, TV programs, false churches, publishing companies, advertising companies, governments, and every other conceivable media have polluted the modern mind with so many lies that truth and falsehood have become indistinguishable to the masses. Even Bible-believing KJV Christians must constantly be on their guards against this bombardment of falsehood, and we must constantly be pealing back further layers of this conspiratorial attack against our minds and our souls. We are blessed to have a book that alerts us to this need.
Note: My thanks to Will Kinney for looking up the early English versions for me.
John Hinton, Ph.D.
Bible Restoration Ministry
A ministry seeking the translating and reprinting of KJV equivalent
Bibles in all the languages of the world.