To develop a scriptural model properly, we must understand what the author
intended to communicate to his intended audience, which in turn is determined by
the grammar and historical context. We must not try to read into Scripture that
which appears to support a particular viewpoint. The original Greek word
translated “science” is gnosis, and in this context refers to the elite
esoteric “knowledge” that was the key to the mystery religions, which later
developed into the heresy of Gnosticism.
This was not an error by the KJV translators, but an illustration of how many
words have changed their meanings over time. The word “science” originally meant
“knowledge,” from the Latin scientia, from scio, meaning “to
know.” This original meaning is just not the way it is used today, so modern
translations correctly render the word as “knowledge” in this passage.
Of course AiG believes that evolution is anti-knowledge because it
clouds the minds of many to the abundant evidence of God’s action in creation
and the true knowledge available in His Word, the Bible. But as this page points
out, it is wrong to use fallacious arguments to support a true viewpoint. On a
related matter, it is linguistically fallacious to claim that even now, “science
really means knowledge,” because meaning is determined by usage, not
derivation (etymology).
