Sermon Illustrations
Scientific Research Marred by Sinful Drives
A 2009 report from Edinburgh University found that a third of scientific medical researchers admitted anonymously to scientific fraud, with nearly three-fourths saying they had witnessed deliberate warping of data to achieve desired results. Daniele Fanelli, the report's author, wrote, "I had naively assumed that scientists would be principled [but scientists] are human beings driven by their interests, hopes, and beliefs. Given opportunities to cut corners by falsifying data, they may well do so." Furthermore, the science journal Nature estimates that around a thousand incidents of falsification or plagiarism [of scientific studies] go unreported in the U.S. every year.
Possible Preaching Angles: Sin; Original Sin; Depravity—Even scientific research, which should be completely objective, can be warped by the researchers (the scientists), who like us, are sinful.