For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” – 1 Corinthians 1:19

“[Science] has the character of a worship service, and nothing is more common than to hear people speak of the temple of Science, of her priests and choristers. Governments are urged to make their gold and silver available to her. Science demands more and more facilities for her research, in buildings with ever-increasing splendor. Anyone who dares insult her is declared dishonorable, and whoever is not prepared a priori to yield to her pronouncements is no longer considered part of the enlightened population. Her priests even appear before judges to testify regarding matters of blame and innocence. Whatever the dispute may be, Science is expected to resolve the matter.” – Abraham Kuyper

Abraham Kuyper would’ve thrown-up in his mouth if he had to watch the folly that was Pfizer’s commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. Pfizer’s “Trust the science” rhetoric is nothing new. Kuyper was exposing the “priests of science” in his own day and in 1911 he summarized their strategy where their godless “[science ] presents itself as a queen who considers the entire existing world to be her domain… Science is presented as an oracle, a goddess by whom all human beings are expected to swear. And with the cry ‘Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!’”

Below is Kuyper, though dead, still speaking to us today (like he did on compulsory vaccinations here, on the LGBT+ nonsense here, and on the folly of “winsomeness” here). From his Pro Rege Vol. 3 we read:

“But this, if one will, rather innocent performance of the priests of science is not all there is. The situation changes radically when we direct our attention from the individual sciences to what presents itself as Science. Here we soon find ourselves overwhelmed by a power that is thought to demand unconditional obedience and, in uncontested dominion, waves its scepter over us and all human life. As Science this power presents itself as a queen who considers the entire existing world to be her domain. In fact, not infrequently Science is presented as an oracle, a goddess by whom all human beings are expected to swear. And with the cry “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” [Acts 19:28], the fame of this goddess of knowledge is spreading ever more widely. As long as you are dealing with a particular science such as mathematics, chemistry, medicine, or the like, you can form a fairly clear impression of such a science. But when we pass from the individual sciences to the general notion of Science, everything changes. You simply cannot say that Science is the same as the sum of all individual sciences, for everyone senses that Science refers to something totally different. It is not just a combination of various scholarly pursuits, but a mystical power that demands unconditional respect for its verdicts and submission to its pronouncements. It is not a power associated with an institution, nor represented in an established consortium of scholars whose judgment can be appealed to. Her service rather has the character of a worship service, and nothing is more common than to hear people speak of the temple of Science, of her priests and choristers. Governments are urged to make their gold and silver available to her. Science demands more and more facilities for her research, in buildings with ever-increasing splendor. Anyone who dares insult her is declared dishonorable, and whoever is not prepared a priori to yield to her pronouncements is no longer considered part of the enlightened population. Her priests even appear before judges to testify regarding matters of blame and innocence. Whatever the dispute may be, Science is expected to resolve the matter. And more telling yet is that Science, and Science alone, is held to be what sets the tone for all our thinking, and for our entire life-and worldview. That is why Science ultimately had to end up where it did, attempting to wrest the crown from Christ. Science refuses to submit to Christ to be judged by him, but does not hesitate for even a moment to sit as judge over him. History is not going to tell us who and what Christ was on earth, nor will the self-testimony of the Son of God be our guarantee for who he is and what he shall be until the end of the ages. All these things had been proposed this way for centuries and thoughtlessly repeated, but now Science knows better. Christ’s continued existence is out of the question, as is a supernatural birth from the virgin. If indeed there ever was a Jesus (and even this recently was haughtily questioned in Berlin), then this Jesus would have been like any other normal child, born of Mary and Joseph, he would have died with or without a proper legal procedure, and remained in the grave where he had been buried. As far as the reports of his resurrection and the persistent belief in his ascension are concerned, one can only dismiss such things with a shrug of the shoulders. It speaks for itself that all the reports of his miracles were fabricated. All that remained of him was the benevolent impression left by his appearance, and the memory of a few poignant words. The memory of his name lived on, and over the course of time people clothed his image with sagas and legends, such that his memory fanned the flames of centuries of idolatry. But Science finally tore the ornaments of fantasy from his true image, and presented Jesus to us in that normal, sober form with which modern man knows him as a man with a noble heart, as an attractive figure, as one of Israel’s truly devout rabbis, but still nothing other or more than one man among other men. Century after century Christ had been the power in Europe’s life, and people moved around him as the center of their lives. The dominion of Christ’s power had in fact been so complete that science had to be content with a small side chapel as her temple. Yet in the end this too changed. The image of Christ lost its halo. Christ was dethroned as King. His origin, name, and person were reduced to normal proportions. Kneeling before Christ no longer makes any sense. The Gospels that speak of him are unreliable; the apostles who acted in his name deluded and misled themselves and led the masses down the same path of error. Scripture is not a sacred book, but a normal collection of highly defective pieces of literature from which, only with the greatest care, a few trustworthy details can be extracted. That is what happened to Christ’s divinity, his kingship, and his power. His star was increasingly obscured, and his image grew dim. And while this star of Bethlehem sets in the west, the bright star of Science climbs ever higher on the horizon. She extends her royal authority ever further, her power grows continually, and she increasingly makes the impression of being a mystical goddess, whose oracles are accepted as the truth. Science pushed Christ aside, and established itself on the seat of honor where once Christ had shone so brightly for centuries on end.” – Abraham Kuyper

Kuyper, A. (2019). Pro Rege: Living under Christ’s Kingship: The Kingship of Christ in Its Operation (J. J. Ballor, M. Flikkema, J. Kok, & N. D. Kloosterman, Eds.; A. Gootjes, Trans.; Vol. 3, p. 314). Lexham Press; Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty