David Garner on "The Tyranny of the Expert"

Below is an excerpt from a fantastic article that David Garner has written. David is the Chief Academic Officer, Vice President of Global Ministries, and Charles Krahe Professor of Systematic Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. He is also one of the Executive Council members of the Gospel Reformation Network (GRN).

By “the tyranny of experts,” Machen meant the power of those who claim authority simply because they are specialists in a given area, such as education, or politics, or epidemiology. The idea is that we’re bound to submit to experts, no matter what our faith or conscience has to say about it. The experts rule. And the masses submit. Machen was adamant that our faith in the self-revealing Trinity should always be our highest authority. We submit because God said. Experts have their place, but that place is never to stand in authority over God’s revealed Word.

In our day, however, we don’t just have a tyranny of experts. There’s also a tyranny of non-experts: influencers who sway the masses on social media with that potent blend of ignorance and confidence. While very different from the experts, non-experts have the same altar call: “Heed my voice. Follow my lead. I know. Trust me.”

We’re facing a crisis of trust in the modern West. And that crisis has everything to do with authority. Who’s in charge? Who really has the truth? Where do we look for guidance and direction in weighing government policy, dissecting cultural trends, or responding to conflict in our daily lives? This is all about trust. And, again, everyone chooses. Everyone trusts in something or someone.

For the full article, click here.