Is Science Proving False?

van Inwagen makes an interesting point about the nature of science in his book, referencing the role of cosmology and in particular the Big Bang theory of the origins of the universe.  Inwagen notes that scientists often claim to be able to explain why there is something rather than nothing.  But he states that overbold claims by scientists are problematic, in that as scientists continue to make these claims it could lead to a situation where eventually science is held up to ridicule.  Classically scientists were conservative, but in recent times scientists have become celebrities such as Hawking.  This is problematic for science and also as scientists continue to make overbold prophecies and claims (especially about the nature of the universe of the existence of God), they continually degrade the nature of science.  We have seen a spate of books recently written by famous scientists attacking religion and many of them also arguing for atheism or a version thereof.  These books represent a credibility problem for science, in that it could lead to a situation where science is refuted.  Rather than focusing on discovery, science now engages in metaphysics, but superficially, and therefore it is spelling its own undoing.  This could severely damage science itself and is quite disturbing.