Is science a quest for truth?

We're told by almost everyone that people everywhere seek the truth. Even Christian apologists claim that this is the case. I want to address a couple questions; do men really seek the truth? Is this what science is all about?

Quotes and comments;

A. 'In no way does a truly Christian natural theology concern itself with the quest for temporary explanatory gaps in the scientific view of the world. It offers an alternative way of viewing nature, which may at times challenge exaggerated versions of the scientific method, yet welcomes and sees itself as part of the human quest for truth, whether scientific or religious.' - Alister McGrath [1.]

- Gee Alister, how does one know X is a 'temporary' gap? Isn't that the whole point? No one would say only God could account for X if they thought it was a temporary gap!
McGrath just jumps over this problem as if it doesn't exist; as if all 'gaps' were temporary. He talks as if there was nothing materialist science couldn't theoretically comprehend, as if there's nothing materialism won't one day explain, as if there were no gaps. (But as I've said before, if there are no gaps in the materialist account of reality, we'll be hard pressed to claim it isn't true.)

- McGrath gives us the typical 'liberal' view that the natural man is desperately seeking truth... but for some reason can't find it. (Maybe he's yet to stumble into the right aisle in the library, or onto the right book.) In other words he denies what the Bible says; "No one seeketh the truth, no not one..." I take this seemingly harsh statement to mean that there is no 'human quest for truth.''

The liberal response to this is to say, ''while it's true that the natural man is biased against spiritual truth, this doesn't affect his hunger for physical truth.'' I think this is a facile response; and one that makes a distinction that doesn't really exist. We all know that the issue of origins is intimately connected to 'spiritual' truths; to whether or not a man accepts or rejects God. (Not to mention other areas as well.)

- The truth of our situation is that we live in a God created universe; a universe that was designed and is 'upheld' by a divine Person. It goes against all orthodox Christian theology to claim that the natural man wants to know this truth about his environment. This rather is the last thing he wants to find out, the last thing he wants to know. If it can mean anything to say he seeks the truth, it can only mean he seeks to know the truth if, and only if, it doesn't point to divine creation.

- Take a look at history and you'll see how weak this human quest for truth really is. If this was the universal quest M. claims it is why did modern science take so long to come into existence? As I see it the modern success of science is largely a matter of population growth and the development of technology. I don't see it as evidence of a quest for truth at all.

- What man the rebel seeks is confirmation of his desire to be ultimate and autonomous... and to have a godless universe. I think we can see indirect evidence of this quest for a godless universe in the recent sf novels where human beings create their own (micro) universes. (e.g. the recent novels of Karl Schroeder) At the very least I see this universe creation as a metaphor for man's desire to be his own god. (i.e. he doesn't seek Truth, but instead seeks godhood.)

Notes;
1. A fine tuned universe; The Gifford Lectures for 2009: Alister Mcgrath [Lecture#2/p.7]
- Online at University of Aberdeen
2. I both like and dislike McGrath... so I'm not picking on him here. I've read him with profit, but always find myself disagreeing with a lot of things he says.
3. A 'truly' christian natural theology is of course the one he has.