RE: What beliefs would we consider reasonable for a self proclaimed Christian to hold?
March 29, 2018 at 9:12 am
(March 29, 2018 at 1:41 am)stretch3172 Wrote:(March 28, 2018 at 5:10 pm)drfuzzy Wrote: How are we missing such an easy point here? Big Bang, Evolution, Black Holes, etc., -- a lot of measurable data exists for all of it.
Theory - basic scientific definition: A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment. Such fact-supported theories are not "guesses" but reliable accounts of the real world.
Theories are respectable science that is ongoing. There is no "belief" required, just study.
I don't need to "believe" that the Big Bang happened, and if our knowledge of it was updated tomorrow, great, but it doesn't affect my daily life. I don't need to "believe" evolution happened, I accept the large volume of archaeological, biological, geological, migration, development, DNA, and other types of data that have been collected supporting it.
"Belief" is not necessary, we have data. The concepts of "belief" and "faith" are not welcome in my world.
I agree completely with this. That said, the scientific process by which we develop theories is founded on some key assumptions. For one, we are assuming that our means of observing the world (i.e. the natural senses, measuring instruments, etc.) are accurate and reliable in the information they convey. Also, the realm of phenomena that can actually be studied empirically could very well be infinitesimally small compared to all of reality. We are limited by our senses and the sensitivity of our own scientific instruments. On some level, then, we must have faith in our own senses and methodological approaches or it wouldn't be possible to draw any scientific conclusions.
Yes. We are limited by our senses. There COULD be more out there that we may never be able to measure. And if you're a theist/christian, what you are implying by that big "it's possible" is that souls do exist, and an afterlife exists, and a god exists.
Fine. Thank you for making that implication in a manner that does not also assert that I am foolish/stupid for not trying to telepathically connect to these invisible beings.
But if there is a lot "more" - the existence of "more" does not affect me in any way.
And we do not have "faith" in data and method - we understand how and why these techniques work and constantly strive to improve them.
"The family that prays together...is brainwashing their children."- Albert Einstein
