RE: What beliefs would we consider reasonable for a self proclaimed Christian to hold?
March 29, 2018 at 10:38 am
(This post was last modified: March 29, 2018 at 10:49 am by stretch3172.)
(March 29, 2018 at 9:40 am)Tizheruk Wrote:Wrong. Any such "test" is meaningless unless you assume (1) that said test is reliable in the results it yields, and (2) that the observer's senses are reliable in their observation of those results.Quote: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.1. Nope the opposite .we don't assume all that we put it to the test .
2. We stick with the empirical rather then daydream other realms that may or may not exist.Such speculation is worthless .
(March 29, 2018 at 9:12 am)drfuzzy Wrote: 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.
Unless that "more" includes a being who maintains the universe and is capable of changing your entire life for the better, in which case it could affect you greatly. Also, I didn't say that scientists have faith in data. Data is objective. Our perception of that data, however, is filtered through our own senses and means of measurement, which we must assume to be correct.
