What can science prove?

[Frank]

For instance, if I qualify a statement (by saying "assuming I exist and the laws of nature remain unchanged") then I can make conclusive statements.

The fact that you must make those assumptions is what holds my argument together. Strictly speaking, we cannot know the second assumption to be true- we merely make the deduction that it is due to our past experience with it.

Well yes relying on the uniformity of nature is inductive thinking (but I've acknowledged the weaknesses in inductive reasoning). Moreover, you're saying that the necessity to qualify a conclusion proves your point - but I think we might be talking past each other my friend.

Anytime science makes a statement about anything it goes without saying that those conclusions are predicated on the assumptions that we exist, and the laws of nature will not fundamentally change. Obviously if we don't really exist or if the laws of nature suddenly change science would become pretty worthless. This qualifier is built into every conclusion science makes. Therefore, they can make absolute conclusions within those parameters (which is really all I'm saying).

I think what you're saying is science is unable to make "universal" statements (verses absolute conclusions), and yes I think there's a subtle distinction. If science makes a statement, with sufficient qualifiers built in (as we can infer in almost every case), in many instances they can make their conclusion with absolute certainty.

That's not to say that things can't change tomorrow; we cannot rule out the possibility of supernatural occurences in the same way we cannot conclusively rule out the possibilty of a god. It COULD happen. As such, the extent to which science can claim "proof" is limited by this exceptionally thin margin of uncertainty.

I guess I take issue with this line of reasoning. With regard to the question of god, you're right to say we can't debunk the concept in the same way we can exclude the possibility of immortal tunafish living in our oceans. Nevertheless, we can sufficiently debunk the idea of god to render religious faith intellectually absurd (e.g. reductio ad absurdum).