Belief Vs. Science: Round II

Stop cherry-picking your science based on your religious beliefs. This is particularly true when discussing evolution, but also applies to astronomy and biology, to name two examples. Here's the way it often works:

Scientist 1: "Electrons flow through the wire and make your tv work"
Believer 1: "I like tv. Now I can watch EWTN"

Scientist 2: "Gravity is the invisible force that pulls masses toward each other"
Believer 2: "Oh good. Now I won't float away when I go to church"

Scientist 3: "Humans are animals and evolved from previous species and animals"
Believer 3: "BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH...GOD DID IT! GOD DID IT!"

I'm not saying that every religious person holds this view, which is, admittedly, a bit extreme. I'm talking about the most vocal and hence most advertised. These are the people that come out every time some new evidence is presented and scream about how we're destroying America with heathen beliefs. We all cherry pick to some extent since science is presented in a social setting and sometimes the evidence challenges our beliefs. But often those beliefs were based on assumptions that turned out to be bad.

Science is based on evidence and observations. After the evidence is studied, a theory is put forth to attempt to explain the observations. Theories are evaluated for consistency and the one that explains the most is the one used. When contrary evidence arises, the theory is revised or thrown out. But until a better theory or contrary evidence is presented, evolution stands as the best explanation of where we came from. It accounts for the observations and is consistent with what we observe both today and in the fossil record. The theory isn't perfect. But then again neither is the theory of gravity and we don't seem to have a problem with that.

It's true that saying "God did it" is a viable hypothesis. But since it can never be proven (by definition) it should not be presented as such. There is NO evidence you can bring that will show that God did or did not create humans. Therefore, your argument can never be validated and hence, cannot be considered scientific. So stop brining it into the science classroom and into the scientific discussion and literature. Keep it in the realm of philosophy where it properly belongs.

I'm of the opinion that if you want to cherry pick science to conform to your religious views rather than using your brain to look at the world in front of you, you're essentially saying "I'm not going to use the logical thought processes that God gave me." How is it that it's acceptable to understand electricity, magnetism, why the wind blows, how to build a house, and how babies are made but it's not ok to look at the past and understand where humans came from? Evolution in no way negates your religious views. Knowing that the universe started with a big bang should not effect your conviction that God set the wheels in motion. If your beliefs are so easily eroded by examining the natural world (that your God ostensibly created), then I could easily reach the conclusion that your beliefs weren't that strong or that accurate in the first place. We'll discuss this idea more in the final round tomorrow. For now, I want you to think about why some science is considered "good, moral science" and other science considered "inappropriate, atheist propaganda" when all science is an attempt to explain what we see around us and all science is based on observing what is happening right in front of you.