The Standards of Science Versus Theism

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David Killens's picture
The Standards of Science Versus Theism

Over a hundred and fifty years ago astronomers were baffled by the observation that they could not calculate the orbit of Mercury accurately. For every other known planet at that time, their calculations using the tried and true Newtonian model were spot-on. In 1859 the French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier proposed that the reason for the unusual orbit of Mercury was the existence of an unknown planet, coined "Vulcan" soon after.

The scientific community set about discovering Vulcan, and for many years the disputes were whether this planet was observed. This was mainstream science, and involved reputable scientists.

And this is the crux of the matter, because in 1915 Einstein's theory of relativity, an entirely different approach to understanding gravity from classical mechanics, solved the problem, and the required precision was attained.

The point is this: that even with all known facts and an internally consistent argument, that is not proof. It is still a proposition and requires confirmation.

But our story is not complete. Einstein's Theory of Relativity was novel and appeared to solve many questions. The solution on the orbit of Mercury was interesting, but not concrete proof that the overall theory was valid.

But 29 May 1919, Eddington resolved this theory definitely. He had taken pictures of a solar eclipse, and had caught sight of a star that should be behind the Sun. The only explanation was the the gravity from our Sun bent the light waves, confirming Einstein's Theory of Relativity.

And this is the second part of my summation, that no matter how sound a proposition is, it must still past the acid test of confirmation, to be able to be tested and proven.

These are the standards science operates under, that for any proposition to be accepted as a genuine theory, it must have more than a valid and logical internally consistent story, and it must be able to be tested and proven/disproven.

From this atheist's viewpoint, no matter how valid and internally consistent your argument is, that is not enough. And if any theist submits proof, that proof must be testable.

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Cognostic's picture
@David Killens: "Preaching
David Killens's picture
I know Cognostic. But I hope
Cognostic's picture
@David: Theists don't read.
Tin-Man's picture
Re: Science vs. Theism
toto974's picture
This is how you explain in
Sheldon's picture
I agree, but I've yet to see
Cognostic's picture
Kelsey Johnson: TIME TO

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