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Posted by on Feb 21, 2013 in Progressive Christians, Science | 5 comments

Religion Is Comfortable With Science… Only To A Point

Whenever the debate arises between science and religion, there are generally liberal theistic believers who come forward to express their support for science while touting their religious identity. These liberal theistic believers then declare that there is no debate between science and religion. They are wrong!

For the sake of argument, let’s not even discuss religious fundamentalists who support creationism, reject the big bang, deny climate change, etc. Liberal theistic believers rightfully agree with us that those believers are a problem and for those fundamentalist believers religion really is in conflict with science.

My point today is with the theistic believers who agree with us on all those things and then claiming that because they agree with us on those scientific issues, that they support science.  Yet these same liberal believers still believe in a deity on insufficient evidence. They might even believe in a small handful of other ridiculous religious beliefs too. I want to talk about theistic believers who abandon science when science doesn’t support their religious beliefs.

When you think about it that way, these liberal theistic believers aren’t much different from their fundamentalist counterparts. It isn’t a matter of whether they support science or not, but rather at what point they stop supporting science in favor of superstition. All theists abandon science at some point. It is just a matter of which point they choose to reject the scientific method.

Yes there are great scientists who belief in God. There are even some who believe that a first century carpenter performed miracles and rose from the dead. There is no doubt that these great scientists are great at the science they do, but when it comes to the religious beliefs they hold, they just aren’t applying the scientific method. They have not tested these fanciful claims nor is there any valid evidence these religious claims. These religious claims can’t be peer reviewed either. The fact is that these religious scientists abandon science when it conflicts with their religious beliefs just as fundamentalists do. Again, it is just a matter of degrees.

Don’t get me wrong, I am glad that there are theistic believers accept the science of evolution, the big bang, and climate change, but there is more to science than just a handful of scientific facts. Science is a method and these liberal believers just stop using that method when it comes to claims about an all-powerful deity and his carpenter son.

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  • http://biblicalscholarship.wordpress.com Jayman

    Science is a method and these liberal believers just stop using that
    method when it comes to claims about an all-powerful deity and his
    carpenter son.

    Do you believe every question has a scientific answer?

    • http://www.skepticink.com/dangeroustalk Dangerous Talk

      No, but every question dealing with the natural of reality sure does. We just might not know what that answer is yet for some questions.

      • http://biblicalscholarship.wordpress.com Jayman

        I assume you mean nature of reality. You seem to be saying that if someone believes science cannot answer all questions about the nature of reality then they are “abandoning” or “rejecting” science. But you haven’t constructed a valid case for that conclusion. Where is the logical connection between not believing science can answer all questions about the nature of reality and rejecting science?

        • http://www.skepticink.com/dangeroustalk Dangerous Talk

          You have constructed a strawman argument and I tried to cut that strawman in half before you made it. But I have failed apparently because you didn’t even acknowledge what I said. Instead, you just barreled on with your strawman.

          Let me attempt to clear this up. The scientific method allows us to understand the world around us. If a claim is made about reality, we can use the scientific method to evaluate that claim. When someone asserts a belief in deities, they are making a claim about reality. They are saying that a deity exists in reality and that the deity actually created reality. There are many more claims about reality that follow from this, but I’ll leave it at that for now.

          So, is there evidence for the claim that a deity exists?

          • http://biblicalscholarship.wordpress.com Jayman

            If a claim is made about reality, we can use the scientific method to evaluate that claim.

            OK, I see no reason to accept this statement.