The contributions of Religion to sciences

[leibowde84]

Religion opens the doors to exploring the greatest depths of reality.
It frees science from the restraints of always striving for a 'final explanation' that would best appear to 'make God redundant' in any particular field. e.g. static universe, classical physics, big crunch, gradualist evolution

I think this is primarily why most scientific progress has come from skeptics of atheism. They are free to look beyond the superficial explanation de jour.

This is not true. The whole point of science is that it doesn't recognize authority or absolutetes, like religion. Theories are constantly being challenged and improved upon by fellow scientists. Religion, otoh, claims absolute or final truths. Science is an ongoing process, never afraid to recognize it's own mistakes.

 

[leibowde84]

When I see GW mentioned on TV it is just that, warming. But in the papers, apparantly it's been cooling for over ten years now. Who's right I wonder?

It is climate change.

 

[Augustus]

never afraid to recognize it's own mistakes.

The mistakes don't belong to 'science' they belong to scientists. And many scientists certainly are very reluctant to admit any possibility that they may have made a mistake.

 

[Revoltingest]

Yes, I think I'd sooner buy a used car from you!
As far as prophets, science should not have any, but in practical reality- Al Gore, Hawking, Dawkins do not operate in that capacity?

I'm sorry....I hope none of me cider got on you.
When you offered Al Gore as a prophet of science, my paroxysm of chortling caused it to shoot out me nostrils!

Had the universe turned out to match any of those models' predictions of non-creation, I'd happily accept the explicit implication of it; no creation = no creator.
I'm happy to accept the opposite implication also, that of observed reality

Models (theories) must be continually updated to comport with new discoveries.
This lack of permanent truth isn't a weakness of science....nay, it's the strength of the method.
We aren't mired down in any static view of reality which cannot change to match our improving perception of it.
It's stressful.....we don't have THE TRUTH.
Treasured ideas are continually toppled.
But it's more interesting this way.
Look at the turmoil caused by dark energy, dark matter, etc, etc.
Interesting times lie ahead.

I'd agree, though point being- there is nothing particularly less falsifiable- hence scientific, about God or Genesis or ID- than today's atheist creation stories of the universe and life itself.
We're all strange believers of something

I've no problem being strange & lacking in truth.

 

[leibowde84]

The mistakes don't belong to 'science' they belong to scientists. And many scientists certainly are very reluctant to admit any possibility that they may have made a mistake.

I've never heard of scientists being reluctant to accept the possibility that theories cannot be improved upon. Can you provide an example?

 

[Augustus]

I've never heard of scientists being reluctant to accept the possibility that theories cannot be improved upon. Can you provide an example?

Not that they don't accept the general normative concept, more that they don't want to accept that THEIR theories are wrong.

 

[metis]

Generally speaking, scientists make for lousy "believers", if you know what I mean. Gotta have objectively-derived evidence, and that's the key to science-- period.

 

[Revoltingest]

Not that they don't accept the general normative concept, more that they don't want to accept that THEIR theories are wrong.

Scientists are subject to all human failings.
The scientific method helps overcome this problem.
Remember cold fusion?
Pons & Fleischmann didn't accept their failure very well.

 

[Robert.Evans]

Really?
It is true?
Then why all the changes to this supposed "truth"?

Changes? Please expand.

 

[Robert.Evans]

It is climate change.

That's not what I said. The climate always changes; I was asking, is it warming now or cooling, and that depends on who you listen to.

 

[leibowde84]

Not that they don't accept the general normative concept, more that they don't want to accept that THEIR theories are wrong.

Can you provide an example of this?

 

[leibowde84]

That's not what I said. The climate always changes; I was asking, is it warming now or cooling, and that depends on who you listen to.

Acording to the data, the global mean temperature is on an undeniable warming trend.

 

[Skwim]

Religion opens the doors to exploring the greatest depths of reality.

Not with the following approaches it doesn't.

AND

It frees science from the restraints of always striving for a 'final explanation' that would best appear to 'make God redundant' in any particular field. e.g. static universe, classical physics, big crunch, gradualist evolution

This might be significant if science actually strove "for a 'final explanation' that would best appear to 'make God redundant' in any particular field," but it doesn't. Your straw man burning will take place at 5 pm EDT today in the parking lot of Target.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

The mistakes don't belong to 'science' they belong to scientists. And many scientists certainly are very reluctant to admit any possibility that they may have made a mistake.

Bingo, science the method and science the academic opinion are often confused in threads like these. They are two distinct things, often diametrically opposed to each other.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

That's not what I said. The climate always changes; I was asking, is it warming now or cooling, and that depends on who you listen to.

Statistically flat, even in the IPCC the debate now is more about the reason for the 'hiatus'. (they're still choosing a word that implies warming will follow of course!)

 

[Guy Threepwood]

Acording to the data, the global mean temperature is on an undeniable warming trend.

I love the phrase they used for the global temp scale- 'Estimated actual' almost sounds real!

 

[Sunstone]

It's always informative when someone thinks they're smarter than 5,500 climate scientists. Not to mention amusing. But it gets even funnier when someone thinks 5,500 climate scientists could be in a conspiracy to cover up the truth without even a single one of those scientists coming forward to say there's a conspiracy going on.

 

[Robert.Evans]

Acording to the data, the global mean temperature is on an undeniable warming trend.

According to the date on the side it is up to 1990. The last ten years I said.

 

[Robert.Evans]

It's always informative when someone thinks they're smarter than 5,500 climate scientists. Not to mention amusing. But it gets even funnier when someone thinks 5,500 climate scientists could be in a conspiracy to cover up the truth without even a single one of those scientists coming forward to say there's a conspiracy going on.

Some scientists at the beginning didn't agree though, if I recall correctly, and left, and there places were filled with people who weren't even scientists - and I might add, their fee and budget then does through the roof, and for what exactly? Nothing much will happen until the sea starts lapping at our doors. A few years ago they were still building houses in London on the flood plain of the Thames river.

 

[Guy Threepwood]

That's not what I said. The climate always changes; I was asking, is it warming now or cooling, and that depends on who you listen to.

Cooling was the big scare when I went to school- I lived through the change to warming and back to flat again

And it's been more than a decade - even this el Nino didn't top 1998 temps.. but more than that

U.S. tornado numbers among lowest in recorded history in 2014

it's been nearly a decade since a Hurricane made landfall in the US..

Arctic ice rebounding

The great lakes after being at low levels from 'global warming' are now back above average

this is very troubling, not only does global warming cause record cold, snow, drought, flood, earthquakes,
volcanoes - but something far more terrifying:

Boring weather!

A recently leaked preview of the next IPCC report summary:

"Our latest studies now reveal that the planet is experiencing a period of unremarkable weather not seen for 900 million years. Computer simulations clearly show we are poised on a tipping point, beyond which we will trigger a runaway feedback loop of ever more mind numbingly boring weather, interesting weather may be just a fond memory by 2020.
Regions already suffering from boredom will be hardest hit, we must act now to save future generations from catastrophic climate tedium"