Several news stories drag Phil and the gang back into discussions of male and female toplessness YET AGAIN. (Thanks, Time Magazine and French feminists!) Then attentions are turned to topics of science! Should all scientists be “militant athiests?” Does faith in science fill the same emotional needs as religious faith? This week on the podcast!
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So is it possible to praise God through science? You can’t have two masters the Bible says, but can someone experience Good through science, firmly believe God only uses science when He works, and that science is never wrong (because real science is only such once it’s been proven with the scientific method so how could something proven be wrong?)?
I know I just asked a question inside a question, and I apologize
Obviously, Krauss forgets his graduate student days – when devils always seem to interfere with your experiments.
As a scientist, I reject Krauss’s interpretation of the scientific domain. Science, by definition, is value-neutral. If it wasn’t then it would cease being science and would instead morph into politics, which is what Krauss is trying to do.
Scientists have always had a multitude of opinions about social issues. Something that is lost in the current conversation about the social implications of science is that there have been many scientists who have led very spiritual lives, or have been respectful of spiritual and philosophical matters. Freeman Dyson for example said this:
“Science and religion are two windows that people look through, trying to understand the big universe outside, trying to understand why we are here. The two windows give different views, but they look out at the same universe. Both views are one-sided, neither is complete. Both leave out essential features of the real world. And both are worthy of respect.
Trouble arises when either science or religion claims universal jurisdiction, when either religious or scientific dogma claims to be infallible. Religious creationists and scientific materialists are equally dogmatic and insensitive. By their arrogance they bring both science and religion into disrepute. The media exaggerate their numbers and importance. The media rarely mention the fact that the great majority of religious people belong to moderate denominations that treat science with respect, or the fact that the great majority of scientists treat religion with respect so long as religion does not claim jurisdiction over scientific questions.”
Frankly, the warfare model of science and religion is boring. I think the world has moved on. Old-timers like Krauss and Dawkins really need to stop shouting and begin listening.