Science and Christianity

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Science and Christianity

• Dave Scott
• and
• Daphne Brenner

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Science vs. Religion Myth or Melee?

• The nature of interaction between the two
  disciplines is still debated today.
• Science is the paradigm of truth and rationality.
• Religion has yet to be proven irrational or a
  matter of private, subjective opinion.

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The Debate about Scientific Realism

• The majority of modern scientists embrace
  realism.
• Most debates between Creationists and
  evolutionists assume scientific realism.
• There are three main schools of thought regarding
  scientific realism.

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Views of Science
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Rational Realism

• Scientific theories are true or approximately
  true.
• A mature scientific theory makes existence
  claims.
• Rationality is an objective notion and conceptual
  relativism is false.
• A scientific theory will embody certain epistemic
  virtues.

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Rational Realism

• The aim of science is a literally true picture of
  the world.

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Rational Nonrealism

• Science is rational in an objective,
  nonrelativist sense.
• Theoretical terms do not refer to the real world.
• The real world lies beyond what our senses tell
  us.
• Science gives inaccurate descriptions.

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Phenomenalism

• Scientific knowledge is about what we can
  perceive with our senses.
• That which cannot be perceived cannot be supposed
  to exist within scientific theories.
• Theoretical terms do not represent entities that
  exist.
• Laws of nature and theories are nothing but
  records of past experiences which can be used to
  anticipate future experience.

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Operationism

• Theoretical terms are shorthand devices for
  laboratory operations.
• Theoretical entities do not really exist.
• The laws of science are not true descriptions of
  the underlying structure of the world.
• These things are just sets of lab operations and
  recorded numbers in a lab notebook.

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Pragmatism

• Science merely aims to find theories that work,
  not truer and truer ones about the world.
• There are two types of problems empirical and
  conceptual.
• Theories which solve problems will embody certain
  epistemic virtues which might not be true.

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Constructive Empiricism

• Science aims to give empirically adequate
  theories.
• Acceptance of a theory involves a belief only
  that it is empirically adequate.
• That which is accepted might not be real.

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Nonrational Nonrealism

• There is no objective sense in which science is
  rational.
• There are no givens.
• Rival theories or paradigms cannot be compared.
• Science is simply rules arbitrarily drafted by
  scientists.

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The Limits of Science

• The validation of science is a philosophical
  issue, not a scientific one.
• Science assumes that the senses are reliable and
  give accurate information about the physical
  world and not merely successive sense impressions.

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Presuppositions of Science

• Perception Perceptual realism or representative
  dualism.
• The mind is rational and the universe can be
  understood.
• Uniformity of nature must be assumed to justify
  induction.
• Assumes the existence of universals.

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Presuppositions of Science

• Assumes that the laws of logic are true and that
  truth exists.
• Assumes certain moral, epistemic, and
  methodological values.
• The existence of boundary conditions.
• The general characteristics of science are
  repeatability, observability, and empirical
  testability.

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Science and Theology are Compatible

• Both disciplines speak about the origin of the
  cosmos, man and life in general.
• They describe the same reality using different
  methods
• Complementary view How? What? Who? Why?
• Theology asserts that God acts directly and
  indirectly
• The Christian worldview is most congruent with
  science

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Creation Science Outlined

• Ex nihilo creation
• Inadequacy of macroevolutionary theory
• plants and animals created within fixed limits
• Man aint no
  . monkey!
• Catastrophism in geology
• Young Earth

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Scientific Validity of Creation Science

• Supernatural terms (God) can function within
  theories describing the natural
• Biblical roots do not disqualify truth
• Makes predictions
• No less open to revision than modern evolutionary
  science

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Support for a Literal Genesis Account

• Yom- Hebrew word -Day
• In Mosaic books, a numerical adjective always
  means a literal 24 hours
• In OT, 97 of its 1900 uses, it is literal
• Chronological order usually the backbone of
  Biblical narrative
• Genesis 12 set the tone for a historical
  narrative

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Flaws in Macroevolutionary Theory

• Myth of the Prebiotic Soup
• Limited Genetic Potential
• Problems in the fossil record
• 2nd Law of Thermodynamics says A chance of 1 in
  10 to the 40,000th power

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Closing Statements

• Science is not infallible
• Religion is not irrational
• Christian theology is integrable with science
• Creation science is scientific
• Darwinian science is not proven fact

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