I don't remember who it was that said it, but in class, it was mentioned that science could be used to prove God. I beg to differ. Science, by definition is a process used to observe phenomena, formulate a hypothesis, recreate the initial observed phenomena in a controlled environment, and then draw a conclusion from the observation of the experiment. There are a few problems present in the 'proving God' theory.
1) Science only deals with the empirical world.
We can't use science in the supernatural realm of understanding. Why? because it doesn't apply. for example, look at the Old Testament. Looking only at the Old Testament we could use 'science' to conclude that God will order mass genocide of all those who don't believe or make him angry. Now looking at the New Testament, we can see that this is not the case. As a matter of fact "It is not God's will that any should perish, but that all may come to know Him."
2) Science can only draw conclusions from observable, repeatable phenomena.
As before, we can't exactly draw a solid conclusion about God from looking solely at the Old Testament. His decisions differ from one another, as do His methods.
3) Science can't prove anything.
Science, according to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, is the observation and examination of observable, repeatable evidence. It also says that science can only draw conclusions from these observations and experiments. Science cannot prove phenomena. the closest anything dicovered by science can be to a property (the closest thing to an absolute truth in science) is a law, which is still disprovable.
4) Theology is not a science.
We talked a little bit about theology as a science. Unfortunately, this does not fit within the plane of science. Again, according to Britannica, science only deals with the physical realm. Last time I checked, theology did not deal with the physical world. Now, let me explain, theology is a study, thoughts and ideas can be derived in theology by the use of reason. However, it is not a science.
Now that all that's been cleared up, we can begin to clear up the discrepancies. Yes, we can use reason to deal with theological concepts. No, we cannot prove God. To do so would put God in the finite capacities of the human mind. Soren Kierkegaard said in our book last semester "In this day in age, no one is willing to stop with faith, but goes further." He was spot on, we try to understand who God is or why He does, but ultimately we will fail.
I hope that made sense.
~~Cody Martin
Commented on Hunter's 'To See His Face'
Theology differs from science in that it deals with things that are not perceivable by the senses. However, it is analogous to science in that...
ReplyDelete1. there is a subject which we would like to study,
2. we look at records of experience others have had with this subject, since the subject (God) in his entirety has not been revealed to us personally. Then from these records of interaction and the nature of God, and a whole lot of reasoning we come up with an overall picture of the nature of the cosmos, or as we call it here at UM, a worldview.
SO...
As long as science is defined as only dealing with the physical, then yes, theology may not be a science. But, simply looking at science as a method of inquiry, theology and science are rather similar. Also, remember that psychology is a science and it attempts to describe many disorders of which no tangible/ biological cause has been found. This type of science is very much related to theology... just something to ponder...