Why don't so many religious people get science?

Question

This is a quote by Spritwalker to a recent question, I hope he wont feel its being taken out of context - "At best, science is a series of guesses. They want us to think they have the answers. Everytime they come up with a "fact," it changes a few weeks latter. YBIC."

Science doesn't go on guesses, it goes on evidence - experimental data; if there is new data that doesn't fit with a previous model or hypothesis, we must revise our ideas. Use new theories to explain the universe around us. Is this so awful? He said it changes after a few weeks - well it changes for the better. Is it so awful to admit humans are imperfect and always have more to learn? Doesn't humility make us better?

Would you rather be wrong for a few weeks, or wrong for 2000 years?

LOL you don't want to embarrass me, Gary? That's ok. I think its you who've embarrassed yourself believing in creationism in this day and age.

"Those who KNOW too much though should know that they know nothing at all" Oh wow Light, thats profound. Oh wait, no its not. Its juvenile and silly. I guess you're saying ignorance is better. Why? Christians I respect will tell you god gave you a brain and its an insult to him not to use it.

from penhead "Christians understand science" OK... and how do you explain the daily 'if we came from monkeys why are there still monkeys" statements?

For America - so you'd rather have someone tell you something is a fact than listen to a discussion of what might be true? You're basically saying you dont care whats true as long as people tell it to you from conviction. The weakness of the theistic mind has never been painted more clearly.

Answer 1

It's not that they don't "get" science, it's that they have been raised within a social structure of encouraged tunnel-vision. They don't get science because they have already come to their conclusion and they contort whatever facts they find to fit their foregone conclusion and totally disregard and ignore anything that conflicts with their written in stone preconceptions. I am saddened by it constantly here on Yahoo... when I read the statements of ignorance from others about science it makes me pity them immesurably.. and the saddest part is they don't even know what they are missing. The incredible knowledge and the wonderful voyages of discovery that science offers are lost on them... they already believe they know the why of everything... if a tsunami hits the coast... well it was gods will, if they pray for a dying person who is then cured by medical science... it was gods plan, if bad things happen in life, well it was god testing them.... They are content to merely scratch the surface of understanding without ever really plunging in to embark on a voyage of scientific discovery.... where everything is questioned, curiosity is paramount and explanations do not always exist for what happens in this world, but having the courage to seek for those explanations can lead to greater learning and discovery. Thinking you already have the answers to everything and declining to question must be so monotonous... I cant imagine never questioning the world around me and trying to understand that through science.... When science is faced with questions they try to answer them rather than just concluding "god did it".... if a tsunami hits the coast... what caused it? earthquake, volcanic eruption? what effects did it have? how can we learn more so we can prevent or forewarn in the future? how can we designe dwellings to withstand such forces?
if there is a dying person, instead of praying science asks.. what is causing the illness? how can we treat it? what kind of diagnostic tools should we use? what kind of medicines can be used? what can we do to prevent others from getting this illness?
When bad things happen in life... what causes people to act as they do? how do people deal with hardship? How can we improve mental health? what aspects of human nature cause conflict?

Religion asks none of that, religion has already come to their conclusion.... it was gods will, gods design, it was the devil, it was punishment for sin, its the apocalypse etc etc They dont get science because they think they already know the explanation for everything... too bad they dont know what they are missing out on.

Answer 2

The problem with All Religions, (and I am a Christian for that Matter) is that a lot of members of each group feel that it is vital to believe every aspect of their Religious book. The Islamic people have their book the Quran, the Hebrews have the Torah, the Christians the Bible, The Mormons - the Book of Mormon, the Jehovah Witnesses - have their own book, I don't know the name of it.
here's a quote from Wikipedia ... "Most religions have religious texts they view as sacred. Many religions and spiritual movements believe that their sacred texts are wholly divine or spiritually inspired in origin. Monotheistic religions often view their sacred texts as the "Word of God", often feeling that the texts are inspired by God. "

So, unless it's GOD telling them, they will not believe that Scientists are correct - not even slightly correct.

Answer 3

I don't know, it frightens me actually. Not that many people don't understand some scientific concepts, because I need help on understanding a specific concept from time to time, but how many people display a strong will to not learn anything about science altogether, and then try to state its fallacies. It is almost painful to see. How many, "it's only theory" statements can one take, they do not even know the basic structure of science and why some theories can not be promoted to prinicple. This does not mean they are not true. Any respected scientist will tell you the premise of macro-evolution is scientific fact.

Answer 4

There are plenty of religious people that "get science," and there are plenty of people who don't understand science-- period. The difference is that those people that don't get science generally don't have a reason to question it, whereas the ones that do question it, get a lot of attention for it. These people generally happen to be religious.

People who have something to believe may be unwilling to change and reshape their faith into something that still makes sense within science and religion. To them they may contradict each other, but that is because they may lack the background to be able to interpret their data into something real. Science is an incredibly in depth field with many intricacies. Faith is also in depth with its own set of unique characteristics.

And science doesn't contradict religion in the slightest either. I'm a strong believer that science reinforces my faith that God exists. Just as religious texts can be interpreted in many ways, science can have its own interpretation as well.

Many of my professors (who happen to be researchers) say that being a Christian/Muslim/Jew/Buddhist/etc. say that their faith makes them a better researcher and person in general.

Coming from a Christian standpoint, one of the major problems that I see in the church today is that our youth isn't being taught to think. This may also be true in the school system, but it extends to the chruch environment as well. Often we give them "cookie cutter" answers and expect them to be happy with it. They take that answer and accept it, until they reach a point later in their life where they have a "faith crisis," and then they don't know how to research or where to go for answers. We are told that faith "asks no questions", and doubts are "the work of the devil." What we need to learn to say and accept are real answers based on facts because that is what allows us to grow and understand the world that we live in. It also makes us more informed people and stronger in our faith.

As for your question at the end, I'd rather be wrong for a few weeks, than 2000 years. But humans have been wrong for longer than that in many other areas.

In response to the comment on being content with an answer when it is said with conviction, I'd like to say that Americans aren't the only ones with a history of taking the easy answer. Germany believed Hitler, China believe Mao, and the list goes on. A charismatic leader can shape the way that we think. Yes, we have a personal responsibility to learn and research on our own to get every fact that we can, so we can get as close to the truth as possible. We often do that research by asking trusted sources for information. I trust my religious leaders the same way I trust my professors. I believe that they have the best intentions to tell the truth that they know and to share that information. This does not relieve me of my personal duty to do research on my own, but that searching takes time that perhaps we don't have. We take a leap when we trust someone to tell us the truth, or at least their truth.

That's why we come here too. We want to hear what others have to say. Some are experts; some are not. But we have come here to discuss and find out what we believe is the truth.

Humans also just plain have the tendency to filter information that we don't want to hear. We all have a version of selective hearing. When presented with an array of facts that either contradict or confirm what we believe, we are drawn to the information that corroborates our story. We have a hard time thinking that we could be wrong. At this moment I am so sure that I am right, and perhaps more right than the answers that surround mine. There is an inkling that says I could be wrong, or that there are better answers than mine, but those are the ones that follow the same line of thought. It is human nature. It is how we survive, and it is who we are.

Maybe what we need is a form of science that is interesting and written in layman's terms targeted to resolve their faith and what science "knows". Science is notoriously dry and many have been scared off by their high school or college courses. They didn't understand it then, not because they were holding on to their religious beliefs, but because it was presented in a way that was too difficult to grasp. Reading the journal articles in Nature or Science can be terribly boring, and often people don't know where to start. I know science because I love it. Ask me a question about finances, and all I can do is balance a checkbook. I have a hard time following company financial records and the jargon used is foreign to me. We are specialized in what we do.

Answer 5

Willingness to refine explanations (or even drastically modify them) in light of new evidence is a strength of science, not a weakness.

There are literally thousands of "facts" in the Bible that have been disproved. If Christianity was interested in truth there would be a long sequence of revisions to the Bible as new evidence was introduced. But then that would be admitting that it isn't perfect, wouldn't it?

Answer 6

If you do a detailed survey, you will find that many scientist are also religious: many religious people are also interested in science. Why should we feel that scientist are the only ones in pursuit of facts. Many Artists, Historians and even Religious people eagerly pursue the "truth". They may gain facts that modify their view of life. I certainly don't agree that science is a series of guesses. Historians, Artists,Writers and many other none scientists are keen to consider evidence that modify their individual "theory". Scientist have no monopoly on the pursuit of knowledge, or the ability to think clearly and weigh evidence.

Answer 7

The one absolute proof in science is that their is no absolute proof. You say that science does not guess that it goes on evidence and data but when new evidence shows the data to be wrong then we must revise our ideas, sound like guessing to me. If I guess and my answer is accepted then it is right--until some shows it to be wrong and then we will revise our ideas to his guess being right--until someone shows it to be wrong and then we will revise our ideas to his guess.
You ask doesn't humility make us better, you are mistaking humility for scientific arrogance.
I ask you why doesnt science get religion. Accept it, you will never know the answers absoluely, you will never present a proof beyond a doubt. Science has recently realized their measurement of space to be entirely incorrect, the previously accepted measure was not for a few weeks it existed for several decades. Science has risen to such a state of arrogance that we knowingly destroy the planet that we live on, with what, the belief that science will figure out how to reverse the damage.
When man believed and relied on faith, life, though harder, was simpler. Magic and wizardry developed into the science of today and chemicals, medicines and machineries were introduced. While morality, family and taking care of this earth we exist on went to the wayside. Truth is, it is "destined to be". The earth must be destroyed before rebirth. Science is just helping it along a little faster. You scientists can continue to use your lack of believing and religion as an excuse to continue your destruction. But, remember, when you appear before God and realise your arrogant scientific beliefs were wrong, have fun explaining why. Why it was your scientific believe and need for proof that lead to your disbelief. That lead to you aid in destroying that which he created and saw it was good. I am sure that the one who does know the answers to all things, will understand. Why you had more faith in those that destroyed it all, than in him that created it all.

I forgive you, we forgive you, God forgives you. For you will not be forgotten, just gone. Good Luck.

Answer 8

The watered down understanding of language ignores the obvious -- that we are revising and refining. This is someone sitting at a computer the likes of which would have cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a decade ago, using the Internet which wouldn't have reached him a decade ago saying that science and technology are adrift. The is hardly the dumbest statement on Y!A, but it shows the downside of the Internet -- a soapbox for preaching ignorance to the masses.

Answer 9

for my area, non secular technological information is the place whilst something is shown by using technological information, the guy adapts their faith. i understand a Christian who's additionally a scientist. He accepts all that technological information has shown, He additionally believes that it grew to become into began by using God. i won't have the ability to truly clarify what he believes completely, needless to say. I additionally settle for technological information as actuality, and have faith in a much better means.

Answer 10

I don't believe science and religion are mutually exclusive. Looking at the big bang theory, at evolution, at a lot of science - we find God. How did it all start? WHY did it all start? Who started it? Where did the universe come from?

In fact there is a religion called "Religious Science" and the founder is Ernest Holmes who studied both religion and science extensively. He found that God and science go hand in hand.