Do you think Atheists question science as much as they question God?

Question

If a scientist says it or if they read it in a science book do they automatically assume it is completely correct?

Scientist just figured out that the way they thought dinosaurs walked was completely wrong! With all the bones and evidence around they missed that. That means all those pictures of Dino's in science books were wrong. If they made that mistake isn't it possible many other mistakes have been made?

Answer 1

An Atheist not questioning Science, is like a Theist not questioning their religion. Both are quite dumb.

It is within the questioning that truth lies.

Answer 2

If a scientist says it or if they read it in a science book do they automatically assume it is completely correct?

No. Science is never assumed to be completely correct. Science is method for examining the natural world and coming up with explanations for why things behave the way they do. These explanations change all the time.

"Scientist just figured out that the way they thought dinosaurs walked was completely wrong!"

Right. That's the beauty of science. Some scientists are always out there trying to show that the other scientists got it wrong.

"With all the bones and evidence around they missed that."

Not necessarily. The new theory is just some scientists interpretation of what he has learned. The new theory may be wrong and the original correct, or they both may be wrong. The only thing science strives to do is give you the best explanation that the facts as they are currently known support.

"That means all those pictures of Dino's in science books were wrong."

That was known to be true even when those books were written. Nobody has actually seen a dinosaur, so their color, skin and flesh were extrapolated from the bone structure. How they stood was theorized by the bone structures which are usually incomplete and certainly not found upright. It is YOUR ignorance as to how science works that is the problem here. You seem to think that what you saw in your 5th grade science books was somehow carved in stone or "gospel according to science." That's not it at all.

"If they made that mistake isn't it possible many other mistakes have been made?"

Of course. That's the essence of science. Just look at theoretical physics ,for example. There are hot debates among Steven Hawking and his colleagues, some of his colleagues thinking he's flat out WRONG about a lot of things. He's changed his theories over the years and even totally reversed himself.

Nobody is saying science knows everything. So you can't point out "aha! science doesn't know everything!" and conclude that science is worthless. Science is science. It's the best we can do.

Answer 3

All true scientists know that it's possible for evidence or experimental results to be misinterpreted. That's why almost all scientific "fact' is called a theory. When new evidence is discovered the theory is adjusted.

Many scientists spend their entire career trying to disprove what is considered common knowledge. For example, Pangaea has only been accepted as probable truth in the last 30 years. Prior to that, the theory's originator was mocked not only by the general public but by his professional colleagues. Another disproved theory- Oil comes from the remains of extinct dinosaurs.

So, have mistakes been made - Yes. Will mistakes be made in the future - Yes. However human beings learn from these mistakes (we hope), science continuously gets more rich, and the world's inhabitants reap the benefits.

Answer 4

Science by its very nature is self-correcting because any conclusion is repeated by other scientists to verify that the hypothesis is correct and they use the results to form a theory, i.e. gravity, evolution, dark matter, etc. Scientists love to challenge the main theories in their field because that will get them published as well as open up the grant $$$. So competition is fierce and if a hypothesis doesn't stand up to peer scrutiny, i.e. cold-fusion, then it gets tossed in the trash & they move on.

So as an Atheist I don't have to question science, I just need to know the validity of the research that went into evolving it from a hypothesis into a theory. So science theory like evolution & gravity are facts because there is plenty of verified evidence supporting the theory. Still, I am always open to new data that may change our worldview on any theory as humanity progresses. Unlike religion, science will make course corrections as new knowledge is obtained.

Religion makes the case that at the time their holy book was written, that was the end of inquiry and no further questioning or critical thinking was allowed. Therefore religion withers on the vine as science & reason continues to progress. So I don't question God because first you would have to assume their was such a being. Given that the God hypothesis has no valid supporting evidence and relies on "faith" to sustain its claims, I have no reason to think that any supernatural being exists. So I do not question God, I question the assertion made by the faithful that such a being exists. While I remain open to future evidence, I am skeptical since the devout have had 2000+ years to make their case (when discussing Christianity) Extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence.

Answer 5

This atheist scientist takes nothing on faith. If I read a paper that interests me, I often do a bit of calculation of my own to check if my conclusion agrees with theirs.

Your second paragraph nicely illustrates the whole point of science, that it can be revised as new and better information becomes available. As you correctly point out, paleontologists used to imagine that dinosaurs were cold-blooded and therefore were slow moving and dragged their tails in the dirt, like crocodiles and lizards. One smart paleontologist figured out that they must have been warm blooded and held their tails high. His opinion was not well received and decades of professional arguments finally proved he was correct. This forced other scientists to accept his view and the official dogma was changed to suit the new paradigm. (Something religion can't do.) Lately, DNA evidence proved dinosaurs and chickens are somewhat related, thus providing a second proof for the hypothesis that dinosaurs were warm-blooded. When scientists "argue" they do it in peer-reviewed publications so that the entire discussion is a matter of public record.

As an atheist, if I express any doubt about Christian dogma all I get for an answer is some believer's subjective opinion without any collaborating evidence. Christianity is based on a hierarchy of authority figures. Science is based on the validity of physical evidence, organized as a self-correcting search for truth.

Answer 6

Atheists do question science. That's what science is about. There's a quote from Tim M. Berra that sums it up nicely.
"There is no domain of human knowledge or endeavor that is more open to scrutiny than science; it is the very nature of science that it be honest, fair, and aboveboard, ready at all times to admit it's errors and revise it's theories, and when scientists are caught faking their laboratory results, in support of doubtful hypothesis, they know they have bought their careers a one-way ticket to oblivion. Without the checks on it's practices, science would be doomed to failure: serious researchers would be few and beleaguered, and we would have no polio vaccine, no space flights, no television, no computers, not even plastic garbage bags."
Scientists are always ready and willing to admit when they're wrong, or if a mistake has been made. Religion, on the other hand, will not.

Answer 7

Yes, that's why science keeps getting more and more precise. If Atheists didn't question anything, then we'd still think the earth was flat, resting on four pillars. Through questioning, better theories evolved and were adopted as proof was discovered. We base our beliefs on the evidence at hand, things that have been proven to be true EVERY time. If something doesn't work the way it's supposed to, we find out why and adjust accordingly. Science is not religion. It is an ongoing process that allows us to learn more about our universe. It is not a static set of beliefs that have to be adhered to. Unfortunately for you, your religion is. So sad. How does it feel to live on a flat earth?

Answer 8

Science is questioned every day. Religion is questioned every day, but not by the people with faith. There is no proof about how we got here in a theory of science. God gave us proof of his existence when he sacrificed his only son, and if that isn't enough proof, what is it gonna take? It only proves that the scientist messed up (with the Dino's) and look how we viewed dinosaurs all this time. Look in the children's books and the movies made, the belief of that and the way they look is now altered. So why isn't the Lord and Jesus Christ real? The bible hasn't been altered. Maybe changed threw different religions, but it all points to a greater power. The greater power being God.

Answer 9

Tis a silly question. If scientists weren't constantly questioning their own theories how did they find out they were wrong. DUH!

Of course we do. We question everything. Questioning is the basis of our belief system.

Christians and theologians aren't the ones who discover problems or flaws in theories- the scientists do. non-scientists don't know enough about a theory to know whether its wrong or right in the first place.

Scientists love the thrill of discovering problems. They never stop questioning things. They are rarely ever as excited about the answer as they are question.

The only reason religious people can use our constant discovery of problems is that we are always perfecting theories and concepts, looking for weak spots in order to perfect it.

You (religious) on the other hand, never question anything and therefore never come to the conclusion that you are ever wrong. The basis of your belief system is to not question anything, so where do you get off accusing us of the very thing y'all do? If you don't question you will never understand the mind of a scientist or atheist.

Answer 10

I question everything. The difference with science is I can actually derive the answers on my own. I can do the mathematics ( I actually can and do, being a mathematician helps ) . I can sometimes even observe the experiments. In other words I can collect my own evidence for science. In the case of god there is no credible evidence, there are only the claims of a handful of unknown people long since dead..

Answer 11

"Do you think Atheists question science as much as they question God?"

Yes, they do. The whole idea behind science is that EVERYTHING gets questioned. No hypothesis is accepted until there's a lot of evidence supporting it.

Oh, and please remember that the people who found out that the Piltdown Man was a hoax were--you guessed it--other scientists. That's because science is a self-correcting system unlike organized religion...