Why can't a lot of Christians understand what a scientific theory is?

Question

A scientific theory is a mathematical description, a logical explanation, or a proven model of the manner of interaction of a set of natural phenomena, capable of predicting future occurrences or observations of the same kind, and capable of being tested through experiment or otherwise falsified through empirical observation. It follows from this that for scientists "theory" and "fact" do not necessarily stand in opposition. For example, it is a fact that an apple dropped on earth has been observed to fall towards the center of the planet, and the theory which explains why the apple behaves so is the current theory of gravitation.

Answer 1

It's a educated guess.

Answer 2

OK, time for a science teacher to weigh in. Most professing Christians, it is true, do not understand what a scientific theory is. But that's because the same thing is true of the population as a whole. There's nothing about being a Christian that makes you ignorant, but there are a lot of people -- religious and non-religious --who ARE ignorant. That's just a fact of life.

The answer is better education. Let me put in a plug for the Catholic schools here, which do offer sound science classes in a religious setting. I know because I taught science in one for six years. I taught about evolution and the Big Bang and all that stuff. When people objected, I whipped out a press clipping of Pope John Paul II officially saying that evolution is OK in his book.

I get to avoid the Big Issues if I want to, because most of what I teach is chemistry, not biology. No one has religious objections to chemistry, except that of the recreational kind! But we cover that too and treat it as a serious subject, and it works out well. I've even introduced my classes to Yahoo! Answers by making posting a chemistry-related question a classroom assignment.

In physics class, though, God comes up. You can't ignore the Big Bang. I tell my students that, if they want to believe that God made the Big Bang happen and "wrote" the laws of physics, that that is their choice to make, but science can offer no evidence to support such a conjecture. I don't advertise that I am a Christian, as that would be improper in my role as a science teacher -- but, if they ask, I do tell them. Then I get an invitation to their church when they find out I'm a "homeless" Christian, having left the RCC over the pedophilia scandal. And I have to deal with THAT.

Why is it all so complicated?

Answer 3

So what is your point? Everything that you said is true. Do you think that Christians don't understand this?

It's when people come up with fairy tales like evolution that Christians take offense. As you said, for a scientific theory to be valid, it needs to be tested, and the theory needs to be falsifiable. You neglected to add that it needs to be repeatable.

Well, none of that criteria applies to evolution. It has never been observed, let alone repeated. As to the falsifiability, every time science has proven something that contradicts evolution, the believers alter their theory.

It seems to me that believers in evolution are more dogmatic than science minded. They are more concerned that evolution be true, than to discover the truth. And in fact, science will never be able to explain the origin of life. There is no way to observe the creation. So, any theories about creation are just speculation. They don't qualify as science.

ءراقيسكْس

Answer 4

Theory is a guess based on scientific tests that showed a result they wanted. Some things have more then one theory.
And theories are proved wrong all the time bye other people theories.So christian understand they just have there own theory which no other theory has proven to them there theory is wrong.

Answer 5

Hopefully some christian will venture back here..and hopefully it's the same christians that asked "who says christians dont know the difference"? and the answer is in countless questions asked be christians that states " something something the evolution THEORY"

or something to that affect that implicates a theory is not of factual evidence.

when in reality they confuse the word theory with hypothesis. blame it on middle school science fair projects where the word theory was used in the beginning and not the end. (as this is obviously as far as the christians, that use the aforementioned defintion of the word theory, got in any science class or any other higher education)

Answer 6

Many Christians can, and do understand scienctific theories,
here is a list of devote sceintists that were Christian:

Sir Isaac Newton, Anglican.
Louis Pasteur, Catholic.
Galileo Galilei, Catholic.
Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, Catholic .
Johannes Kepler, Lutheran
Nicolaus Copernicus, Catholic (Priest).
James Clerk Maxwell, Presbyterian.
Werner Heisenberg, Lutheran.
Max Planck, Protestant.
Marie Curie, Catholic
Sir Alexander Fleming, Catholic.

etc

Answer 7

I know I'll get the thumbs down in about two seconds but at least have enough respect to read what I have thoughtfully written -
Being a person with an extremely logical, analytical, and intelligent nature, I have chosen to not become offended by your insinuation, assumption, or whatever you might choose to call it. I call it an assumption, like so many others on this cute little platform, that Christians are a bunch of lame brains with no concept of reality. As a person who has had to have everything proven to me from the farthest back I can remember, I know that when I openly and honestly allowed myself to really question my beliefs and even asked for this God to show me if He was real or not, He delivered me an answer that I had not thought would ever take place. See, the reason I don't worry about your saying that we believe in a fairy tale or whatever - please - is when I asked if this God was real, I had to walk with a cane, at 27 years old, from a condition that was only supposed to worsen. The circumstances aren't really important. What is important is that I opened myself up to learn the truth and when I did God showed that He is real. He instantaneoulsy fixed my leg and while all the other parts of my body have since drooped, sagged, ached, needed replacing, etc.- what God fixed that day, over 25 years ago, has stayed fixed and every other part of my body can hurt, but that part never hurts.
You don't have to ever believe that you can believe in something you can't see. I don't care about that. What I do care about is that you, in your need to be self reliant, totally disregard a creator who loves you regardless of how you feel about Him. He wants you to be His but He will never force you to. If you ask Him to come, He will and He will not be the God that so many Christians have given a bad name. He is gentle, loving, forgiving, kind, while at the same time He knows how to mold us into what is best for us. Take it or leave it. The real story has been so distorted by people who thought they had all the answers and it is a shame because it has made people like you want to have nothing to do with a falsely represented Father God. I'm so sorry that so many people have ruined it for others who might have wanted to know God at one time or another.

Answer 8

I thought a theory is only a hypothesis and not based on anything proven.

They have never proven that a cell with no brain evolved into something with a brain. A animal with a brain can not even change itself into something it is not. Reproduction of cross species is not possible to aid in evolution. So where exactly is your evidence again. Your theory is not fact and therefore is also a faith.

It has been said that a non- theist is in hope that God does not exist because of the implications it would cause.

Quantum physics rules out the possibility of evolution and mathematical possibility of evolution is also not as probable as creation.

Species were created to be what they are and can not procreate differently than what they are. Even with disabilities correction of deformities occur and does not lead to further deformity or other species or traits.

Answer 9

Yes we understand that. That's why we have problems with evolution. It has NONE of those factors.

Predict something for us

Show us an E=mc2 for Evolution

Remember, if you're wrong we have the right to call you a witch doctor or astrologer

Newton's computations made the discovery of Pluto possible. That part of astronomy works.

Now prediction something evolutionary.

If you're preduction for an Evolutionary change doesn't happen, in science it's called a Falsefication

That's like a tumbs down here at Yahoo.

Answer 10

A theory is a untested idea, nothing more. Until it is proven true or false, it is really no more worthy of being considered a fact than any other idea. Merely being able to predict results, or basing theories on onservations are dangerous, as these were the very things that led to the belief of the sun revolving around the Earth.

Answer 11

There are a lot of atheists and agnostics who do not understand scientific theory. Muslims can also be scientifically bereft. Buddhists too. Fundamentalist Christians are not unique in their ignorance of basic scientific principals. The scientific community serves no purpose if it rants and raves about religion instead of motivating people with scabby knees who spend too much time praying for redemption to exercise their mind while cleaning up the environment.