Why can't creationists realize that the word "theory" is different when used in scientific terms?

Question

Who else gets enraged when hearing people go "Evolution is only a theory"??
One last time! Theory in scientific terms does not mean "supposition" or " guess" the way we use it in everyday language. That case is rather closer to the term "hypothesis" in science.
A "theory" in science means "ideas that have been repeatedly tested experimentally under very rigorous conditions and confirmed to behave as expected". Quantum electrodynamics, heliocentrism, and plate tectonics are other examples of scientific theory; they are areas that have been independently studied and repeatedly verified over decades or centuries using increasing amounts of hard data. It's as close to proven as anything in science can be.
People also use law.
A "law" in science is used to "describe" things, a "theory" explains them.
A theory can never become a law. They're two different things.
Simple no?

Answer 1

Because creationists, by definition, know very little of science as a whole.

If they did, they wouldn't be creationists.

I've learned that one must be careful not to give too much credit to these people. They're not as educated as most folks. They might seem like it, in casual conversation, but most of them have a stone-age understanding of modern science.

Answer 2

Why do you think "ideas that have been repeatedly tested experimentally under very rigorous conditions and confirmed to behave as expected" can happen? It is because God created order when He created the world. Not because some scientist created the Big Bang. We call it a theory because it will never become a fact.

Answer 3

Maybe our problem is that evolutionists keep using the word to describe something that is only a supposition or guess, namely the Theory of Evolution (at least in regards to a universal common ancestor). Either prove that one exists, remove it from the theory, or stop calling evolution a theory.

Answer 4

Probably because the education system is in the tank. If science teachers in school taught it right, they would explain this. They don't. English teachers don't teach it either.

Face it -- most people don't realize that words can have multiple meanings or different uses in different contexts.

I'll quote Mike Collins: "What the space program needs is more English majors."

NOTE: It might also have to do with the fact that you can't "test" evolution or repeat it in a laboratory experiment. All you can do is offer your best explanation for why life-forms exist in their current configurations. "Why something occurred millions of years ago" is not a question that can be answered by any amount of testing, observation, or experimentation.

"If you didn't observe it and can't repeat it, it didn't occur and you can't prove it" is what my chemistry prof, Miss Harper, told us all those years ago in class when we handed in our lab notebooks with insufficient notes... That paradigm works for me.

Answer 5

Simple yes, but when the educational level you attain only extends to the fifth or sixth grade and you go to a Bible beating private school.....well, you know what I am saying.

Answer 6

lol Svetlana. No point in arguing with a zealot. You are better off talking to the wall, at least it does not complain when you paint a comical face on it.

Answer 7

Two words: Willful Ignorance.

Answer 8

That is only a theory about Christian use of theories. And yours was only a question in theory.

Answer 9

Good. Now keep this filed, 'cause you'll have to repost this 84,000 more times.

Seriously, thank you so much. I sort of knew this, but couldn't explain it as well as you did.

Answer 10

Don't bother - willful ignorance knows no bounds