Fellow 'Science Believers'. Does the fact the Cosmos is awesome and complicated work against us?

Question

I didn't know how to describe us, I was going to say 'Fellow Atheists' but that isn't necessarily true. Or 'Fellow Realists', but that's sketchy too. So I went with Science Believers. I suppose 'People Who Don't Believe in Fairy Tales' could have worked, but let me get to my point:

Seeing as certain 'folk' can't seem to understand simple concepts like the scientific method or rational discourse, how can we expect these very special people to comprehend things like evolutionary biology or cosmology?

And I'm just talking about a layman's understanding.
Can someone who thinks the world is only 6000 years old and honestly believes it, no matter what the evidence, ever going to understand how complex the cosmos actually is?

arcanum - You must have a guilty conscience if you think I'm talking about you.

steve b - Actually, I was suggesting that people like you don't even attempt to understand the complexity. Your sad attempt to bash me was amusing though.

Actually, Arcanum maybe it's you who should work on the reading comprehension, as I never used the word christians once in my statement.
I was talking about people who live in a fantasy world and refuse to look at scientific facts.
If you are someone who believes in myth over reality then it's YOUR problem, genius.

Answer 1

I'm still not sure that humans have anywhere near the capability to understand something as vast and complex as the universe...but we are the only species on this planet that has tried, so I'm optimistic

The Dark age mentality is a product of ignorance, not genetic stupidity (but they sometimes coincide). Anti-science only tends to pop up in conservative religious communities in the United States, yet if you look at other populations with a similar genetic ancestry, such as western Europe and Asia, the support for evolution and modern cosmology is much stronger. Fundamentalism is about cultural ignorance, propagated by a hatred of science. Some people can't stand when science contradicts biblical literalism.

Someone who shuts out the idea of an old earth or who believes humans are at the center of the universe will find reality too incomprehensible to appreciate. Nor will they understand the scale of billions of years, or the trillions of planets, solar systems, and galaxies around us.

They've already shut out simple facts about earth, in all of its beauty and elegance. How can they appreciate what they refuse to understand?

P.S. Dr.Dino is just angry because his parents told him the Flintstones were fictional. :)

Answer 2

Fundamentalist weirdos who insist on the sufficiency of the bible and believe the world is only a few thousand years old are the bane of every thinking Christian's existence. Scientific evidence clearly shows facts to the contrary of such narrow mindedness. Since you agree with a lot of people who might also say the cosmos are awesome...what exactly is awe-inspiring about it? To the degree that we can see how complex it is...why does that inspire appreciation for its complexity?

Answer 3

The enemy (not the opposite) of science is faith. Faith is a belief in the absence of proof. Science is all about trying to prove things true or false.

Yes, the fact that the Cosmos (I love that word) is awesome, grandiose and mostly unexplained is the reason faith exists, and the reason so many humans have developed and followed paths outside of science.

But remember, science does not supply the answers for everything. There are emotional, personal, completely illogical choices we all make every day, such as eating an entire box of chocolates because you had a bad day. Science can't help you there!

Answer 4

"Can someone who thinks the world is only 6000 years old and honestly believes it, no matter what the evidence, ever going to understand how complex the cosmos actually is?"

Probably not.

And it is a shame; the universe is an amazing place. To think it all revolves around one species on an insignificant planet is baffling.

Answer 5

"Does the fact the Cosmos is awesome and complicated work against us? " Absolutely not! Think of all the great scientist who were original trying to understand "God's mind" and unlocked great mysteries. In a way it is because of the cosmos is awe inspiring that science has come about.

Answer 6

the explanations could be as simple as one of the rival religions they don't believe in. they don't believe it because they don't want to, it's that simple. i suppose it can't help that it's a bit complicated, but the hard work of science is already done, perhaps i'm optimistic but i think that anyone who wants to learn can do it.

also it's too bad that some people get defensive about a criticism that apparently doesn't even apply to them.

Answer 7

i try as hard as i can to respect atheists but my respect just keeps slipping away especially when idiots like you call other peoples religions which have been around for thousands of years fairy tales it really makes me mad .so you think that religion is just a bunch of rubbish well lets think heres an example the BIG BANG so according to atheists the universe originated from nothing dang that's makes so much sense i mean billions of years ago nothing exploded and turned into the universe dang you've almost convinced me to become an atheist. and any way in the bible it says that god created the world in 7 days that doesn't necessarily mean 7 days as we know it we probably cant grasp gods concept of time for all we know one day to god could be 100 billion years. so please ask questions without ridiculing other religions next time

Answer 8

Thanks for the daily reminder from an evangelical atheist that as a Christian I apparently believe the Earth is only 6,000 years old, don't believe in evolution or science.

You forgot to tell us that we believe the world is flat, don't believe in dinosaurs and want a theocracy though.

I don't know where we Christians would be if we didn't have you whack jobs telling us what we believe and don't believe in every day.

I never said me, I said "us" and "we" referring to Christians. Wow, for someone who is part of the group that claims to have such high IQ's compared to us lowly believers your reading comprehension level sure is low, and I never claimed that you did use the word Christians in your question, however it's glaringly obvious who you were referring to.

Nice try.

Answer 9

And, you and you alone know how complex the cosmos are.
Funny you are the only person in the world to make that claim. Either you are a highly intelligent genius or an idiot. Want me to classify ya?

Answer 10

It doesn't, in fact I would say its randomness and general lifelessness suggests the lack of a creator.