Can we believe?

Question

Can we believe religious theories on the origin of the Earth and life if there is absolutely NO proof. I am not in favour of a scientists view on this issue, in fact I am impartial to any views that people tell me. But scientists do have some proof of the big bang through scientific research and religious groups have....writings and scriptures?
I do not intend to offend people with certain religious beliefs, but how can you say that your scriptures that you rely on are really true? That they are giving us the right idea about how life flourished?
I think people will have some strong arguments against this and I welcome them, but ill say it again, this question was nothing to do with me trying to offend religion. Just to explore some people' views.
Thanks.

Answer 1

When comparing the scientific explanation with the religious explanation, it would be a mistake to simply view them as competing belief systems.

Science is not a belief system, it is a process and a methodology for both discovering **and verifying** knowledge of the world around us. The great thing about science is, you don't have to rely on an Argument from Authority. You can look at the evidence and experiments and reasoning for yourself, and decide for yourself. Scientists are actually kinda competitive; if you can find a flaw or error that would call into question some basic tenet of science, there are plenty who would be interested in exploring and vetting your finds.

When a scientific principle like gravity or evolution becomes "accepted," it's because it has survived many repeated attempts to refute it, not because every scientist thinks alike and they all simply WANT to believe it.

So don't accept or deny something based on the person telling it to you, just look at the reasons behind the claim and see for yourself if what they're saying is supported, or just their opinion or belief.

Answer 2

(IMO)
Depends on what you accept as proof.
Can you prove atoms exist? Have you ever directly seen an individual atom? Have you seen a black hole? The big bang?
All of these proofs are offered though external sources, and if you are that sceptical of external input then religion makes as much sense as any other belief.
If you do accept the external world, and that science and those in its pursuit are telling the truth as best they can, then there is still a problem. You can never prove any theory right. We have a cohering set of scientific theories that have withstood serious scrutiny, but if you want absolute truth then Popper uses Falsification. You can use an infinite number of empirical demonstrations to "prove" a theory, but it takes only a single exeption to disprove it. For example, it was once believed that the vacuum of space was filled with liquid, and that planets orbited not through gravity, but through the vortex of a whirlpool centred on the earth. This was empirically proven by the fact that a) the planets moved in a circlar motion and b) they could be seen to move around the earth.
There were many more proofs, but time and copernicus won in the end, and the theory was dismissed.
Or you could get Socratic, and say that all we can know is that there is a lot we don't, and amongst the things we don't know is whether there is a God or not. Just because theres no proof that doesn't mean you're wrong to believe. I have no proof that the sun will rise tomorrow, but I still set my alarm :)

Answer 3

Your doubt is that of millions of people. We all wish there were an answer that could please us all but that will never happen - even if someone found real proof (like videos of something) of the way the world was created,there would always be someone who wouldn't believe. We only have the scientifical and the religious views and both of them are not enough. But since the world was created so many millions of years ago,it's almost impossible to go much further. Of course you should always doubt whatever you're told but are you really looking for a single answer - or are you looking for more theories that you can refuse?

Answer 4

I would like to make one note on Future post-human's answer concerning this quote:

"Scientists are actually kinda competitive; if you can find a flaw or error that would call into question some basic tenet of science, there are plenty who would be interested in exploring and vetting your finds."

...and yet they are so adamant about evolution when there is absolutely no proof. In fact, every time they go to prove evolution, it ismply confirms creation. There was one scientist who woke up one morning and realized she had been trying to prove evolution for 20 years and had discovered nothing. Evolution isn't even a Hypothesis- it isn't even an educated guess any more- it is a religion with a ton of faith involved. It is harder to believe in evolution, which has no proof except the lies they wave in front of students noses, than it is to believe creation!

Answer 5

Good point. I really do not have an answer to this since i am not taking this class, but think of it this way, there is also NO PROOF that there is NO PROOF

Personally i believe in the Big Bang Theory

Answer 6

This is so fascinating. This is a scripture from the Bible, it is in Isaiah:40:21,22 "Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He that sits enthroned above the CIRCLE of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers, He stretches out the heavens like a canopy,and spreads them out like a tent to live in".

Answer 7

I,personally,make point of separating what i accept and what i believe,in this case i accept it.

Answer 8

a "we" can't believe anything, only an "I" can think and only an "I" can dream.