chrism@shark.UUCP (04/28/84)
David Norris in reply to Yosi Hoshen: < ..... But by the same token, Science should not try to conduct <experiments with God. Science is a useful tool, but it's not for everything. <Science, to some extent, can answer How, but not Why. How does one experiment with God? An interesting notion, that. Do theoretical physicists experiment with God when they a search for radiations that lend support to "Big Bang" theories. Do anthropoligists and geneticists experiment with God when the discover our links to lower life forms, or the mutabilty of our present selves? Who defines what is an experiment with God? The Church use to think that advancing the notion that the Earth is not the center of the universe was treading somewhat on God's domain, so to speak, and so persecuted anyone unwise enough to make such an assertion. Research into pathogens is another area in which the Church initially opposed experiments on religious grounds. Please tell me, what areas are currently in vogue as to being part of God's domain and hence off-limits to rational inquiry? (I can think of one right off - Computer Science :-). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I suspect an "experiment with God" is any scientific idea that contradicts the Bible as interpreted by David Norris. Thus, Maxwell's Equations are okay, because the Bible does not offer an alternative model, but evolution is heresy, since it so obviously contradicts Genesis. Finally, it is true of course that science can answer only How and not Why. However, this ignores the question on whether the "Whys" have any meaning or any answer to begin with: Why is God? Why are triangles? Why is this keyboard sticking so much? Chris Minson