We should begin by clarifying what science can really tell us
about a beginning of the universe and supernatural causation. First, unlike
philosophy and metaphysics, science cannot deductively prove a creation or
God. This is because natural science deals with the physical universe and
with the regularities which we call “laws of nature” that are obeyed by the
phenomena within that universe. But God is not an object or phenomenon or
regularity within the physical universe; so science cannot say anything about
God. Moreover, science is an empirical and inductive discipline. As such, science
cannot be certain that it has considered all possible data that would be
relevant to a complete explanation of particular physical phenomena or the
universe itself. It is always open to new data and discoveries which could
alter its explanation of particular phenomena and the universe. This can be
seen quite clearly in revisions made to the Big Bang model.
So what can science tell us? It can identify,
aggregate, and synthesize evidence indicating that the finitude of past time
in the universe as we currently know it to be and conceive it could be. Science
can also identify the exceedingly high improbability of the random
occurrence of conditions necessary to sustain life in the universe as we
currently know it to be and conceive it could be.
Even though scientific conclusions are subject
to modification in the light of new data, we should not let this possibility
cause us to unnecessarily discount the validity of long-standing,
persistent, rigorously established theories. If we did this, we might
discount the majority of our scientific theories. Thus, it is reasonable and
responsible to attribute qualified truth value to such theories until such time
as new data requires them to be modified.
We should begin by clarifying what science can really tell us
about a beginning of the universe and supernatural causation. First, unlike
philosophy and metaphysics, science cannot deductively prove a creation or
God. This is because natural science deals with the physical universe and
with the regularities which we call “laws of nature” that are obeyed by the
phenomena within that universe. But God is not an object or phenomenon or
regularity within the physical universe; so science cannot say anything about
God. Moreover, science is an empirical and inductive discipline. As such, science
cannot be certain that it has considered all possible data that would be
relevant to a complete explanation of particular physical phenomena or the
universe itself. It is always open to new data and discoveries which could
alter its explanation of particular phenomena and the universe. This can be
seen quite clearly in revisions made to the Big Bang model.
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