Green_Manelishi:
And therein lies the failure of the (stated too frequently as fact) theory of macro-evolution. It is not observable nor has it been observed, nor can it be tested. However, when that obstacle is mentioned then hopeful monsters are hatched to explain the lack of fossil evidence, OR micro-evolution (i.e. adaptation within a group or kind) is proposed as proof of macro-evolution (a kind morphing over time into a completely different kind).
I'd also suggest that because "the law of evolution" lacks any real evidence it has been decided that gravity is now a theory despite that fact that it works and can be tested as well as observed.
I see a lot of talk about "proving a theory" form people who do not understand science.
No theory can be proven. The basis of science is to disprove things. That is why the basis of any scientific theory is that it be falsifiable. You must be able to prove it wrong by experiment. If a statement is not at least capable of being proven wrong by an experiment, then it is not a scientific statement. The key word here is
capable; it doesn't matter whether the statement has been proven wrong yet or not.
For example, the statement "The Tooth Fairy doesn't exist." can be falsified (by pointing her out). It is therefore a "scientific" statement. If someone can point out the tooth fairy the statement is proven false. The fact that nobody has done so means the statement is verified. That doesn't mean the statement is fact, but just that it is the best model of the world we have on the subject. It fits all available evidence. But the statement cannot be proven.
However, the statement "The Tooth Fairy replaced my tooth with a dollar." is not capable of being falsified. Ever. Just because you cannot point her out doesn't mean it is false. Perhaps she is hiding. Perhaps she lives on the moon. Perhaps underground. Perhaps that morey eel you saw last weekend is the tooth fairy in disguise. Perhaps she did it invisibly. Just because nobody saw her means nothing. The statement isn't a scientific one.
Do you see the difference?
Similarly, "God doesn't exist" is a scientific statement. It is
capable of being proven false.
"God did it" is not capable to being a scientific statement.
It all lies in the capability of being falsified by the right test.
Now, onto evolution. The statement that "life forms evolved from older, simpler forms" is capable of being disproven, thus it is scientific. It has not been disproven, and fits all available evidence of fossils, biochemistry, and the like. It is a scientific concept that has withstood all tests. It is considered verified because there has been no evidence to disprove it.
"God did it" is not a scientific statement, because you can't falsify it. It is not possible for any evidence to
not fit the nebulous idea of "God did it." That is why the whole Intelligent Design idea isn't science, and never will be.
Science is a tool to find natural explanations for natural phenomena. God, the very concept of which is supernatural, does not fit within that paradigm. (Ack, did he actually use the word paradigm in this discussion?
) "God" is not capable of being scientific, nor is science capable of addressing "God".
You might as well use economics to explain chemistry, or a hammer to turn a screw.
This reminds me about a conversation with a neighbor about crop circles.
She were sure that aliens did crop circles - traveling across the universe only to set down on our little planet and doodle in a wheat field in England.
I pointed out that quite a few have been shown to be man-made, and in fact there are videotapes showing how the pranksters did their circles.
The answer was "Well, they made
those circles, but what about the rest? Aliens surely made those."
I countered that aliens must have built her house. She looked at me oddly and asked why I thought that. I pointed to the half-built house across the street, with the construction workers toiling away, and said "Well, we see those guys over there building
that house, but yours was built before you moved here. Since you didn't see people doing it, it must have been built by aliens."
There comes a point to just roll your eyes and walk away.
