RE: [asa] Apologetics Conference

This issue does not arise in the definition of science I use since the purely physical, which is the subject matter of science, cannot detect the supernatural, which is "detected" by human beings. Reductionism, or better nihilism, occurs when humans are considered as purely physical beings thus reducing the supernatural also to be purely physical. Notice if humans are purely physical, then questions of free will can be answered, somehow, as purely physical manifestations. Of course, I believe humans are not purely physical entities and so believe in the reality of the supernatural, which is not in the subject matter of science.

Moorad

________________________________

From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu on behalf of Keith Miller
Sent: Sat 11/18/2006 11:34 AM
To: American Scientific Affiliation
Subject: Re: [asa] Apologetics Conference

David Opderbeck wrote:

        Are you suggesting that human agency and will, and human reason, are so unlike God's agency, will, and reason that humans are utterly incapable of discerning whether God has acted in history absent specific verbal / written revelatory confirmation? If so, what theological perspective are you drawing this from?
        

I am not saying anything about the ability of human reason. I am simply stating that supernatural agents are not subject to SCIENTIFIC test and confirmation. They are not because supernatural agents can by definition do anything -- they are unconstrained. They are equivalent from a scientific perspective to a statement of ignorance. Unless we claim perfect and complete knowledge of the natural world and its processes and capabilities, any gap in our current scientific understanding is just that. Those gaps could be the result of direct divine intervention -- but that conclusion would be theological, not scientific.

Theologically I do not see either biblical warrant, or apologetic value, in tying any current gap in our scientific understanding of the natural world to a demonstration of divine agency. There is natural revelation but that has nothing to do with science. That is God's gracious revelation to us, by God's initiative. As I have stated previously, if we cannot see God in a sunset or a flower, we will not see God in a mitotic spindle or a flagellum. If we cannot see God in those things for which we do have scientific understanding, we will not see God in those things for which we don't.

Keith

Keith B. Miller
Research Assistant Professor
Dept of Geology, Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506-3201
785-532-2250
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~kbmill/

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Received on Sat Nov 18 13:08:10 2006