Questions of Truth and Quantum Theory (Religion)

by Mark , Monday, March 09, 2009, 23:48 (5532 days ago) @ George Jelliss

Mark: "One area where science does require faith is the assumption that things will behave the same way tomorrow as they do today."
 
George: "This is not "faith" in the sense of faith in God. It is simply a philosophical necessity. Surely religious people work on this assumption too! If we can take nothing for granted then existence would surely be a rather too exciting roller-coaster."

It is not a philosophical necessity. For much of history intelligent people have believed in polytheism or animism, considering the world to be governed by competing, capricious forces. Observation of nature and tribal war encouraged this. Monotheism was a remarkable development, arising not from consideration of the origin of the universe but from an experience of salvation, leading to the belief that nothing can compete with their God - in the case of Israel, for example. All too often the resistance of Christianity to scientific advance is cited, but the reality is that a strong case can be made that the belief in one God who is the source of all is the basis from which we can trust creation to be ordered and comprehensible and go on to do science. Atheists may think it is an easy assumption to make, but it took millenia to achieve. And atheism offers nothing to support it.