Faith VS. Science

One of the most frustrating things I experience as a Christian is seeing the far right Christians completely dismissing science, and the far left wing atheists completely ruling out the possibility of God's existence. What people on both extremes of this alleged debate fail to realize is that they're not even waging the same argument.

The science buffs claim that God doesn't exist because there's no evidence that he does exist. I will concede this position, but only to a point. When an atheist says there's no proof of God's existence, what they are REALLY saying is that as of today, there is not sufficient scientific evidence to convince that atheist that God exists. From there, the atheist essentially claims that since there's no proof that He DOES exist, then he must NOT exist.

Unfortunately, there is a fundamental flaw with that argument. Mankind is constantly making new discoveries, therefore the advancement of our knowledge has not reached a conclusion. Remember... 2000 years ago, mankind believed that it was a man's seed that caused a child, not the sperm plus the egg. Only a few hundred years ago, we had no idea that germs caused illness. In other words, we don't know it all. Just because we can't PROVE the existence of something -- anything -- doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

On the opposite side of the coin, we have the religious fundamentalists who refuse to acknowledge that the Earth is older than a few thousand years, and absolutely discounts the possibility that we did descend from apes. These individuals suffer from the opposite outcome to a similar blindness. Science has provided ample, reproducible evidence that the world has been around for more than a few thousand years. But because the Bible, which they believe to be the absolute, irrefutable, infallible, literal word of God says that we've been around for less than 10,000 years, it must be so.

What I'd really like to know is why we can't have it both ways. Specifically, I'd like to point out some of the worst-case scenarios if people would open their minds a bit, and allow themselves to explore this possibility that I've put forth....

Atheists: If I'm wrong, and no God exists, then what, exactly, are you out? So you've allowed yourself to hold on to a misconception. Bummer. The only reason that would be a big deal is if allowing yourself to believe in a God who didn't exist was your only mistake. On the other hand, if I'm right then you've earned an eternity with God. And even if there is no God, the general principles of Christianity, IMHO, is a great moral compass, even for non-believers. Furthermore, scientific studies show that people who believe in God are happier, healthier and generally live longer than those without faith.

Religious Fundamentalists: If I'm wrong, and all of our science is hokum, what exactly are you out? So you've allowed yourself to hold on to a misconception. Bummer. The only reason that would be a big deal is if allowing yourself to believe in science exist was your only mistake. On the other hand, if I'm right, then you have opened up an entire world of learning and growing as a person. And God takes delight in His children learning.

At the end of the day, this is my point. Faith is not science. Science is not faith. They are not mutually exclusive.