Sunday 15 April 2018

"Only a theory" ongoing roundup

This is a developing post I intend to keep adding examples to.
The first come from Jonnie Hutchison, Green Plain church of Christ in the Murray Ledger. He writes:
The very definition of a theory suggests that which is speculative and conjectural. If there is sufficient evidence to prove a theory, then it ceases to be a theory. Some have theorized that earth is being visited by aliens from another planet. Yet, merely advancing such a theory does not make it a fact no matter how many people may believe it. Such is the case with the theory of organic evolution. Where is the evidence that takes it from the realm of theory to fact?
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Again, I will be adding more examples of people using, "Only a theory" as an attack on evolution. Here is the rebuttal.
From Wikipedia:
A scientific theory is an explanation of an aspect of the natural world that can be repeatedly tested, in accordance with the scientific method, using a predefined protocol of observation and experiment.[1][2] Established scientific theories have withstood rigorous scrutiny and embody scientific knowledge.[3]
The definition of a scientific theory (often contracted to "theory" for the sake of brevity) as used in the disciplines of science is significantly different from the common vernacular usage of the word "theory".[4][Note 1] In everyday speech, "theory" can imply that something is an unsubstantiated and speculative guess,[4] the opposite of its meaning in science. These different usages are comparable to the opposing usages of "prediction" in science versus everyday speech, where it denotes a mere hope.
Study dot com:
Outside of science, the definition of a theory is a thought that may or may not be true. In the science community, a scientific theory is defined as a hypothesis or a group of hypotheses about some phenomena that have been supported through research using the scientific method.
From Live Science:
"Hypotheses, theories and laws are rather like apples, oranges and kumquats: one cannot grow into another, no matter how much fertilizer and water are offered," according to the University of California. A hypothesis is a limited explanation of a phenomenon; a scientific theory is an in-depth explanation of the observed phenomenon. A law is a statement about an observed phenomenon or a unifying concept, according to Kennesaw State University.

So a theory is a hypothesis or even simple idea that has survived repeated testing. Further, it is an explanation for events, not the event itself. There are a group of theories for evolution including natural selection, sexual selection, founder effect and more. These are explanations for the factual events and things we see. In contrast, there are laws regarding gravity and we all see the fact of it, but there is no well-accepted theory. So the phenomenon is seen and known, but the mechanisms are not understood.

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More examples of Creationists using, "Only a theory" as an attack on evolution.

A twitter search for "Only a theory". Some tweets use it sarcastically or in explanation, but many Tweeters think this is a valid attack on evolution.

kjhg

Tuesday 13 March 2018

Science can't explain it, therefore...

Creationists often finish this sentence with, "....therefore God did it" which is not a good use of logic. The proper formulation naturally is, "Science can't explain it, therefore we don't know how it happened." "We don't know" obviously does not equal "God". Well, this is obvious to anyone who thinks about it for a moment.

ICR did not think about it in posting this article about new research into the formation of the Earth's Core.
This means that secular scientists cannot, at present, plausibly account for the existence of the Earth’s inner core! So, if naturalistic processes cannot account for the existence of the inner core, then it appears to have been supernaturally created. This is what the Bible teaches and creation scientists strongly affirm.
Obviously this is a form of the God of the Gaps argument. "We don't know how this one thing happened, therefore God did it." And the problem with that argument is that God's reach is ever shortening.  We didn't know how traits were inherited; now we do. We couldn't picture a halfway point between fish and amphibians; now we have examples of what that creature would look like.


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Some more examples:
Bill O'reilly telling us (Youtube link, specific quote at 1:45),
"Tide goes in, tide goes out. Never a miscommunication. You! can't explain that."
Nevermind that we can indeed explain it (gravity has been well-understood for a few centuries), if we couldn't, that wouldn't mean god had a hand it in the process.
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And since abiogenesis cannot account for the origin of life, you are stuck with a creator God. A God that made mankind in his image and likeness.
Note to Mike; we really aren't stuck with that.

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More to come...