Answer 1:
This is such a great question! Sorry for the
delay, I needed time to think of how best to
answer it!
To answer your question about the ways in which
science views God, we need to think about what
“science” is. Put simply, science is a system of
knowledge that is (generally) based on systematic
observations. Scientists often use a fairly
well-defined method, known as the scientific
method, to build this knowledge system: 1) we
think of a question; 2) we form hypotheses about
the answer to the question based on what is
already known (i.e., what other scientists have
already determined to be true); 3) we think of
ways to test these hypotheses through observation;
4) we see how well our hypotheses hold up to the
data that we collected through our observations.
The key thing about hypotheses is that they must
be falsifiable. What this means is that we have to
be able to test the hypothesis. For example, if I
hypothesize that all flowers are white, this can
be tested, by looking at various flowers. Since
some flowers are not white, we would easily find
this hypothesis to be false. The idea is, if we keep building on what other
people before us have already figured out, then we
wind up with a coherent system of knowledge
regarding how our world works. It sounds pretty
simple, right? Well, in theory it is. However, the
problem is that people are the ones doing the
science; people from different backgrounds, who
have different experiences, expose to different
types of information, and who have different ideas
about how to approach problems. The result is that
while there is general agreement among scientists
regarding certain ideas, for example that all
flowers are not white, things that are difficult
to observe often result in arguments among
scientists. You have hit one of those topics right
on the head!
Is there a God? Did some greater power create
the Universe? Some scientists would say yes, while
others would say no. Both sides use existing
information and make new observations to the best
of their abilities to try to answer these
questions. However, they must rely on limited and
incomplete information to test their hypotheses.
So, while some scientists might conclude that
there is no reason to believe that there is a God,
that it is simply an idea created by people,
others say that there is no way to disprove the
existence of a higher power that gave order to the
Universe, i.e., it is not an easily falsifiable
hypothesis because there is no way to test whether
God exists. So, while some scientists may not
believe in God, the scientific community does not
understand enough about the Universe for everyone
to agree that God does not exist.
I hope this answers your question!
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