Science, Religion,
Creation, and Evolution
1. What is science?
1. Explain something of what science is by listing four things that
scientists do.
2. If a theory is designed so that it is not possible to perform
experiments or new observations which could prove it to be false, even if it were actually
false, is it a scientific theory? Why or why not?
3. Are theories in philosophy and religion usually testable by
scientific experiments?
2. Does science discover absolute knowledge and thus
lead to absolute truth?
4. Can science discover absolute truth? Explain why or why not.
5. Why should no idea or theory in science be protected from criticism?
6. Is any scientific theory certain never to be proved false or in need
of modification? Explain why or why not.
7. What is the central policy of the scientific method?
3. Do not scientists approach their work with a
completely open mind, totally free of preconceived ideas?
8. What influences everything that human beings do, including science?
9. Does a scientist usually expect that new experiments will contradict
what he already believes about the world?
10. If new experiments do contradict what a scientist believes about the
world, should the scientist simply ignore the new results? Explain why or why not.
4. Is not evolution a science and therefore
based upon fact, whereas creation is religious and therefore based upon "blind faith"?
11. What is the idea about the world which is behind the evolution
explanation of how things began?
12. What is the idea about the world which is behind the creation
explanation of how things began?
13. Why do some scientists believe that they should search only for
naturalistic explanations of how things began?
14. Why are scientists who believe in God the Creator usually not
interested in finding naturalistic explanations of how things began?
15. If a scientist is a believer in God the Creator, with what body of
knowledge does he expect his research results to agree? Explain why.
16. If a scientist is a believer in a totally materialistic world, does
he believe that there is a scientific explanation for everything? Why or why not?
17. Are evolution and creation both in a sense religious? Explain why or
why not?
5. Can any theory about supposed processes of
origins--for example, the beginning of life or the origin of the solar system--be tested
in a way that might conclusively falsify the theory?
18. What are the characteristics of the historical sciences, such as
geology and paleontology(study of fossils), which make them different from the
experimental sciences, such as chemistry and physics?
19. What is meant by the assertion that the evidence
for theories of origins is "circumstantial" evidence?
20. Is a theory of origins usually able to be tested by new experiments
or observations? Explain why or why not.
21. Do you think theories of origins meet all of the requirements for a
scientific theory? Why or why not?
6. How can one make a decision about creation and
evolution?
22. In deciding between creation and evolution as the better explanation
of the beginning of things, what are the main factors one should take into account?
23. What is the place of faith in deciding between evolution and
creation?
24. Does a person who has faith in creation of all things
by God need to feel "unscientific" if he gives his religious
faith an important place in making his decision between evolution and
creation? Why or why not?
7. But could not God have created everything by some
evolutionary process? Perhaps He created the universe and then let evolution do the rest.
25. Does the modern theory of Darwinian evolution accepted by secular
scientists allow for any purpose, plan, design or goal for evolution, that is, for any
divine control or guidance?
26. How does the idea of "theistic evolution" contrast
with this modern theory of Darwinian evolution?
27. Can a person logically accept both the idea of theistic evolution
and the modern theory of Darwinian evolution?Why or why not?
28. What difficulties must be faced by one who espouses theistic
evolution?
8. I thought Darwin proved the theory of evolution in
his book, The Origin of Species.
29. What kind of language did Charles Darwin use in arguing for his
concept of natural selection in Chapter 4 of Origin of Species?
30. What did entomologist W.R. Thompson criticize about Darwin's method
of argument?
9. Has Christianity hindered the progress of science?
Some people think so.
31. What ideas from biblical Christianity provided the basis for the
development of modern science in Western Europe some five centuries ago?
32. Can you name several great scientists of the past who were also
Bible-believing Christians?
33. The biblical concept of a created universe was the basis for modern
science. Furthermore, Bible-believing Christians laid the foundation for much of modern
science. Why is it, then, that, in spite of these facts, so many scientists and teachers
of science believe that one cannot be true to science and at the same time believe in
divine special creation?
34. What does philosopher of science, Sir Karl Popper, say about the
connection of Darwinian evolution with scientific theories?
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