EarthGirl

Some people believe that the theory of quantum mechanics is further evidence that there is no god. Admittedely, I really don't have even a bacic idea of what quantum mechanics is but I'm sure that there must be something pretty valid about it due to the little that I have read. I believe that it is a theory that is well respected.

But... it seems that the more we learn and uncover, the more we just don't know. The mystery of life is still just that. It's a total mystery.

Can there be a happy medium between total faith and relying 100% on science? Can anyone be objective given the fact that some people are inclined lean more towards one or the other?

This is my first posting here and I thought that I would just start right off the bat w/what I have been thinking about...

Jesse

What is the argument of people who say that quantum mechanics should have any effect, one way or another, on belief in God? Is it the randomness of quantum mechanics, the uncertainty principle, or what? In neither of these cases do I think QM provides any particular case for or against God...you might be interested in this earlier thread which dealt with some of the same issues:

http://www.iidb.org/vbb/showthread.p...threadid=50225

Corona688

Hihi, and welcome to the forums. Interesting and open-ended first post; I'll try and answer to the best of my ability.

Quantum mechanics is a fundamental tenet of physics by this point. I suppose you could call it 'well respected' in the same sense that the Theory of Relativity is 'well respected'. Which mystery are you speaking of? Well, to be honest, I think you have it a little backwards; quantum mechanics doesn't seem to be evidence against god to me, it doesn't say anything about god one way or another.

On the other hand, there never was any evidence FOR god in the first place. **THAT** is the fundamental problem. People used to think god caused lightning directly, tossing thunderbolts - then it turned out, nope, they're just electrostatic charges. What they thought was evidence for god was nothing of the sort.

So everytime we figure a little something more out, god gets pushed a liiiitle further into the background, the idea only surviving in the gaps between existing knowledge. And as you've pointed out, those gaps will probably always be there.

But why should we assume he's there, any more than we would assume that Zeus himself is standing above a thundercloud and tossing bolts of holy vengance onto the terrified peasants below?

The answer, to me, is that god isn't disproven - he's just UNNECESSARY.

yguy

In my mind, it suggests quite the opposite. See my "probability and science" thread.

I would suggest that the dichotomy is false. Physical science is rooted in the quest for knowledge about the universe. If there is a God, knowing Him is hardly incompatible with knowing about His universe. On the contrary, denying His existence would necessarily block us from such understanding, just as denying the existence of gravitational effects would block us from understanding the mechanics of the solar system.

Corona688

Who's denying what now? His total nonexistence does a perfectly good job of displaying itself without me having to harp on about it.

You see god in it? Fine. Show me.

yguy

Guess it's time to shut this board down then, huh?

eh

What field of science would benefit from belief in God? In other words, what knowledge are scientists missing out without acknowledging the existence of God?

Corona688

My guess is, among other things, the demon theory of disease and the theory of spontaneous generation...

Ernest Sparks

EG,

When I heard Prof. Henry F. Schaefer III, an avid christian apologist in his spare time, speak on religion and science at Baylor University in 2000, I was bemused. Why would a hardcore christian be an expert in a subfield of Quantum Mechanics. Later it hit me. Prof. Schaeffer picked a speciality, atomic and molecular consequences, that is, all-hands-down, the most beautiful in the whole field. I don't know how to express in ordinary English just how beautiful this stuff is. It's almost enough for one to buy off on the Intelligent Design thing. 'Almost', I say! Not quite!

Ern

yguy

Well if God exists, then I'd say they're missing the most important part.

Wouldn't you?