Consider the statement "We should only believe what can be scientifically
proven." Can that statement be scientifically
proven? Well obviously not, and thus the scientific naturalist's position refutes
itself, and so it cannot be true. Do you deny that science cannot account
for everything? Yes, I do deny that science can account for everything. So what can't it account for? Well, had
you brought that up in the debate I had a number of examples that I was going to
give. I think there are a good number of things that cannot be scientifically
proven but that we're all rational to accept; let me list says let me list five.
Logical and mathematical truths cannot be proven by science; science presupposes
logic and math, so that to try to prove them by science we'd be arguing in a
circle. Metaphysical truths, like there are other minds other than my own, or
that the external world is real, or that the past was not created five minutes
ago with an appearance of age are rational beliefs that cannot be
scientifically proven. Ethical beliefs about statements of value are not
accessible by the scientific method. You can't show by science whether the Nazi
scientists and the camps did anything evil as opposed to the scientists in
Western democracies. Aesthetic judgments, number four, cannot be accessed by the
scientific method because the beautiful, like the good, cannot be scientifically
proven. And finally, most remarkably, would be science itself. Science cannot be
justified by the scientific method; science is permeated with unprovable
assumptions. For example in the special theory of relativity, the whole theory
hinges on the assumption that the speed of light is constant in a one-way
direction between any two points A and B, but that strictly cannot be proven; we
simply have to assume that in order to hold to the theory. Put that in your pipe and
smoke it! Yeah so none of these beliefs can be
scientifically proven, and yet they are accepted by all of us and we're rational
in doing so. Years ago I was speaking in an evangelistic event in Baltimore
Maryland and I was told that there was a very vicious atheist who was a get his
PhD from Johns Hopkins University and been an engineer for thirty years really
hated Christianity and a person was gonna bring his boss to this little
evangelistic gathering where I was going to be sharing my faith well I was at the
hors d'oeuvre table before the event got going and I saw this gentleman walk in
the door with his boss and sure enough they made a beeline to the hors d'oeuvre
table and this this friend of mine introduced me to this gentleman and no
sooner did we exchange pleasantries when he said well I understand that you're a
philosopher and a theologian and I said well I give it my best shot
and he said yeah he said I used to be interested in that myself when I was a
teenager but I've outgrown it now because I realize now that if you can't
test it and quantify your data and measure it in the laboratory it's
nothing but a bunch of idle speculation and hot air you ever heard anybody
expressed that attitude a lot of people have that attitude and that's exactly
what I'm talking about well I let him go for about another two minutes and then I
interrupt it or miss excuse me but I have a question I'm a little bit puzzled
if I understand you correctly if you can't quantify something in the lab and
test it scientifically then the assertion is nothing but idle
speculation a bunch of hot air and he said that's absolutely right you said I
believe this for a long time and I said well you've said 30 or 40 sentences that
have come out of your mouth in the last two minutes and of the 30 or 40 things
you've said I can't think of a single thing that can be tested scientifically
I said if I'm wrong would you show me which statement you've made that is
scientifically testable but if I'm right you see my dilemma what you've been
saying for the last two minutes is nothing but a bunch of well he changed
the subject very quickly but but the point is that when people tell you that
science is the only way we can know things or it's the only thing that's
true that statement can't be true and it can't be known to be true and so
statements like this are false science ladies and gentlemen is a wonderful gift
from God and I'll say that before I close again but it is only one way of
knowing reality it's important but there are many ways to know reality outside of
science in the statement that science is the only way we can know reality is not
itself something that can be known by science and it is a self refuting client