In mankind's unending pursuit of knowledge there have been many times when religious institutions have found their core tenets put in question by the work of scientists. Galileo faced house arrest for daring to propose that the Earth was not at the center of the universe, a view which has subsequently (though not without great struggle) been accepted by most modern churches. Darwin rattled the fundamentalists' cage even further (and this continues in full force today) with the ToE.
Those are only two of the most prominent examples that stand out in my mind, though there are undoubtedly others. The "Absolute Truths" of the Bible (at least in the fundamentalists' view) are irrefutable, and any scientific evidence that might contradict those absolute truths is (in their view) either false, misinterpreted, or in some cases accepted on the grounds that a reinterpretation of the Bible can allow for them (I give you the "Creation Week" as creationists call it).
So my question, directed to those of you who consider yourselves religious, is simply this:
Would you like to see scientific enquiry end?
Should we throw away our microscopes and telescopes, and just keep a copy of the Bible on the nightstand for those times when we feel a bit curious? I'll admit that this is a loaded question, but I believe it is nonetheless valid. There appears to be, amongst the religious, the belief that science is out to disprove God, when in fact science has no opinion on the issue of God. Science deals with observations, evidence, experimentation. If the evidence contradicts an ancient religious text, the scientific community does not feel obliged to hide this evidence.
In a thread I engaged in recently here, I found the OP (a religious person) to be consistently unimpressed with scientific studies and conclusions, going so far at one point as to suggest that I was the one who was deluded for accepting these things.
I'm curious how others (of perhaps less fundamentalist inclination) viewed this issue.
Edited by Briterican, : needed the core question to stand out more
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