Sometimes atheists try to discredit people who believe in God by calling them "anti-science". However, belief in God does not conflict with science and it is the atheists who harm science because they misuse it to deceive the public about belief in God.
Here is a list of several scientific deceptions that atheists use to promote their metaphysical beliefs:
- Methodological naturalism.
- God of the gaps.
- Only scientific explanations are valid.
- The Multiverse
- The universe came from nothing.
- Promissory Materialism
- Wish Fulfillment
- Natural Evolution
- There is a natural explanation for near-death experiences.
- Methodological naturalism. Methodological naturalism is the belief that science should only concern itself with natural causes for phenomenon. It is a deception because it allows atheist materialists to say science shows that there is no God, when by their definition of science, science cannot show there is a God. It is illogical and unscientific to limit explanations a priori based solely on metaphysical preferences. Science should be the search for the truth without restrictions.
- God of the gaps. Some atheist say that people who believe in God claim that anything that science can't explain is caused by God. This is a deception because as John Lennox explains theists believe God created the universe and the natural laws scientists are trying to understand. They believe this because of logical reasons and empirical evidence. They don't limit God's role to just those things science can't explain.
- Only scientific explanations are valid. Atheists may try to discredit beliefs which have not been proved scientifically. This is a deception because science is not the only way to arrive at the truth. Philosophy, personal experience, witness testimony, legal rules of evidence, expert opinion, and empirical observation are all valid ways of obtaining information. John Lennox points out that atheists say scientific explanations should supplant theistic explanations for phenomena. This is a deception because there are different types of explanations and theist explanations do not conflict with scientific explanations any more than Henry Ford and mechanical engineering conflict as explanations for automobiles produced by Ford Motor Company. Furthermore, science is limited to certain fields of investigation, it cannot explain things that cannot be reduced to chemistry and physics such as mathematics, ethics, the meaning of life, information, and semiotics.
- The Multiverse The fine-tuning of the universe to support life is so improbable that it is strong evidence that the universe was designed. In fact it has convinced some scientists to believe in God. Atheists say the multiverse theory can explain the existence of our universe because if there are an infinite number of universes each with different characteristics, then it becomes probable that one like ours will exist. This is a deception because the multiverse theory, for which no evidence exists, is unfalsifiable, leads to incredible absurdities, and does not eliminate the fine tuning problem.
- The universe came from nothing. Some scientists say that the universe arose from nothing through the operation of natural laws. This is a deception because natural laws are something, they are not nothing.
- Promissory Materialism Atheists claim science will eventually provide natural explanations for many phenomenon that science cannot currently explain. These phenomena include the results of parapsychological experiments, consciousness, the origin of life, and the origin of the universe. Atheists justify this claim because they say that over time science has always provided more and more support to the materialist position. This is a deception because there are many cases where new scientific discoveries undermined the materialist position.
- Wish Fulfillment Atheists often claim belief in God is false because it is due to wish fulfillment - the psychological phenomenon of thoughts that satisfy a desire. This is a deception because satisfying a desire doesn't make a belief false. You have to determine the truth or falsity of a belief based on evidence. Belief in atheism satisfies a desire for those who would be afraid of punishment in the afterlife or who look forward to an end to suffering from extinction at death. But this is not why atheism is false.
- Natural Evolution Atheists often claim that evolution can explain anything. For example, sometimes atheists say belief in the afterlife and belief in God evolved because these beliefs are beneficial. This is a deception because if we evolved to believe something, that doesn't prove the belief is false. You have to determine the truth or falsity of a belief based on evidence. There is enormous evidence that the afterlife is real and that God exists Furthermore, natural evolution is not supported by the scientific data.
- There is a natural explanation for Near-death experiences. Atheists often try to discredit the evidence that near-death experiences are experiences of the afterlife. They do this by suggesting many different "natural" explanations for the phenomenon. This is a deception because when you look at the details of near-death experiences, none of these natural explanations actually explain the phenomenon.
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