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[Hkizzle]

The other thread about the great flood was getting a bit long and off the topic of the flood. So I'm taking the chance to bring the focus on the definition of scientific theory, and explain properly what scientific theory is, and where evolution and christianity stand.

A scientific theory is not just some random idea some guy dreams up. The one really annoying thing about religion vs science debates is when someone refers to the evolutionary theory like it was some fake idea created that is definitely wrong. At the same time it is equally annoying and rude when people flat out say evolution is logical and faith in God is stupid.

In common usage a theory is often viewed as little more than a guess or a hypothesis. But in science and generally in academic usage, a theory is much more than that. A theory is an established paradigm that explains all or many of the data we have and offers valid predictions that can be tested. In science, a theory can never be proven true, because we can never assume we know all there is to know. Instead, theories remain standing until they are disproven, at which point they are thrown out altogether or modified slightly.

Scientists do not "create" evolution. The data all around suggest evolution is the model that best fits.

Note that we can never assume we know all there is to know! So no theory is full proof. One of the best used examples is that we used to think the earth was flat and the earth was the center of the universe and the sun, moon and all the stars orbited the earth.

Ironically, this arguement is better used against the church. That is because for over a century after it was discovered the Earth orbited the sun and not the other way around, the church still held on to the idea that Earth being created by God for man to live on was the center of the universe. Numerous people were killed and burnt at the stake as heretics for promoting the new idea.

Not easy to swallow at the time considering when you look at the sky it looks as though the sun and moon are moving around the Earth.

So people who flat out say evolution is wrong without even looking at the data, or creationists that selectively find data that support genesis but ignore any data that support evolution are being unfair.

Evolution vs science is observable data vs faith. It should not be argued from a logical perspective, because to do so would be to ignore an all powerful God, faith or the faithful.