Why dont christians know what the term 'theory' means in science terms?

Question

does it annoy anyone else when they say 'its the THEORY of evolution'?

Do they even know what that word means?

Answer 1

Theory = guess.

Answer 2

According to Gould....facts and theories are "provisional' but who determines what those provisions are?

"Well, evolution is a theory. It is also a fact. And facts and theories are different things, not rungs in a hierarchy of increasing certainty. Facts are the world's data. Theories are structures of ideas that explain and interpret facts. Facts do not go away when scientists debate rival theories to explain them. Einstein's theory of gravitation replaced Newton's, but apples did not suspend themselves in mid-air, pending the outcome. And humans evolved from apelike ancestors whether they did so by Darwin's proposed mechanism or by some other, yet to be discovered.

Moreover, "fact" does not mean "absolute certainty." The final proofs of logic and mathematics flow deductively from stated premises and achieve certainty only because they are not about the empirical world. Evolutionists make no claim for perpetual truth, though creationists often do (and then attack us for a style of argument that they themselves favor). In science, "fact" can only mean "confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent."

http://www.stephenjaygould.org/library/g...

According to Stephen Hawking in A Brief History of Time, "a theory is a good theory if it satisfies two requirements: It must accurately describe a large class of observations on the basis of a model which contains only a few arbitrary elements, and it must make definite predictions about the results of future observations". He goes on to state, "any physical theory is always provisional, in the sense that it is only a hypothesis; you can never prove it. No matter how many times the results of experiments agree with some theory, you can never be sure that the next time the result will not contradict the theory. On the other hand, you can disprove a theory by finding even a single observation which disagrees with the predictions of the theory".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory

According to Hawking, even a SINGLE observation or evidence which disputes a theory is enough to alter or dispel it....yet, there are many evidences which contradict Darwinian macro-evolution and yet it remains a valid theory to science and lay people.

Answer 3

A theory is the analysis of a set of facts in their relation to one another. So Darwinian evolution is a theory all right ... It is the 'evidenced' and 'well supported' part some have trouble with. There are obvious, logical facts make it clear that natural selection is a far cry from the creative, 'uphill', limitless process imagined by Darwin. Evolutionist theoreticians know this, of course. They know that they must rely on some other process to create the required new information, because the evolution story demands it. 'Once upon a time, it says, there was a world of living creatures with no lungs. Then the information for lungs somehow arose, but feathers were nowhere in the world--later these arose too.' But the bottom line is that natural selection, by itself, is powerless to create. It is a process of 'culling', of choosing between several things which must first be in existence. There is no known natural law through which matter can give rise to information, neither is any physical process or material phenomenon known that can do this.

Answer 4

evolution and the Big Bang are just man's views and do not have the proof behind them to prove them true. They are guesses. The Big Bang says that a mass of particles blew up and created everything. That goes against science in it's self. When something explodes the energy goes forth, but it is consumed to the point that It no longer exists. It does not form into something else.

I have been educated in nuclear science so I know what I am talking about. If the Big Bang would of happened then the energy would have expanded, then ceased to exist. It would not form into planets and stars and plant life , and everything else.

Answer 5

You're hitting your head on a brick wall.

Answer 6

Until it can be proved conclusively, it will remain a theory of layman definition, just like creation will.

Answer 7

The same reason they think that atheism is a religion.

Answer 8

Actually, they do, e.g. Sir Isaac Newton was a Christian, but also a scientist, and well understood the meaning of theory. So was Darwin.

Answer 9

And we may add that if anyone gets their theory wrong the all h**l breaks out at you.

Answer 10

Duh? The theory of evolution is no closer to being proved today then it was when Darwin wrote his fairy tale.

A true theory and the research of that theory means that one observes facts, evidence and makes an educated guess but leaves open the answer. There is no proof that any animal changed into a different animal.

90% of all animals that ever lived are now extinct.

But let me ask you a logical question: if the dinosaurs lived before man, I am not saying they didn't, why did whatever was there first evolve into dinosaurs? And why, if natural selection actually takes place is there thousands upon thousands of species of animals today?

The theory leaves us with a lot more questions then answers.

Btw, who cares, anyway? What do you care what I think about it? If I said that I now believe the theory is true what does that make me? Enlightened? Enlightened to what?

The theory is on Parr with global warming, modern day Alchemy, nothing more.

The simple fact is that if it were not for the large diversity of animals alive today there would not be an such theory to begin with.

That is the only reason that Darwin questioned the relationship between animals to begin with.

Answer 11

They probably didn't get a good science education.  It seems that the ones who say that don't understand evolution or the big bang either.

____

Answer 12

theory means it is not empirical fact, why dont atheists get that? moreover, why dont you see that god may have used evolution, so you still have yet to prove there is no god?

one day every knee will bow, and every tongue confess, this includes you and I  

Answer 13

Many scientific "theories" have been replaced through the ages as better theories are presented. Macro-Evolution has not been proven nor does the evidence support it. Micro-evolution is supported and observable. The only alternative to macro-evolution is creationism which does not get a fair evaluation from a biased scientific community.

Answer 14

it bothers me yeah and when some say that evolution is on death row

Answer 15

yep it's really annoying - they do it on purpose though I think, because otherwise they wouldn't have a leg to stand on when arguing about it...