Originally Posted By: TheFallibleFiend
"IMHO--and it is an opinion--there is no direct, reductionistic, concrete evidence for a personal God--in the monotheist sense of the word; there is only indirect evidence as the result of faith and opinion. As I understand it, the God of theism is beyond existence, as we think of it. Therefore, He is, if anything, ineffable."

1. I don't think this "indirect evidence" is evidence in the scientific sense at all.

BTW, I, too, have problems with traditional theism. This is why I prefer what the poet Tennyson called "Higher Pantheism". I also like the theological philosophy of Spinoza and Einstein.

Meanwhile, do not lay people have to take, on faith, much of what professional scientists tells us.

How much direct evidence, understandable by laity, do astronomers have when they tell us there are billions and billions of galaxies?

You say, "Science does not do God." I agree. And with much of what you say as follows:
Quote:
Not everything, OTOH, has to be scientific. Lots of very important things are not scientific or science, per se. Moreover, science is not a panacea for solving all of our problems or making us happier. It's a tool with a specific purpose.

Technology helps and hurts. The world gets to be a better place when individuals step up to the plate, take some responsibility, and DO things - participate, help each other, get involved with their communities, etc. Science might provide some insight into how we might do this, but it's not actually a scientific problem, per se.

What science CAN do is give people a feel for what the problems are and how we might solve them. It can give people a sense of awe at the natural world. It can help us to understand that many problems are solvable. But the issue of getting people off their behinds? It's not science. It's altruism; it's good intentions; it's responsibility. Take your pick.
Interestingly, the literal meaning of 'devil' is, that which divides, or splits, us.
The Greek is 'diabolos', slanderer. Slander destroys community. This is why I try to avoid it. From 'diabolos' we get diabolic, diameter, perhaps divide.



G~O~D--Now & ForeverIS:Nature, Nurture & PNEUMA-ture, Thanks to Warren Farr&ME AT www.unitheist.org