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Originally Posted by Ken G
Evolution is a scientific fact, insofar as it satisfies the criteria for that designation. Religion generally has no overlap with scientific facts...
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I agree that religion generally has no influence on pure science. Could it be said there is science and exoscience (speaking strictly from the point of view of science)?
Yet, though rare, there is some overlap between science and religion. If a religious document states a city is buried at a specific location, science may consider it as evidence and see if it was true or false. Regardless, even if true, it would be invalid for any argument to suggest the rest of the religious document is necessarily true.
If a scientific theory, or finding (highly credible evidence), states something that is contradictory to a religious view, an overlap exists. This overlap will not alter true science, so, I suppose, from the point of view of science, no influencing overlap exists, at least from the standpoint that any scientific result would [not] be affected. [Is this what you mean by no overlap?] Perhaps, a superposition of science over religion may be a better description. If science produces evidence for a mutually exclusive hypothesis between it and religion, it is religion that suffers the stormy waters in The Overlap, not science. Of course, the scientific community may suffer, too, but that is a philosophical problem, where religion overlaps philosophy, politics, and purse strings.
I still like the idea of The Overlap to help us picture the problematic issues. This enhances the starting point for what is needed to be learned, as per the OP (hopefully, I am not on a tangent to the thread). A 6000 year universe, Geocentricity, “Turtles all the way down” (I read it was Eddington who got that one), a global flood, etc., are all examples where an overlap, or superposition, exists.
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Note that neither science nor religion have cornered the market on "truth", as this term is utterly impossible to define without first adopting a particular mindset or approach to it. I wish more people would understand this simple statement as a starting point for all comparisons of thought and belief.
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Great point, Ken, but, regretfully, very difficult to realize at times from a religious standpoint. The key for religion is to know when a specific interpretation needs study in light of scientific findings. If a religion really seeks truth, then science should be applauded, not abhorred.