Posted by rpcman on May 12, 1998 at 10:17:51:
In Reply to: Observed Instances of Speciation posted by Walker on May 11, 1998 at 19:22:45:
Perhaps we could say these folks have faith in speciation and evolution. It's kind of like in testimony meeting where you hear, "I received a blessing and I was healed".
I think there is a major difference. Scientists support speciation and evolution w/o performing tests of their own for several reasons. The first is probably the difficulty and time such a test or experiment requires. It is sort of like a geologist giving up his or her profession because he or she can't recreate a natural volcanic explosion on demand or observe the continents move thousands of miles apart. The second reason is that so many different aspects of science already support the theory (paleontology, biology, genetics, etc.). The old saying that is something like 'nothing makes sense in these areas of science without the theory of evolution' still holds true. There is no 'better theory' that fits the facts that can be used as a control to perhaps falsify the theory of evolution. Finally, those who get up and state items of faith in testimony meeting aren't relying on scientific principles at all. They aren't looking for a theory which best fit the facts. Statements of faith are made which are usually (if not always) contradicted by facts (and statistical analysis).