Can science teach what is good or bad? Or right or wrong?

[Mgray82]

For example, can science tell us that it is bad to kill a person? Would it be found in a science textbook? Or is all good completely originated in God alone?

Need help debating an atheist on this topic.

 

[ngill09]

Why are science and God the only options? What do you mean by “science”?

 

[singletruth]

For example, can science tell us that it is bad to kill a person? Would it be found in a science textbook? Or is all good completely originated in God alone?

Need help debating an atheist on this topic.

ck out the truth project-- it may give you a clue

Lesson 1 - Veritology: What is Truth?

The Truth Project begins by defining truth as “that which corresponds to reality.” This absolute and eternal truth, at the heart of Jesus’ mission on earth, continues to be the focal point of the Cosmic Battle in our own time. Back to top

Lesson 2 - Philosophy and Ethics: Says Who?

Truth is not simply an academic concept. The way we think about truth has a direct bearing upon the way we live our lives. What’s more, our understanding of right and wrong is directly dependent on our worldview: is the universe God’s creation or a closed cosmic cube? Back to top

Lesson 3 - Anthropology: Who is Man?

The Bible tells us that man was created in God’s image but fell from innocence through sin. Modern psychology, on the other hand, asserts that man is inherently good and behaves badly only under the influence of social or institutional pressure. This lesson explores the implications of both views. Back to top

Lesson 4 - Theology: Who is God?

Eternal life, according to Jesus, is knowing God in an intimate, personal, and relational way. Such knowledge, which is possible only because of divine revelation, transforms us from the inside out as we begin to see ourselves in the light of His majesty and holiness. Back to top

Lesson 5 - Science: What is True?

Science, the “systematic study of the natural world,” brings to light innumerable evidences of Intelligent Design. But Darwinian theory transforms science from the honest investigation of nature into a vehicle for propagating a godless philosophy. (Part One)

A careful examination of molecular biology and the fossil record demonstrates that evolution is not a “proven fact.” Meanwhile, history shows that ideas, including Darwinism as a social philosophy, have definite consequences that can turn ugly when God is left out of the picture. (Part Two) Back to top

Lesson 6 - History: Whose Story?

Does the past have an objective actuality and significance? Or does it, as postmodernist philosophy asserts, exist primarily inside our heads? This tour considers the meaning of history as God’s story and shows us why remembering is so important. Back to top

Lesson 7 - Sociology: The Divine Imprint

The order we observe in the natural realm is even more apparent in the social systems God has established: family, church, community, state, labor, and the union between God and man. Life is a series of relationships that flow out of and reflect the Trinitarian nature of the Creator. Back to top

Lesson 8 - Unio Mystica: Am I Alone?

Is it possible for the infinite, eternal Creator to dwell within the heart of an individual? The implications of this great mystery, which represents the very core of the Christian faith, are explored at length in this examination of the most intimate of the social spheres. Back to top

Lesson 9 - The State: Whose Law?

Of all the social spheres, the state, to which God grants the power of the sword for the punishment of evil and the preservation of the good, has the greatest potential to go awry if it oversteps its authority. The civil magistrate must always remember his place under the sovereignty of God – otherwise, havoc will ensue. Back to top

Lesson 10 - The American Experiment: Stepping Stones

America is unique in the history of the world. On these shores a people holding to a biblical worldview have had an opportunity to set up a system of government designed to keep the state within its divinely ordained boundaries. Tour #10 follows the history of this experiment and explores what happens to freedom when God is forgotten. Back to top

Lesson 11 - Labor: Created to Create

Contrary to a great deal of contemporary popular opinion, work is not a “curse.” God Himself is active and creative, and He calls man to share in the joy of His activity and creativity. Labor, economics, media, and the creative arts all have a role to play in magnifying the glory of the Creator. Back to top

Lesson 12 - Community and Involvement: God Cares, do I?

The ethical law and the meaning of the Christian life are summed up in the commandment to love God and one’s neighbor. This command is the source of the believer’s motivation for self-sacrificial service to the needy and their personal involvement in our culture. Back to top

 

[Anthony_V]

For example, can science tell us that it is bad to kill a person? Would it be found in a science textbook? Or is all good completely originated in God alone?

Need help debating an atheist on this topic.

Morality deals with the experience of being a person, and in what ways it can properly be expressed. Science does not study personhood. Unaided persons study personhood through introspection. However, the fundamental act of relating originates in God, albeit in a way infinitely above our understanding (the Trinity).

 

[MacBP]

For example, can science tell us that it is bad to kill a person? Would it be found in a science textbook? Or is all good completely originated in God alone?

Need help debating an atheist on this topic.

The scientific method cannot be used to discover right and wrong. The scientific method consists of generating testable hypothesis, running experiments that test these hypothesis, and then examining our hypothesis in light of the data collected during the experiment. What possible test could a scientist to use to test the moral status of an action? How would one collect the data from that experiment?

If your friend thinks that science can be used to discover morality, you should ask your friend to describe how he would use the scientific method to discover morality.

What the scientific method can do is comment on the accuracy of an argument. For example, let us examine the case for and against gay parenting. An opponent to gay parenting might use the following syllogism:

Premise 1: We should forbid parental practices which negatively impact the health of children.
Premise 2: Children with same-sex parents are negatively impacted.
Conclusion: We should forbid same-sex parenting.

The scientific method can be used to discover whether the second premise is true. I’m sure there is some technical, philosophical language that describes the types of arguments which can and cannot benefit from the scientific method.

In summary:

The scientific method is incapable of determining morality. It can, however, be used in conjunction with other methods in search of morality.

The second question (Does all goodness come from God) is requires a different answer. I’ll leave that to more capable heads.

 

[paul_r]

For example, can science tell us that it is bad to kill a person? Would it be found in a science textbook? Or is all good completely originated in God alone?

Need help debating an atheist on this topic.

First of all, Sceince is a method that is used for reasearch. For the most part God does not exist in science, nor does right and wrong. Using things such as humanism, religion, socialolgy, and other fields would work because that is a part of that field.

Explaining right and wrong using science is much like finding a robot with feelings, it just does not happen.

Science is to math, as religion is to society. Religion can be used to control people, also help people. However science is only on the physical, and has no spirtual component.

As for my choice of what I put for a religion here, I’ll say this about myself I grew up with my parents going to a Methodist Church, and found that did not work for me. I’ve studied many religions, pagan, Buddaism, Islam, Hinduism, Satanism, etc. I know the weaknesses and strenghts of each. There are also many kinds of atheists, and in fact there is an Atheist bible. There are atheists that are just as extreame in their views as the worst orthodox of any religion.

Albert Einstein is one that did touch on this subject, and did a far better job of it than I possibly could.

Science is good at explaining how matter interacts, physics, math, and many other subjects. However none of that can tell someone if they should do something or not just because it is scientifically possible. Much like Robert Oppenheimer said after the test of fatboy, Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds. This is from religion not sceince, science allowed us to build the bomb, but can’t say if it is right or wrong. In science it is ok to kill if you are allowed to, and in the name of science there were people subjected to radiological testing without their knoledge to see how it would affect them till they died, same with STD’s and many other things in this country. The Japanese and Germans used prisioners for medical experiments to watch the spread of diseses by disecting people alive, and even women were tied up before they were about to give birth and watched to see how much pain they could go though before dying as their body was not allowed to give birth to a child.

I’dd like to see someone explain how science could be moral and yet use such methods to harm and kill people and still be acceptable to those that are supporting the reasearch?

 

[BrethrenBoy]

No. It can only tell what is, not what should or should not be. That was the first lesson in science class every year until Freshman year. Of course, my public school is pretty much an unofficial Christian school.

 

[ThinkingSapien]

For example, can science tell us that it is bad to kill a person? Would it be found in a science textbook? Or is all good completely originated in God alone?

Moral decisions can be informed by scientific inquiry. But science is a tool, and like most tools it it can be used with good or bad intentions in mind. Using science might be able to determine what impact my actions have on an environment or the people in the environment, but it won’t tell you whether or not to care.