Yes, some scientists have been atheists - big deal! Some have been
Muslims, Buddhists, and pagans as well. And, believe it or not, some are
even CHRISTIAN!
One can usually rather easily separate out the
nonscientific/philosophical pronouncements of the people listed from the
scientific ideas. When Carl Sagan talked about the atmosphere of Venus, he
wasn't spreading anti-God teachings. When he said "The Cosmos is all there
is, was and ever will be" he was making a non-scientific philosophical
statement. WE ALL RECOGNIZE THIS FACT HERE! No one is supported the
philosophy of people like Sagan, or Asimov, or Russell. To throw out all
of science because some of it's practitioners are atheists is plain silly.
As I've said before, I see real bad science pushed by YECs because of
their preconceived notions about how Scripture must be interpreted far, far
more than I see bad science pushed by people who are atheists. The science
that Carl Sagan supported doesn't fall apart like a cheap house of cards
when critically examined as does the science supported by YECs.
- Steve.
-- Steven H. Schimmrich Physical Sciences Department schimmri@kutztown.edu (office) Kutztown University schimmrich@earthlink.net (home) 217 Grim Science Building 610-683-4437, 610-683-1352 (fax) Kutztown, Pennsylvania 19530 http://www.kutztown.edu/~schimmri/