>>I personally do not see how God's action in creation could possibly be
>>empirically discerned. Seeing God in creation is an act of faith. In
>>other words, the answers to your questions lay outside of science
>Probably you are right but how can we be sure enough to give up sifting? In
>Genesis God calls for the bird and then it comes. The bird is in the mind
>of God then in process then in the sky. If this is a revelation about the
>nature of reality might there not be some trace of those steps to look for?
If God acted to break chains of cause-and-effect then this would be
perceived scientifically as a failure of explanation. In this case,
science would conclude: "We presently have no adequate cause-and-effect
explanation for the origin of "X". As there is no basis for concluding
that one will not ultimately be found, we will continue the search."
If God acted through an unbroken chain of process, and a complete causal
explanation could potentially be found. However, a complete mechanistic
account is unlikely for most events in the physical universe because of the
limitations of human knowledge. Thus, at some level, science will
conclude: "We presently have no adequate cause-and-effect explanation for
the origin of "X". As there is no basis for concluding that one will not
ultimately be found, we will continue the search."
Within the framework of scientific investigation, I do not see how these
two possibilities could be distinguished. Furthermore, as theists, we know
that all events are under the providential control of God. Some argue that
quantum effects or chaotic events provide space for God's specific action.
This may be true, but any conclusion that God was active cannot be derived
from science. Similarly, the anthropic principle may be a very valid way
of framing an argument from design, but the validation of that argument is
theological and is witnessed by the Spirit.
Keith
Keith B. Miller
Department of Geology
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
kbmill@ksu.ksu.edu
http://www-personal.ksu.edu/~kbmill/