Quote:
Originally Posted by DuffMan
Saying god could still exist is like saying unicorns could still exist (not being a dick, just pointing that out)
How could a person accept the facts and science and still believe a god exists without a shred of proof, ever? Blind faith or something more?
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Not exactly.
If unicorns exist (or did exist), they would be part of the physical realm with numerous pieces of evidence to support the claim. However, I would still allow for the possibility of their discovery in the future. We haven't investigated every square inch of this planet yet (especially in buried layers), so one day we might find something. Just as an example, we don't have a great ability to explore the bottom of the oceans, and there could be countless lifeforms down there that have yet to be discovered.
But it gets more complex when discussing god or any other deity. If it/they exist they would likely do so on another plane of existence separate from the physical one you and I experience. That makes the possibility of finding physical or observable evidence to support the existence of god problematic, or downright impossible. Science can only answer questions about the physical reality, not the supernatural world or any other plane of existence that we can't directly experience. Science only deals in observable facts and evidence, and god may never be directly observable. That makes science the absolute last tool you could use to uncover the existence of god. Even science has its limits.
In general, it's not wise to say with certainty that something is definitely NOT real. In science, you would simply say that there isn't any empirical evidence to support the claim, and therefore it's extremely unlikely to be true, and you reject the claim until evidence is presented to support it. There are lots of things historically that people said were absolutely not true, only to be disproven by scientific discovery. We only knew of the existence of bacteria and other single-celled organisms dating back to the mid 17th century. Yet, not only did they exist, they were quietly the most populous life form on the planet at that time, and throughout all of history.
Basically, the absence of evidence doesn't necessarily preclude the existence of something. It makes sense to allow for the possibility of something to exist, rather than to say with certainty that it doesn't.
We are not omniscient, not even close to it. We are still in the early stages of understanding the universe around us, and so we must be prepared to be wrong about a lot of things that we think are true right now.