How Noah did it

[Naraoia]

Are you saying that you or anyone has all the information that ever will be known about every living thing on the earth? For are there not new discoveries of "species" recently discovered that were never known about before the discovery? Are you saying that we know all we will ever need to know, that there is nothing more to be discovered?

Where do you think he says that?

(And why did you put "species" in quotes?)

If we do not know all that will ever be known, how can we draw any conclusions about anything?

Do you really, honestly think that you can't draw conclusions unless you already know everything?

You come to conclusions based on observation all the time. How sure are you that the sun will rise tomorrow? How sure are you that those big dark clouds mean some form of water will fall from the sky? How sure are you that if you drink too much booze you'll get drunk?

It is indeed impossible to know something with 100% certainty, at least in cases where knowledge depends on observation (as opposed to pure deductive logic, as in mathematical proof). However, there is such a thing as reasonable doubt. If many observations agree with the predictions of your hypothesis and none disagree despite the fact that people have tried to test the idea many times, then you may be on to something. Can we ever know for 100% sure that protons are made of quarks, or that birds are dinosaurs? No. That doesn't mean that empirical knowledge can't be trusted.

But of course, like you said, you're presenting theories, right? Is that because we can not know for certain about any of these "ideas" "assumptions" that you present? THeories are just that, are they not?

Um... yes, surprisingly enough, theories are theories

Please, stop beating this horse already. It's probably been dead for longer than I've been alive. The confusion stems from the fact that "theory" has more than one meaning. It has more than one meaning even in a scientific context; but as far as I'm aware, none of those meanings is "guess". At most, it's "very, very well-founded guess".

Just using what you have at the time and drawing some guesses from it, right? but these theories can never be 100 percent definitive, can they?

How much certainty do you need before accepting one?

It almost sounds like one must have "faith" in the theories or those ideas that fill in the most blanks, but not all of them.

Well, in a way, yes. Since, as you said, it's impossible to know anything for certain, why not go with the best uncertain explanation?

There is faith and faith, though.

Having faith that booze will get you drunk is very different from having faith that prayer will heal you. Can you see why?

 

[Nathan Poe]

Like I said, you keep thinking the bible is describing a five mile deep global flood. but the bible never says that.

Yet another example of a literalist adding unbiblical baggage to support themselves, and no more.