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Re:Why Do We Admire Mobsters? by humanrebar on Thursday September 17, 2015 @04:37PM (#10235906)
> But that is not a reason to dismiss it.

As long as you recognize that absence of evidence cuts both ways. Assuming physiological predisposition towards religion and strong leaders, it's also possible that the disposition developed because God actually exists.

What came first, religion or God? Can you prove that scientifically? I'm not sure you can.

Re:Why Do We Admire Mobsters? by Lawtonfogle on Friday September 18, 2015 @10:03AM (#10239242)
It doesn't cut both ways because any common definition of God is inherently not testable, and thus excluded for science and notions such as evidence. It is a matter of faith which is largely a separate area of thought.

In short, regardless of what any individual believes, to science itself, God does not exist (unless He ever made Himself testable in some form).

Re:Why Do We Admire Mobsters? by humanrebar on Friday September 18, 2015 @05:13PM (#10242088)
> to science itself, God does not exist

If you suppose the absence of supernatural factors, of course you cannot conclusively prove the supernatural. Any why does science assume there are not supernatural factors? Well, there are valid reasons, but to a theist that's merely a model of reality for the purpose of discovery and pedagogy.

But to take the premise as the conclusion is a logical fallacy. And on top of that, the underlying premise (assume only the physical and measurable exist) is a metaphysical premise and outside the purview of science.

Re:Why Do We Admire Mobsters? by Lawtonfogle on Monday September 21, 2015 @10:10AM (#10252359)
It is a direct consequence of only concerning itself with what can be tested. If it didn't, then it would no longer be science.