WARNING: This post is not about religion per se. Do not make posts bashing religion, bashing Christianity, the Bible, etc. Also, this is NOT about evolution versus creation. Let’s not go there.

I was watching a TV program about the future of science and technology. The interviewer asked the guest about his religious beliefs and the scientist replied that he chose to put his belief in science and things he could prove. This got me thinking. It seems a strange dichotomy exists. Science versus religion/belief.

Assertion: Belief in certain aspects of science is the same as belief in a deity.

A lot of people consider my belief in a deity as an intellectual defect or a crutch to meet an emotional deficit. However, these same people have no problems putting their belief and trust in science.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love science. I watch the Science Channel, Discovery, the History Channel, Animal Planet, etc. I try to keep abreast of current research on things like the String theory and other matters of physics. I believe in science…to a point.

For instance, some will say that since most people were not living doing ancient times, how do I know that stories relating to my chosen deity are correct? How do I even know that such a deity exists? Where’s the proof?

I could argue that there is proof via apologetics and religious archeology, but that’s another thread.

Using the same logic as above, how do scientists really know what happened millions and millions of years ago? Sure, they’ve found fossils and things, but how do they really know that a certain fossil is 20 million years old as opposed to just 50,000 years old? What about glacier movements, ice ages, etc? Are dating techniques able to tell us what really happened all those years ago? Do we really know what happened beyond a shadow of a doubt? Try as we may, we know that life is not “paint by the numbers.” Why are people putting their trust and belief in found objects, equations and predictive modeling?

Also, I’m a big fan of Michio Kaku, the theoretical physicist. However, he will go on and on about parallel universes, worm holes, and technologies that will make things possible 500 or 1000 years from now. Umm…okay. Has anyone been in a parallel universe and have come back to provide personal testimony? Where's the videotape? I respect his (and others) method of thinking on such matters, but really, where’s the proof? What do scientists really have besides equations and a belief in what is possible? Oh, and let us not forget Stephen Hawking and his aliens.

Do we really know what we think we know?

So, with all that said, is my assertion correct? Belief in certain aspects of science is the same as belief in an unseen deity?