They think it's gospel but only when it suits their immediate political needs(graft).
Their only real moral standard is hypocrisy itself.
To them, 'science' is a magick word. It somehow proves life, the Universe, and Everything (tip of the math to Douglass).
Words like 'science' and 'religion' and 'reality' are defined by philosophy, almost never taught anywhere, not even in college these days (college 'philosophy' courses are usually wanderings through strange loops (self defeating arguments) and have nothing to do with philosophy.
Philosophy is really nothing more than a reasoned arguments. You have to provide your own reasoning. You cannot swipe anyone else's reasoning as your own. As in all valid arguments, it must be free of fallacies.
'Science' is a set of falsifiable theories. That's it. This simple definition, however, carries some serious meanings:
* First, science is theories. A theory is an explanatory argument. There are scientific theories and nonscientific theories.
* Second, a theory of science MUST be falsifiable. That means the theory itself must be testable to determine of the theory is false. That test must be available, practical to conduct, definable, specific, and produce a specific result. Once a theory has survived such a test, it automatically becomes a theory of science until some test DOES come along to falsify it. At that point the theory is utterly destroyed.
Most theories of science (particularly in physics) are expressed as mathematical relations. Transcribing a theory of science into mathematical form also transposes from an open functional system to a closed one, where the formal proof is available, and with it, the power of prediction.
A simple example is Newton's law of motion:
F=mA, where 'F' is force expressed as a vector, 'm' is mass expressed as a scalar, and 'A' is acceleration expressed as a vector and is itself an integration of motion.
The more mass, the more force required to get it moving, and the more force required to get it to stop.
With constant force, comes constant acceleration. This is why thrown objects follow a parabolic curve (differentiating the acceleration into motion produces the squaring component).
This single equation is the most important equation in all of physics. For the first time, it focused everyone on examine what 'mass' is, what forces there are, and the effects of acceleration on motion.
This theory is falsifiable. If ANY example can be found where F != mA, the theory is utterly destroyed.
Such a test has never been found. Therefore, F=mA has never been falsified and remains a theory of science.
It is not possible to prove any theory True. Regardless of the age of any theory of science, including F=mA, if a test can be found to falsify it, the theory is GONE, destroyed, and there is no getting it back.
So science is only interested in the null hypothesis of a theory. It's only interested in tests designed to destroy theories. This makes science completely atheistic. It does not care of a god or gods exist or not. It simply doesn't go there. You can't test it.
This philosophy stems from the work of Karl Popper, a modern philosopher that finally was able to distill what 'science' actually means. Since Mr Popper's work, the definition has been further distilled and simplified by other philosophical arguments.
Examples of nonscientific theories (and therefore not science):
* The Theory of Creation (that life arrived on Earth through the action of an intelligence).
* The Theory of Abiogenesis (that life originated on Earth through a series of random unspecified events. This is mutually exclusive with the Theory of Creation).
* The Theory of Evolution (which states that present life originated from more 'primitive' life).
* The Theory of the Big Bang (which states the Universe has a beginning and ending, and that it began by an unspecified event).
* The Theory of The Continuum (which states the Universe has always existed and always will. It has no beginning or ending.
* The Theory of Global Warming (which states the Earth is somehow warming).
A religion can best be described as some initial circular argument (also known as an Argument of Faith). This is not itself a fallacy. ?A->A is a valid equation (also known as the Identity Proof). This initial circular arguments has argument extending from that.
For example, the initial circular argument of Christianity is that Christ exists, and that He is who He says He is, namely the Son of God. ALL other arguments in Christianity stem from this initial argument of faith. It is not possible to prove a circular argument True or False. This is what separates religion from things like science. Note that religions do not require a god or gods to be a religion. The Church of No God is a prime example of this.
Each of these nonscientific theories I described above is also a religion. You cannot prove them True or False. They are not falsifiable. Science has NO theories about past unobserved events, since you can't prove whether the events ever happened or not.
ortland, Oregon, USA: VHEMT was founded in 1991 by Les U. Knight in Portland, where he began promoting the movement. The city is often associated with its origins, as Knight used it as a base for early activities, including publishing newsletters like These Exit Times.