Science and Religion

I just want to tell you one aspect of this, and it pertains to the fact that both you and I come from the world of science and we are used to scientific studies.
The main difference between science and “theology” is this:
In science, we postulate a hypothesis (Drug A lowers the blood pressure more than Drug B). The next step is to test that hypothesis through experiential means, in this case a lab study.
Two groups of patients (with similar medical background) are selected and one is given Drug A and the other Drug B. Once the results are evaluated, the scientist abide by the findings and state either that, “Yes, Drug A is better than Dug B in lowering the blood pressure” or, the scientist says: “No, my hypothesis was wrong. Drug B was better”. In this example, Drug B was better so the scientist had to change his hypothesis.

A recent study was conducted in the theological world. The Templeton Foundation tried to “prove” that “prayers heal”.
So, in a very ambitious way, they set up test groups, control groups and so on and very extensively compared two groups of patients. One group was “prayed for” and the other group was not.
Had the results of this “Study” shown that “prayers actually heal”, we would have heard about the study all over the first page of all newspapers, and on TV and so on.
But we didn’t hear about it. Why?
Because the results showed that the patients “not prayed for” did better!
So, here is the difference between science and “theology”: The scientist accepts the test results and moves on from there and changes his hypothesis (Now, the hypothesis is that Drug B is better). The theologian, on the other hand, doesn’t like the result of the study, so they BURY the study! That is why this was never spoken about!

The scientist follows the result of the study and adjusts his hypothesis. The theologian cannot change his hypothesis and therefore is not interested in reality.

This story, that can be found in “The God Delusion” (in much more detail), is the best illustration of the difference between science and theology, and why many scientist question why “theology” even should be an academic topic.