Science is the work of the Devil.

[J0SH]

Have you ever heard someone make such a ridiculous statement? I have, it almost made me burst out laughing, but somehow with every ounce of my strength I held back. I didn't want to get into an argument, because while all arguments are mostly unpleasant an argument with a fanatical Christian somehow seems much more unpleasant.

[pianodwarf]

Have you ever heard someone make such a ridiculous statement?

I've heard even more ridiculous statements.  I know Catholics who will look you straight in the eye and tell you that the scientific method was invented by the Catholic Church, and that we should all be grateful to the church for giving us such a wonderful gift.

[Jag]

I was in Washington DC, about 100 feet from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, when a Christian protester (I was at an atheist rally last spring) announced, quite loudly, that evolution was "the biggest lie science ever told - you can't see it, it can't be measured, it's all a lie!".

Mind you, he was 100 feet away from the entrance to the building that would have shown him what an idiotic statement that was. The Hall of Human Origins is amazing, and he wouldn't even walk though the doors to see it. There really are none so blind as those who will not see.

[nogodsforme]

Then he can keep saying, "If evolution is real, where are the fossils?" Uh, in the building over there. You know, the one full of SCIENCE. 

[Noman Peopled]

So ... the devil is responsibpe for GPS, antibiotics, Voyager, MRT, atomic clocks, the LHC,and all that insanely cool shit? I guess the only question is ... does this guy have a club and how do I join?

[nogodsforme]

That guy must live in a hut made of leaves, with no electricity, drinking only rainwater and eating food hunted and gathered with his own hands. He must wear animal skins and go barefoot. He must walk everywhere, use no machines or modern tools. He can't bathe with soap unless he made it himself, and obviously no modern medicines or health care.

Only then will he be completely safe from the devil.

[jaimehlers]

Don't you know?  When those people say 'science', what they really mean are the things that get in the way of their belief systems.  They don't mean cars, or computers, or electricity, or...  Just concepts like evolution.

[Graybeard]

A chance to dust off and pull out the best quote on science and religion:

“If every trace of any single religion were wiped out and nothing were passed on, it would never be created exactly that way again. There might be some other nonsense in its place, but not that exact nonsense. If all of science were wiped out, it would still be true and someone would find a way to figure it all out again.”

? Penn Jillette, God, No!: Signs You May Already Be an Atheist and Other Magical Tales

[natlegend]

So ... the devil is responsible for...<snip>...Voyager...<snip>

Ah, so Satan was responsible for that crappy Nelix character.[1] Bastard!

1.	Star Trek: Voyager

[Seppuku]

My response would be:

"Wow, that's awesome, this devil must be a stand up guy."

This means he's cured multiple diseases, made the blind see, given amputees new limbs, lengthened the lives of many people, saved lives, given us hygiene so that we don't fall ill with things like cholera, he has saved numerous born infants and reduced death during child birth, he has been responsible for avoid crop failures so that millions (heck billions) can eat, he has been responsible for all the technology that improve our lives, from computers, to aeroplanes to GPS and heck, the devil even got us on the moon, it is the devil who is responsible for the networks that connects friends and family around the world and brings people from all walks of life together, the devil is also responsible for the technology where Christians can post their blogs and proselytise via new mediums (but I hear he's sorry about that one) and there's a lot more he's also responsible for.

Damn, this devil bloke seems to really take a caring and active interest in the progression and potential of the human race. Well, it's no surprise really, I mean, look at the Adam and Eve story, God required their ignorance and rewarded their obedience, whereas the devil offered the gift of curiosity, of learning, of knowledge through the temptation of Eve to get her to eat from the tree of knowledge. According to the bible the first scientist was a woman. Of course, God punished them for wanting to know more for wanting to learn more about the real world. So I think it's very plausible to suggest science is the work of the devil, because all scientists are doing is what Eve did in Genesis, feed from the tree of knowledge. God doesn't want humans to be knowledgeable, he wants them to be ignorant and bow down to him in worship. Regardless of the suffering caused by their ignorance.

I think this all puts the devil in a more positive light. After all, who's the biggest causer of pain and suffering in the bible? Not the devil. Who's the biggest murder in the bible? Not the devil. Who's merciless and vengeful when it comes to defiance in the bible? Not the devil. The devil wants man to turn against God and if we're to understand the bible to be factual, particularly the old testament, then God is the biggest tyrant of them all. You can probably think of the devil to be like Marduk in Mesopotamian religion, who led an army against the tyrannical creator, Tiamat and was the one to slay her.

[kcrady]

I've heard even more ridiculous statements.  I know Catholics who will look you straight in the eye and tell you that the scientific method was invented by the Catholic Church, and that we should all be grateful to the church for giving us such a wonderful gift.

Well, that only proves that the Devil is responsible for the Catholic Church, too.  Which means he also gets credit for a certain book they compiled and made famous, and is now worshiped as an idol by about a couple billion people...

[DR HANS SCHWANTZ]

Copied from dictionary.com (The material in brackets only)

[sci·ence
sahy-uhns
noun
1. a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws: the mathematical sciences.
2. systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation and experimentation.
3. any of the branches of natural or physical science.
4. systematized knowledge in general.
5. knowledge, as of facts or principles; knowledge gained by systematic study.
6. a particular branch of knowledge.
7. skill, especially reflecting a precise application of facts or principles; proficiency. ]
 
This is science as I know it...it is enjoyable and helps me learn new things about my world. When it is practised according to the 7 definitions above and kept strictly to the observations, experiments and results gained from these, it is in its pure form with no personal bias involved.

That to me is what science is, it is not in the definitions to be the work of any particular entity except the assumption that people are actually  involved in the work and those that benefit from it.

Science and mathematics present to me what I call the purest form of truth as to how natural phenomenon, both seen (electric light for example) and unseen (like electricity) work.

Since natural and physical phenomena are present in the world and universe, observing, experimenting and learning about these things cannot be the works of the Devil or anything else, since these phenomena exist and are not some form of intelligence onto itself nor exists any evidence to date the phenomena were created by some entity like the Devil. We do know that they exist. We must work with these things to survive and advance as a race and to satisfy our curiosity of how things work. If we do nothing then we most likely would just not advance or even survive. In either case the phenomena would not care but still exist just the same whether we study it or not. Better to find out about it and use it to our advantage, hence all the advancements we see today.

If somebody were to say that the fruits of science are being used for evil things, that is another story because anything in existence can be used for good or evil. But science itself would not be at fault because it is the entity itself (most likely a human) that is using the fruits of science, that is the cause of the evil. Science just produced a result that was neutral and its use of the result thereafter was in the hands of the users will.

This is my opinion

[Nick]

If Christians really believe this shouldn't they all be living like the Amish?

[nogodsforme]

If Christians really believe this shouldn't they all be living like the Amish?

Yep.

[Garja]

you can't see it, it can't be measured, it's all a lie

A theist said this?  About evolution?  Im gonna guess "irony" doesn't show up on their radar a lot.

[Jag]

^^^Indeed Garja. I opted not to get too involved in a discussion with him, but we did speak a little bit.

I don't understand YEC's at all.

[Garja]

I'm with you. Honestly there are some religious beliefs hat I'm like "ok, whatever, that's not too stupid, or isn't harmful anyway". But the sheer magnitude of intentional ignorance that YECs display.... It boggles the mind. I don't know how you can pretend that the vast quantities of evolution do not exist in favor of a world view with NO evidence to back it up.