Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Should there be a distinction between operational science and historical science?

Operational science is the type of science that allows us to understand how DNA codes for proteins in cells. It is the type of science that has allowed us to cure and treat diseases, put a man on the moon, build satellites and telescopes and make products that are useful to humans.
Historical Science interpreting evidence from past events based on a presupposed philosophical point of view. The past is not directly observable, testable, repeatable or falsifiable; so interpretations of past events presents greater challenges than interpretations involving operational science.
Evolutionists often claim that people misuse the word "theory" when discussing science and don't make a distinction between a scientific and the common use of the word "theory." You may say, "I have a theory about why Mr. Jones' hair looks funny" but that theory has never been compared to a broad set of observations. This is not the sense of a theory in science.
In light of this, few would argue that there are different types of theories. So it would be good to refine this term further to avoid any baiting and switching of the word "theory." Just as it was valuable to distinguish between operational and historical, it would be good to do the same with operational and historical theories. A scientific operational thoery is:
Operational Theory: an explanation of a set of facts based on a broad of repeatable and testable observations that is generally accepted within a group of scienists.
That evolution has been elevated to the status of an operational theory (and "fact" in the opinion of some) is not due to the strength of the evidence, but in spite of it. Because evolutionary ideas are interpretations of past events, they are not as well-founded as testable scientific theories like Einstein's Theory of Relativity or Newton's Theory of Gravity. These theories offer predictable models and the ability to conduct experiments to determine their validity in different circumstances. Molecules-to-man evolution does not offer this opportunity because these events happened in the past. Therefore, evolution is not an operational theory. Evolution is considered an historical theory, along with creation models and other origins theories.
Historical Theory: An explanation of past events based on the interpretation of past events based on the interpretation of evidence that is available in the present.
Evolution fits this definition of theory, but it relies on the assumption of naturalism. In the naturalistic scientific community, evolution has become a theory that is assumed to be an established fact and not an explanation. Evolution is the prevailing paradigm, and most scientists have stopped questioning the underlying assumptions that the theory is based upon. Creationists develop theories in the light of biblical truth, but they are not as widely accepted by scientists. All theories of the past are based on assumptions and cannot be equated with facts that are observable in the present. This holds true for creationist or  evolutionist theories.
Good operational science can provide scientific answers by test but it can't answer the questions of where we came from and why we are here.
A person must like at the probability of evolution and the probability of an God and he is the Maker.
Life on earth was either created or it developed in some progressive manner; there are no other alternatives. While there are the ideas of creation and evolution, both cannot be true.

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