In contrasting the Western religions with science, the most important vriterion of distinction is that the supernatural or spiritual realm is unknowable ... Given this fiat by the theistic believers, science simply ignores the supernatural as being outside the scope of scientific inquiry. Scientists in effect are saying:
- You religious believers set up your postulates as truths, and we take you at your word. By definition, you render your beliefs unassailable and unavailable.
This attitude is not one of surrender, but simply an expression of the logical impossibility of proving the existence of something about which nothing can possibly be known through scientific investigation.
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Understanding Science: An Introduction to Concepts and Issues by Arthur N. Strahler as quoted in
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Methodological Naturalism and Philosophical Naturalism: Clarifying the Connection by Doctor Barbara Forrest