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God Of The GapsThe god of the gaps argument is one used to contrast faith-based explanations for nature with those derived from science. The term is used in a pejorative sense by those wishing to deride perceived religious retreat in the face of increasingly comprehensive scientific explanations of natural phenomena. The argument starts with the position that early religious descriptions of objects and events (e.g. sun, moon and stars; thunder and lightning) placed these in the realm of things created or controlled by a god or gods. As the scientific method came up with explanations for observations in the realms of astronomy, meteorology, geology, cosmology and biology, the 'need' for a god to explain phenomena was — and is being — reduced, and occupies smaller and smaller 'gaps' in knowledge. The argument suggests that since the domain of things controlled by God is shrinking, eventually science will remove the need for God to explain any natural phenomena. Theories for the origin of life and the universe remain outstanding problems for which a scientific consensus has yet to form. The theistic position retains these within the domain of God. Theist Rebuttal Theists reject the principal claims of the God of the Gaps. Theists argue that many phenomena are outside the realm of empirical science not because they don't exist, but because we don't yet have the tools to investigate them, and that God is therefore a possible explanation, even if he cannot be scientifically observed. The God of the Gaps argument also asserts that the answer of God brings up more questions than answers and requires many a priori assumptions, and therefore fails by Occam's Razor. Theists respond that where natural phenomena cannot be explained by natural phenomena alone, it is just as reasonable to assume an unknown theistic cause as to assume an unknown natural cause. Theists finally argue that the progress of science continually uncovers more evidence of design, so that the evidence of a designer increases with progress, rather than decreasing. See Also External links * Skeptical Christian - God of the Gaps
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