Objection · Case 09 · Atheism
Saying science explains mechanism but not existence just relocates God to a bigger gap. “Why is there anything?” is the last gap left. The pattern of retreat is the argument.
One objection from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
Response
The theist’s answer is that why is there something rather than nothing is not a gap of the same kind, because it is not a question science could in principle answer. Science explains features of the existing world by other features of it and cannot explain the existence of the whole from inside. Critics reply that the question may be ill-formed. The distinction to hold onto is between gaps within nature, which science closes, and the question of nature’s existence, which is not the sort of thing that gets closed by more data.
About this exhibit
This objection is to Methodological naturalism and the “God of the gaps” concern.
Over centuries, natural explanations have replaced supernatural ones for lightning, disease, the diversity of life, and much more, so it is reasonable to expect the remaining gaps to close as well,…
Under Claim 06: The history of science and Christianity is not a story of constant warfare, and many founders of modern science were themselves believers.