Recently I've heard some say that they do not believe in God and that they are atheist. Often times, it is because this school of thought resonates with those who wish to follow the principles of science instead of faith. There are also several surveys that have found a majority of intellectuals, university professors, etc... profess to having no faith.
I find this to be quite interesting.
To my flawed and limited knowledge, science as we know it today is based on the scientific method, which relies on repeated observations of phenomena in controlled circumstances to infer as to the cause of said phenomena. Science is built upon the null hypothesis, that is disproving things. It is far easier to disprove anything than to actually prove it. This means that by it's very nature science is not about proving any singular truth. Rather, science and experimentation tell us what cannot be true, and we are left to infer from all of the remaining possibilities what is most likely to be "true," (or at least less likely to be disproved).
Science, by it's nature recognizes that what is seen as fact today will not be so in the future (with the possible exception of some fundamental basics, but even these are only possible exceptions). What seemed impossible decades ago is fact today, what seems erroneous today, may prove to be relevant tomorrow.
This means that a true scientist, and a truly honest intellectual cannot be fixated on any one truth. Whatever that may be. There is no one truth in science, there are only a limitless number of non-truths, which when removed from the equation bring us to a closer approximation of reality.
With this being the case, how can any honest intellectual ever truly discard the possibility of God?
Maybe God does not exist in the manner commonly referred to in traditional forms, maybe the Creator is not found in man-shape atop a cloudy heaven with hosts of angelic beings around Him. This however, does not discount the possibility of there being a creator.
If scientific endeavors have taught me anything, it is that we cannot discard anything that has not been disproved conclusively through rigorous testing. The existence or non-existence of God cannot be proven or unproven through the methods known to science today. As a result, this question cannot be conclusively answered.
However, stating that one is an atheist is stating something that cannot be proven is false in one's own mind. This would be okay, if this perception was kept to an individual level, but oftentimes it is not, with those practicing religious traditions being the subjects of ridicule.
It is okay to believe in God, it is okay to not believe in God. No one can make you believe or disbelieve, but try not to discard the possibility. It is quite unscientific to do so.
