Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

"'Religion' means faith in the supernatural, does it not? Most Orcans, like most Aeneans everywhere, do have that kind of faith. They maintain a God exists, and observe different ceremonies and injunctions on that account. If they have any sophistication, however, they admit their belief is nonscientific. It is not subject to empirical confirmation or disconfirmation, Miracles may have happened through divine intervention; but a miracle, by definition, involves a suspension of natural law hence cannot be experimentally repeated. Aye, its historical trugh or falsity can be indirectly investigated. But the confirmation of an event proves nothing, since it could be explained away scientifically. For example, if we could show that there was in fact a Jesus Christ who did in fact rise from his tomb, he may have been in a coma, not dead. Likewise, disconfirmation proves nothing. For example, if it turns out that a given saint never lived, that merely shows people were naïve, not that the basic creed is wrong." -- Commander Yakow, in The Day of Their Return by Poul Anderson (1973, Nelson Doubleday, New York)