Had another round of my pet argument, referring to scientific theory as fact. I stand my ground because of theists.
Theists claim they have all the answers, that there is no point seeking anymore. They have it all sussed and written down in their "goat herders guide to the galaxy", for Abraham follows anyway.
So when you argue for science, I think it's important to point out science doesn't claim to know it all, we are still sussing things out. That new evidence will change our minds, unlike them.
So why claim scientific theory is fact when we also acknowledge it may change? It sounds arrogant that statement, it is a " know all" arrogant statement which is not true unless you claim science does know it all.
I fully understand certain theories, evolution one, are so close to being fact, it is not funny. But I feel you leave yourself open to counter argument by claiming theory IS fact. For when they counter "would you change your mind with new evidence?" and you reply "yes", the easy counter is " Then how could it have been fact previously?".
Admit science is still learning, it doesn't know it all. For this is the reason science is superior to theist ideology, because we still wonder and search. We still discover.
Theists claim perfection, so claim fallibility to counter.
We see only a very small part of the universe, so to claim that this or that law holds everywhere may be a mistaken notion. There is no reason why nature must be uniform, that any of the laws we have derived hold in all places at all times. All phenomena is contingent, and all the laws we have come up with express probabilities based on our observations.
I agree with most of your observations but, as much as I would like to claim a scientific theory is fact, scientific theory is not a fact. Example: If I drop my pencil and the pencil hits the ground this is a fact (data point) that demonstrates the general theory of relativity.
A scientific theory is an umbrella statement based on and supported by facts (data points that can be verified). A scientific theory epitomizes our best understanding or reality and when compared to faith (belief without evidence) is by far our best method to establish truth.
better to have questions without answer than answers that cannot be questioned (A fav quote when dealing with theist)