Useful, interesting are very subjective terms. Just like when people take pride in the fact 'science' put a thing on Mars while 'religion' can't do such a thing.
Supernatural explanations can be and are (sometimes) wrong. If someone says that this or that supernatural phenomenon took place, and it didn't, then their statement is false.
If I tell you that a certain rock was created on the spot by a supernatural being, and that is exactly what happened, than my statement is an explanation of what happened.
Testable predictions are an addagio that is specific to natural sciences. Asking to every single explanation for any kind of phenomena out there to have testable predictions is a sign of dogmatism and ideological bigotry.
>Supernatural explanations can be and are (sometimes) wrong.
Of course. But what reasons are there for believing they are sometimes right?
>If I tell you that a certain rock was created on the spot
by a supernatural being, and that is exactly what happened, than my statement is an explanation of what happened.
If. I've essentially got the same question as above here: what reasons are there for believing that this does actually happen?
>Testable predictions are an addagio that is specific to natural sciences. Asking to every single explanation for any kind of phenomena out there to have testable predictions is a sign of dogmatism and ideological bigotry.
I actually agree that it's not a matter of what we can (at least at the moment) test. It's too strong a requirement. But that doesn't get you off the hook. It doesn't therefore mean that anything that can't be tested can just be asserted as true.
If something is to be believed, there has to be some reasons that suggest that it is the case. These can be good reasons, or they can be poor reasons. They can be quite flawed. (I think they ultimately should be grounded in evidence, but that's another matter).
So if someone wants to say we should believe in something supernatural, they still have to justify their claim, and this justification can still be evaluated.
Supernatural explanations can be and are (sometimes) wrong. If someone says that this or that supernatural phenomenon took place, and it didn't, then their statement is false.
If I tell you that a certain rock was created on the spot by a supernatural being, and that is exactly what happened, than my statement is an explanation of what happened.
Testable predictions are an addagio that is specific to natural sciences. Asking to every single explanation for any kind of phenomena out there to have testable predictions is a sign of dogmatism and ideological bigotry.