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The most obvious "cut" is whether one sees the "natural" as a subset of the "supernatural" or whether one sees it as an either/or. The majority of Christians, including virtually all Catholics, see the "natural" as a subset of the "supernatural" or transcedent, i.e. God created "all that there is" both spiritual and physical and He alone is transcedent (and yet immanent).... And then there are those on this forum who see "natural" and "supernatural" as mutually exclusive -- the more science discovers natural causation, the less the supernatural can “be”. This false dichotomy leads to much of the crevo warfare around here, IMHO.

I applaud your astute analysis, Alam-Girl; and support the conclusion you draw: "when science discovers a physical causation, then it can be asserted it was not spiritually caused -- but it cannot be asserted that the supernatural or transcendent does not exist or is not relevant to the existence of the physical cause itself. "

Indeed, there is no either/or issue involved here. This is a point, however, that apparently is difficult for "physicalists" (or naturalists or materialists -- however a person prefers to be termed in the matter) to grasp. But it is THE point.

Thanks so much for your excellent essay/post, A-G!

Thank you oh so very much for your affirmation and encouragements!!!

Indeed, there is no either/or issue involved here. This is a point, however, that apparently is difficult for "physicalists" (or naturalists or materialists -- however a person prefers to be termed in the matter) to grasp. But it is THE point.

So very true. Perhaps if we keep at this long enough we'll find a way to make it clear?

[ I applaud your astute analysis, Alamo-Girl; and support the conclusion you draw: "when science discovers a physical causation, then it can be asserted it was not spiritually caused -- but it cannot be asserted that the supernatural or transcendent does not exist or is not relevant to the existence of the physical cause itself. " ]

Me too.. language(whatever dialect) can divide us more than bring us together.. but brought together only until the next "issue" comes up..

Gee, I sure will be glad when human language becomes obsolete.. and we can KNOW whats in each others spirit.. Dialects within dialects within dialects are hard to keep up with.. Even when on the same page we might be in different BOOKS.. But I get ahead of myself.. There I've done it again..