Science and religion (particularly Christianity) intersect in positive ways.
And in many negative ways as well. The catholic church suppressed all notions of a heliocentric universe, proposed by Galileo, under threat of punishment and excommunication. The church rejected the scientific basis for contraception. It only recently started to accept evolutionary theory. Science and religion only intersect in positive ways when science is discovering things that don't contradict religious dogma.
I am a scientist and someone who believes in God. Maybe not the way the Bible describes him, as it was written by man and therefore flawed, but I still believe that there is a higher being. We don't have the scientific methods to test for him (or her =)!
You are a scientist? May I ask in which field?
I don't want to go with an ad ignorantum, but can you DISPROVE the existence of some sort of creator?
One might have great difficulty in disproving that which does not exist.
Without the fear of hell or another sort of retribution, humanity could easily be swayed to pursue acts of evil.
So fear of divine punishment, in your view, is the sole motivator for not doing atrocious acts?
Technically no. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human being. If we define murder as the act of killing than this would include veganism. Humans are omnivores by nature, we have teeth specially adapted to eat both animal and plant material, and are healthier if we eat both. Of course you can survive just fine on plant material alone, that is your decision to do so.
Our country was not founded on YOUR set of morals and religious beliefs. We live in a pluralistic society in which many religious and non-religious practices co-exist. To enforce religious practices of a particular religion, would destroy any sense of NEUTRALITY the government may have regarding religion. You cannot ban something because it is against your religious beliefs because not everyone shares your religious beliefs.
the fact that homosexual activities are already legal makes it seem like homosexual activities are okay. Marriage isn't even part of that equation. I don't think there is anything wrong with homosexuality and what people do in the privacy of their own homes shouldn't be any of your concern.
Gay marriage is already legal in a lot of places and those places seem to be doing fine.
Nor are we in any danger of running out of people, the United states is one of the most populated Countries (#3 I believe) in the world. We have some 300 million Americans with no shortage in sight. If only China and India had more gays then they wouldn't be so over-populated.
Without either a mom or a dad the child is mentally hurt
This is complete bullocks. There is no evidence to support this notion. Studies have been down that show a child of a heterosexual couple is no better off than a child of a homosexual couple.
Even if this were true, do you really think a child with no parents is better off than a child with two homosexual parents? Such arguments have been rendered moot, long ago. This is merely a rationalization for prejudice.
