Challenge: look at the same thing from two perspectives, alternating on each paragraph.
In my house, on a shelf, there is a row of small, glass bottles containing an herbal liquid. I was told this is a cure for HIV. I was then asked, Adam, do you believe this medicine cures HIV?
In truth, I believe these bottles do not contain the cure to HIV. I believe there are likely many Tanzanians who put their trust in this cure, using it as an excuse to engage in risky sexual behaviour: in this way, this cure
to HIV actually helps spread it. I lament the hypocrisy of a household reading an HIV-awareness magazine at the same time as advertising anti-HIV snake oil.
I found out later that it is not hypocrisy. Look from the opposite perspective: why would somebody who owns the cure to HIV read a magazine which claims it does not exist? Simple: the magazine is free and colourful, and a guest is clearly enthusiastic about it. Just as we might discuss various differences between Muslim and Christian beliefs, Canadian and Tanzanian weather, or Western and African television, so might we discuss the various belief systems about medicinal solutions to HIV.
At the heart of Science is experimentation and verification. We try something, see if it works, and draw our conclusions. This ought to fit in to any belief system: that is, if we give HIV medication to a hundred patients who have tested HIV-positive and more than usual are tested as HIV-negative after a week, then we clearly have something valuable in our hands. As far as Science is concerned, voodoo and spirits are fully plausible explanations: we just observe what happens. Science accepts everything that is real and denies everything that is not.
So does Islam. So does Christianity. So do the many local legends. If a certain legend says, applying the scientific method to determine the validity of this HIV medication will render the HIV medication ineffective,
well, science cannot prove that claim incorrect. It all comes down to a matter of belief.
Do I believe this medicine cures HIV?
I believe in Science. I want to see proof. In the meantime, I am highly sceptical.
I cannot prove why having proof is right: I simply take it on faith.