On Wed, 20 Apr 2011 16:08:25 -0700, Patrick Elliott wrote:

> No it can't. Not in science.

I didn't say "in science".  In common usage, and that's part of the 
problem with the Creationist argument (which I stated before):  They 
misuse the word "Theory".

Now, if you couple the idea that ID is not science but evolution is, you 
can use "theory" in describing both - because one has the context of not 
being science, and one has the context of being science.

It is a legitimate *linguistic* usage of the word.  My point was to 
illustrate that this is the device used by creationists to argue that 
it's science, and it's born out of ignorance of the *scientific* usage of 
the word as compared to the 'common usage' use of the word - or it's born 
out of malicious use of the same word intended to cause confusion in 
those who don't understand that words can actually mean more than one 
thing, and that the *context* is important.

Jim

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