Faith and human knowledge: do they differ?

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No, we are not all in agreement. You are in agreement with yourself ... a typically Christian attitude.

Human knowledge is based on fact, experimentation, observation, any reasonable interpolation of seemingly unrelated physical principles, any reasonable extrapolation of known physical principles, and is proven by empirical demonstrations of those principles.

Faith is based on assumptions, suppositions, emotions, subjective belief in unprovable things, and is typified by convoluted rhetoric and a blanket refusal on the part of the "Faith-Filled" to ever demonstrate the alleged validity of their beliefs in a way that is both visible and practical.

My point is that there is a veritable Grand Canyon dividing the "what can be demonstrated as true in every case and not false in any case" and "or as close to that as possible". What's possible for humans is infinitely less than what is simply possible.

Here is, I think, the equation that is emerging from this discussion:

belief + hubris = knowledge

No it isn't. Belief plus hubris equals delusion.

Got any examples?

Give me a some examples of where a repeated, empirically demonstrated scientific FACT has ever been 'proven' and then 'disproven'.

You claim this happens daily so I would like a dozen examples please.

I'd like to see just one miracle - one event that defies all known scientific principles.

Examples:

• Spontaneous regeneration of all missing limbs and organs of every living military veteran the world over.
  
• Enough rain in 24 hours to flood the Sahara to a depth of ten metres.
  
• A major river (Amazon, Mississippi, Nile, et cetera) flowing backwards for 24 hours.
  
• A new continent arising from the ocean within 24 hours - about 85,000 square kilometres in ground area will do.
  
• Every nation at peace with every other nation on Earth.
  
• The Sun's light is prevented from reaching the Earth for 24 hours - complete solar darkness.
  
• Every person currently alive and over the age of 21 is restored to the age of 21.

Surely, none of this is impossible for an omnipotent God, right?

Epistemology is very complicated. I think truth, for all we know, must be constrained. However it is true that human mind is susceptible to comforting fallacious illusions. The outcome of an experiment is a bounded fact and is all we can know for sure. Seems like a reasonable and humble position. Then tell me what are these Facts you are speaking of? Those that are equated to truth by default? How can you know anything if not for science? So my faith in Loose Canon, a Holy Book of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster is hm...a Fact which is true? And not like scientifically true but for realz? How about a tooth fairy for a five-year old?

I think this could happen without much supernatural things. Cue the super-volcanoes.

Not quite.

Belief + empirical corroboration = knowledge.

Knowledge is justified true belief.

ruveyn

Not all scientists are familiar with philosophy. And if proofs means 'demonstrated failure to prove to be false something that is falsifiable' then what is the problem with proven theories being disproved later?

Because we don't call them 'clinically insane' (we should IMO) therefore what they believe is not utterly-baseless?

I don't agree. There is not even a thing to believe. Faith is just uttering a bunch of nonsense gibberish and call that belief.

Topical:

Not proved/disproved. Rather corroborated/ not corroborated. There is no way to prove a universally quantified proposition by empirical means over an indefinitely extended universe of discourse. To prove that all swans are white one must examine every swan the was, is, or ever will be. It can't be done.

The only thing we can be sure of is when a hypothesis is falsified. That is definite because it takes only a finite set of perverse facts to falsify a hypothesis.

ruveyn

Do you mean something like These Biblical Contradictions?

That is absolutely great! Thanks Vex!

The world exists of probabilities. Nothing is certain, but it would be foolish to live life as if we know nothing. Still, letting our successes go to our heads seems to be a common problem in this world. . .