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Originally Posted by asaris
I've often said in these forums that the accusation that theists must be stuck in some sort of childish mindset is, at best, rude and bigoted. I'm not the stupidest person in the world, and very well educated, and I'm still a theist. I've met people far smarter than I am who are also theists. We could be wrong, but we're not wrong merely out of childishness or parochialism, and to accuse us of that simply reveals your own ignorance.
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This is an important point, though I don't necessarily agree that it is childishness that leads one to this view.
Also, where do we draw the line between theism and religion? (Not all religions are theistic at their core; consider Buddhism.) To suggest something like theism needs to be eliminated smacks of thought control and/or oppression. This position is also unnecessarily confrontational and militant. To suggest that the only problems in the world are caused by theists is also a false view. Some great problems have arisen out of godlessness--sometimes under the facade of godliness.
But in direct response to the OP, I find it hard to accept a position suggesting that science has proven all of its claims. This can be a dangerous view, as science is not as concrete as people would like it to be. Alchemy was once a science, as was social Darwinism and eugenics.
If anything, we should try to look at the bigger picture and instead see how science interacts with theism. (They do on many levels.) Theism is not a denial of science, and science does not abhor theism. No. It takes individuals to do these things. Some of the greatest minds in history weren't only devout followers of God, some were also polytheists. If anything, theism should be regarded as philosophy. I would be wary of atheistic scientists who would do away with philosophy altogether. This would require erasing history and human knowledge.