Religion Science and Philosophy should not be separated, they all point to a common and real truth.

I would first like to start by saying what I must do to win, and what my opponent must do to win. The resolution has two parts, first and foremost, that Religion, Science, and Philosophy should not be separated. I must prove they should. And secondly, that they all point to a common and real truth. I must prove they don't. My opponent must do the exact opposite. Now as for my first point. 1. Religion is defined as "something one believes in and follows devotedly; a point or matter of ethics or conscience." 2. Science is defined as "a branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws." 3. Philosophy is defined as "the rational investigation of the truths and principles of being, knowledge, or conduct." When we look at the definitions presented, we see three different things. Not one in the same. If they were one in the same, then they would not be three different things. Three different things cannot be the same if they are different. Just like a red dot cannot also be a blue dot. It is impossible. Since they are three different things, they must stay that way. Now does this mean they should not be separated? Not necessarily. The reason these things should be separated, is because of their vast differences. Let's look at religion first. Religion has not been defined as one specific religion. As we all know, there are many different religions in this world we live in. Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, are just a few of the major religions. Now the question I pose is: Can all of the religions co-exist peacefully together along with science and philosophy? I say no. Not only can they not co-exist peacefully with Philosophy and Science, they cannot co-exist peacefully at all. There are radical groups of muslims whose goal in life is to kill christians. There are radical christians whose goal in life is to kill others. These groups will never co-exist peacefully. Should these groups be separated? Yes. Most definitely. Now, should religion co-exist with Science? In some points yes. It should. But in other points, no. It shouldn't. Paul says in one of his letters, "It is by FAITH you are saved, not of works, lest any man should boast." Since science is purely factual, then you will see that faith and science cannot co-exist. Especially since one calls for believing in the unproven. Religion says that the person who adheres to the guidelines set up in whatever religious book believes that those guidelines are true, whether there is evidence to back them up or not. Science says you must believe the laws because they have been proven true. A scientist cannot say that we must believe cold fusion is possible because he says it is. If there is no evidence to back that claim up, then science says it doesn't have to be true. So that means religion inherently is separated from science. Now as for religion and philosophy. These two are already very similar. And I would argue with your claim that they are separate in the status quo. I would say they are already united. Now for Science and Philosophy. These too are very similar. But there are some differences. Science is what is true, and Philosophy is finding what is true. That means that Philosophy must come before science. One cannot exist without the other. If we never searched for what was true, then we would never know truth. That means that they each have to exist individually. They cannot be combined. The search has to be before it, and it cannot exist simultaneously. How can you be searching for a certain truth while already knowing what is true? It can't happen. Now for the second part of the resolution. "They all point to a common and real truth." My first question...What truth? You never told me what they point to. All you say is that there is a truth. How can I argue that without knowing what truth it points to? I would also like to point out that there is no such thing as a fake truth. I say that they do not all point to one truth. Let's look at religion first. As I previously stated, there are many differing religions. If one religion says that after I die I will spend eternity in heaven, and another religion says that I will spend eternity in Hell, or still another religion says that I will be reincarnated as an oak tree, then how can they all be pointing to the same truth? They cannot. Now science. Can science and religion point to the same truth? In no way. Religion has to do with a person's soul/karma/whatever. Science doesn't. How can science, which says that after I die my body will rot in the ground and release chemicals to help the soil and plants, point to the same truth that says I will live again as a cat? Science doesn't deal with that part of life. So they cannot point to the same truth. Philosophy doesn't point to anything in particular. It just says that it is the search for truth. Once you find that truth, you enter into the realm of science if it is a proven fact, or religion, if it is something you believe to be true. Therefore Philosophy cannot point to the same truth as science or religion. Your arguments on the relativity of truth don't have any weight in the round since the resolution doesn't call for an argument in relativism. You do say a "real" truth, and since relativism is well...relative, it can't be real or common. So... You say that everything must have a final answer, a real true answer, and i agree. But not everything can point to that real true answer. Only certain things can. Not all religions can point to that one real true answer. So therefore, Religion can't point to a real true answer. Certain religion(s) can, but not all.