Can science answer the question of why I am here?
Sure.If you're asking the reason that you exist as opposed to not existing, it's because your mother and father had sex, their gametes merged, there were no complications during the pregnancy or delivery which prevented you from being born, and you have successfully avoided death up until this point.If you're asking about the purpose of your existence, then this isn't a question for science, because it wasn't science or the universe or nature or whatnot that made the decision to create you; it was whoever created you (usually your parents, but perhaps a team of scientists?). They're the ones making you; they are the ones to ask the purpose of doing so.For example, some couples have a child because they think raising one will bring them happiness; such a child's purpose was to bring its parents happiness (and whether or not that worked is another issue).But a good amount of people living today were the result of an unplanned pregnancy, in which case they clearly don't have a purpose because their creation wasn't intended to begin with. I suppose they could be assigned a purpose afterward, though.Whatever the purpose was for your creation, most humans develop some sense of self-direction that allows them to repurpose their existence to something else. So at some point it's really up to you what your purpose is.Not so difficult, nón?
Philosophy question about Mind/Body and surviving death?!!??!?
for the mind or the self to survive after death, they would need to be independent of the brain - simple as that. if they are depending on the brain, then: no brain, no self. and in fact, the brain does create what we call mind, self and consciousness, although some scientists and philosophers such as John Searle or Roger Penrose still believe otherwise, as Descartes did long ago. according to modern science, there cannot be any such thing as mind, spirit or consciousness in existence outside or independent of matter. this is called monism - there is only one thing, namely matter - as opposed to dualism, the belief that matter AND mind do exist independently. it has been clearly shown that, even within living subjects (ehm, humans of course), the mind will "disappear" as a result of damage to the brain, and even slight impairments can have a huge effect on the character, self-image or mental fitness of patients. the brain has to work properly for us to actually know who we are, to remember things or even think straight. so without a brain, there's no you. if you are interested in up-to-date discussions about mind/body (not some sphere theory from 1922...), try these: "Conversations on Consciousness" Susan Blackmore "Darwin's Dangerous Idea" Daniel Dennett "The Feeling Of What Happens" or "Self Comes To Mind" Antonio Damasio "The Ego-Tunnel" Thomas Metzinger
What is Spirit Science and Metaphysics?
It's the belief that atheistic popular science doesn't have all of the answers. It accepts the possibility of supernatural explanations so routinely dismissed by most closed minded scientists. Edit: Ian has given the common answer for what science is. I don't disagree , however, it doesn't go far enough and we'll see if he agrees with me or not. Let us say that someone sees a strange light in the sky. Is it scientific to speculate what it is? I would say yes. Science allows for speculation but that doesn't fit into Ian's (Popper's) definition. Science allows us to say that maybe it was a bird or Venus or an alien spacecraft. Then, we can estimate what percentage of likelihood that it was one or another of those things depending on what the characteristics were that fit into those possibilities. At this point many cynics would like to remind you that it is quite impossible for aliens to visit Earth because blah, blah, blah and therefore we can exclude aliens as a possible explanation. This is an example of ignorance of science. This pre-set notion, in fact, undermines many scientific studies and relegates "scientists" to close their eyes and minds to true possibilities. This is where spirit science and metaphysics have an advantage. There is no such thing as an impossible possibility (Yes, I know that this phrase is a can of worms but I'm trying to provide an illustration here so don't lecture me!).
Are there any Protestant Scientists?
That is doubtful since the concept of a scientist didn't exist prior to late 19th century. People whom we might recognize as the forefathers of science/scientists were called natural philosophers. Browse here if you want to see a list of Christian natural philosophers from the 1400s to the 1800s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chr...