The God of the gaps argument is familiar: when science cannot explain something — the origin of the universe, the fine-tuning of physical constants, the existence of conscious experience — some propose divine agency as the explanation. The standard scientific response is equally familiar: this explains nothing, it’s untestable, it terminates inquiry rather than advancing it, and science has a long track record of replacing supernatural explanations with natural ones.

This dismissal is largely correct. But it is not as neutral as it appears.