:salam2:
Sister,
I never meant that "mother nature" mean some kind of being or entity. As a matter of fact it was a sarcastic statement.
As you have stated and I concurr that atheists believe in the laws of nature and science, that laws of nature and science are running the show.
My point was that these laws, the Laws of Nature are a creation of Allah the All-Mighty God. The gavitational constant, the speed of light, the sub atomic particles, the Strong Force, the Weak Force, the laws of electro-magnetism, the rules of chemical reactions, biological rules etc etc are all the things created by Allah (SWT) to make this universe function as He wanted it to function. But when a person believes in a creation of Allah as the authority rather than Allah Himself then that person is doing Shirk.
Whether that creation he/she is believing in is a statue or monkey or cow or Jesus or scientific rules or laws of nature... that person is still believing in a creation of Allah (SWT) as the ultimate authority. And this is equal to associating partners with Allah -or- Shirk.
I hope you understood what I am saying here.
:salam2:
Of course I understand, I was just taking you at your word. Tone of voice is hard to hear in words typed the internet. I was simply trying to explain what atheists believe (or don't). Muslims deal enough with their beliefs being misunderstood, we don't need the reverse being true.