Do you doubt that our species can resolve the age-old conflict between religion and science?
In a past life I gave sermons on Faith. In variations on this topic in different locations and different languages I used examples from Piaget’s theories on childhood development and from both quantum and classic physics. Also lots of Bible verses. But the central point, the “Aha” moment, the takeaway for my audience was always this.
Doubt is the enemy of Faith. Doubt, by definition, has no answers. Therefore, to strengthen your Faith, you must turn your doubts into questions. Then, and only then, can you apply the words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you”. I’m quite pleased at having arrived at this formulation way back when there were so many other things I didn’t understand. I stand by it today, though my own perspective has been enhanced significantly by the seeking and knocking and asking that has been a focus for so long now. This includes having religiously read Scientific American for more than a decade now. The irony in this statement is intended.
Which leads to my current belief in the essential unity between what I’ll capitalize and define as Religion and Science. My definition of Religion in this blog is from James 1:27: “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.” This presumes a Faith-based perspective on “God” as “Father” and how our interactions with the “world” can “spot” us. In terms of Science – I’ll go out on a limb and put an “off-the-cuff” definition on this cyber-paper. Science is the effort and methodology to seek truth objectively and with detachment.
Do you doubt that the debate between Evolutionists and Creationists has a simple answer?
It is my personal opinion – bias if you will, that the efforts of Religion and Science are valuable independently of each other, but of greater value if pursued collectively. I’m quite sure many on both sides of this issue will take issue with this statement. Why do I allow bias if Science is seeking truth objectively? How can religious efforts be included within Science without polluting it? These are good questions, which if asserted critically are not easy to answer. But don’t doubt that there is an answer, the challenge is to pose the right question.
Which is why I write and speak about such things. I’m not afraid to put my opinions and perspectives on the table for examination. One reason is that in the process of having them challenged by others I often get quite unexpected answers to questions I didn’t even know I had. This diminishes the power of doubt to erode my faith.
If you’d like to join in on conversations of this nature, on a wide variety of topics, please join me and others in The People of the Sign on facebook. I have no doubt that you’ll find it interesting.
Leave a Reply