Helios Article – Science and God – Based on an article From Society and the arts
Throughout History Science and religion have coexisted and formed an uneasy truce for the betterment of society and the quest to know more. The clear distinction between the two is in what they ask; science is primarily concerned about the “How” while religion focuses on the “why”. It is this distinction that has caused the two to contradict eachother and in many ways prevent the advancement of the human race. Most people treat both as opposites, choosing to side with one according to their own perspectives and/or ambitions. But if you were to further analyze History you would find the two are like siblings, sometimes at loggerheads and sometimes on the same ground. Some common examples of this relationship can be found my browsing through history.
800 – 1000 In the Islamic Empire Astronomy and Mathematics were said to provide a glimpse of god.
1268 – 73 Thomas Aquinas moves medieval scientist’s role to uncovering gods plan.
1543 Copernicus Publishes “De Revolutionibus” Concluding the earth revolves around the sun and not the earth. This challenged mans central role in gods plan.
1633 Galileo is placed under house arrest by the Roman Inquisition because of writing in favor of Copernicus.
1682 Isaac Newton publishes “Principia” a mechanistic vision of the cosmos.
1859 Darwin concludes species evolution is driven by variations in offspring.
1871 Darwin publishes “The decent of man”.
1905 Albert Einstein’s Theory of relativity is published, “Science without religion is lame, and religion without science is blind”.
1925 John Scopes arrested and convicted for teaching religion.
1948 George Gamow and the Big Bang theory.
In many cases we note that Religion, a major superpower limited and persecuted anything that went against the literal translation of the Bible. This is the common mentality adopted by many current religions; however religion can’t be blamed for the persecution of Science and the advancement of human technology. An example is Islam which provided many scientific advances in Mathematics and astronomy. But now science and religion are establishing a new relationship, Robert John Russell stated, “Rather then undercutting faith and spirituality, scientific discoveries are providing support for them. The Big bang cosmology for example, once stated that “there is nothing for a creator to do” now shows that some purpose went into the forming of the universe. Steven Weinberg reaffirmed the statement – “the more the universe becomes comprehensible through cosmology. The more it seems pointless.” The very scientists that “Killed god” are now in many respects restoring faith. With the advancement of physics it’s been noted that the universe is custom made to hold life. If the properties of electrons, the mass of a proton, the strength of gravity were slightly different, atoms, stars and life itself wouldn’t exist.
An example used by physicists is related to radioactivity. The half life determines that half an elements mass will decompose within a certain amount of time. However, when you get to the point of having one atom, then there is a 50/50 chance of its decay. What determines this? And if it does will it release a poisonous gas? If you have a cat in the lab, will it be alive after that atom’s half life is up? This cannot be determined by science and some theologian believe this is the cut off point there god acts. So contrary to popular belief god can act without breaking the laws of the universe.
The Creationist – Evolutionist Argument
This is a common pitched battle that is fought. Could this be a case of both being close minded? Taking a different perspective we can denote that through evolution we can learn more about the character of god. Evolution shows signs of gods nature – God chose to limit his omnipotence and omniscience. “The Process of evolution and mutations suggests a “Divine Humility”, a god who acts selflessly for the good of creation” – John Haut. This is similar to the religious perspective – like parents let their children free, god allows creation to be free, allowing it to create itself. Maybe if many people debating in the evolution vs creationism thread here in TWC opened up their perspective they would realize that both arguments carry weight. If the creationists would wake up, maybe they would provide better arguments against the insurmountable amount of evidence provided by the evolutionary theory.
From Atheist to Agnostic – My perspective of “God” and humans place in the universe.
Well what I have given sofar is a basic summary of an article that made me think. I thought up, with the aid of a substantial amount of; well for moralities sake let’s call it happy grass, my own little theory. The argument of god being passive and not a physical entity made me think. What if we really are, the children of god, what if we are god randomly emerging into the universe? What if earth is like the first prokaryotic cell, from which all life evolves? Maybe it’s our destiny to take over and colonize the universe, ensuring gods domination over his random creation. Religion can be thought of as the moral founding and the window from which god shows us his purpose, or rather our own purpose, science is the tool which will lead to domination of the universe. With the aid of science we can achieve immortality, colonize Mars, travel across the universe and shape it. The problem is our own freedom, we are too busy looking in rather than looking out. Religion is an example, each religion has aided in the advancement in some branch of science. We are too busy pushing our own perspective and don’t take into account how ours can work with the oppositions perspective. Jesus is another example, maybe he was god, maybe he was a messenger telling us that we are all god? I know this theory leaves a lot to be desired, but its food for thought.
Conclusion
You may not agree with what I have stated in what I hope is to be the first of many articles, but that’s the whole point. I don’t want to hear people agree and praise me, I want people to think, to think here, and to think when debating in the existence of God, Evolution and similar threads. It’s not about who is right, its about what is right. Open your eyes and your minds to other people’s perspectives and you might achieve the real answers to the age old questions.
Thanks for your time.
Lucius Vorenus.