Science is not a belief system...
Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 2:19 pm
I see this mistake made everyday in my life, and it can be upsetting as such. So many times I see people who do not have a belief in God, or anything of spirituality because they use science as their "belief system". This is such a disturbing mistake to see happen, and I would like to take some time to explain why this is a bad way to use science.
Science vs. Religion. They are both tools. Tools are used by mankind for many things. Maybe the tool is used to alter something (like a knife), or used to fix something (like a screwdriver), or to help move something (a backhoe or a car), or is used to understand something around themselves (like an multimeter, or the Internet). So what are science and religion? They are tools used to understand stuff around themselves.
Where we are is a cool place. There are two "realms" that cross here - reality and spirituality, and the more we learn of both realms, the more of the two are merged together as one. Reality is the matter, energy, and space-time around us. Spirituality is the non-tangible energy and matter that gives structure to reality (ie, why things are here, what is a "you" and why "you" exist). They are separate realms that co-exist here, but there are parts of each realm that is currently separate from the other.
I have spoken of the parable of the microscope vs the telescope here before, but allow me to restate it:
You cannot use a microscope to find galaxies; you cannot use a telescope to find bacteria. If you do, you could draw the wrong conclusion that galaxies or bacteria do not exist.
By the same logic, one cannot use science to find God, and one cannot use religion to describe how "the sciences" work around the individual (like geology, or astrophysics, or psychology, et al). This is using the tools wrong, and doing as such causes one to draw the wrong conclusions (like the earth is the center of everything because God loves us, or that science hasn't found proof of God therefore, God does not exist).
And yet, we see this around us all the time. If you believe science to be a "religion" of both realms, you miss half the picture because your tool (science) cannot see one of the two realms. By the same nature, if you use religion describes both realms, you miss half the picture (for the same reason). Science and Religion co-exist when one realizes what each can do as a tool for one's self. As long as you separate the two realms and use the right tool for each realm, then they do not conflict with each other.
Regardless, both are essential tools if one wishes to see a better picture of both realms around themselves. Neither is a complete picture (we do not have all the answers in science, nor spirituality), and if anyone claims to have all the answers, they are sadly mislead. However, it is my personal belief, that when we do have all the answers, religion and science shall be inseparable tools.
Science vs. Religion. They are both tools. Tools are used by mankind for many things. Maybe the tool is used to alter something (like a knife), or used to fix something (like a screwdriver), or to help move something (a backhoe or a car), or is used to understand something around themselves (like an multimeter, or the Internet). So what are science and religion? They are tools used to understand stuff around themselves.
Where we are is a cool place. There are two "realms" that cross here - reality and spirituality, and the more we learn of both realms, the more of the two are merged together as one. Reality is the matter, energy, and space-time around us. Spirituality is the non-tangible energy and matter that gives structure to reality (ie, why things are here, what is a "you" and why "you" exist). They are separate realms that co-exist here, but there are parts of each realm that is currently separate from the other.
I have spoken of the parable of the microscope vs the telescope here before, but allow me to restate it:
You cannot use a microscope to find galaxies; you cannot use a telescope to find bacteria. If you do, you could draw the wrong conclusion that galaxies or bacteria do not exist.
By the same logic, one cannot use science to find God, and one cannot use religion to describe how "the sciences" work around the individual (like geology, or astrophysics, or psychology, et al). This is using the tools wrong, and doing as such causes one to draw the wrong conclusions (like the earth is the center of everything because God loves us, or that science hasn't found proof of God therefore, God does not exist).
And yet, we see this around us all the time. If you believe science to be a "religion" of both realms, you miss half the picture because your tool (science) cannot see one of the two realms. By the same nature, if you use religion describes both realms, you miss half the picture (for the same reason). Science and Religion co-exist when one realizes what each can do as a tool for one's self. As long as you separate the two realms and use the right tool for each realm, then they do not conflict with each other.
Regardless, both are essential tools if one wishes to see a better picture of both realms around themselves. Neither is a complete picture (we do not have all the answers in science, nor spirituality), and if anyone claims to have all the answers, they are sadly mislead. However, it is my personal belief, that when we do have all the answers, religion and science shall be inseparable tools.