Science and Religion (Part 1)

Could life have evolved by accident? Are we alone in the universe? These are the questions which have pounded the consciousness of individuals. Plus this no less persistent question: what is the purpose of life? Dinosaurs have come and gone. Modern man—Homo sapiens—has landed on the moon. Satellites map our solar system. New planets are being discovered on a regular basis. New theories proposed. Old ones discredited. Genetics, a new field of study—though not so new—ready to re-invent this singular species: mankind. Men of science and of faith are no further apart as a test tube from a pulpit.

If life had evolved by chance, if there be no primal force, a conjugator, a God, Is there a necessity for atheism? Matthew Arnold, a nineteenth century Victorian poet, once defined religion as "morality touched with sentiments." In the twentieth century, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics put forward and practiced the idea of a godless state—atheism has always been on a par with socialism.

A United States scientist in the same century once showed Congress pictures, which he proves revealed evidence of advanced glass structures, which had previously existed on the moon. This raises the unanswered question: who then built the assumed structures? A lost race?

Science and religion do not see eye to eye. Though my sympathy lies with science, I do not feel indifferent towards religion.

There is an ancient urge in man to believe. Belief varies in degrees. While some cling whole heartedly to their beliefs, others to their unbelief. Why do we believe? I would say, because we do not want to live in doubt. Descartes, the philosopher in his famous postulate declares "I exist therefore I am"—a testament of undoubt in his own existence. Science disparages the idea of an external entity controlling the affairs of man. Certain religions discourage the idea of men becoming gods. Crossroads?

Cardinal John Henry Newman in his age wrote "Apologia Pro Vita Sau" an autobiography hailed as the loveliest of all spiritual autobiographies ever written in the English language of a man seeking religious affinity. Newman was just one of many seeking the elements of truth. The ancient Greek philosophers have always pondered over that word, truth. A test of faith, a quality which refuses to be measured. That which transcends logic and analysis.

A show of faith has always been one venerable aspect of religion, and to great extents part of science. It takes more faith to accept that which is "humanly incomprehensible." Like the Big Bang theory, and the so many yet unproven postulations of the traditional sciences.

The human mind has always been one given to logic and reason; it quests into the dark and attempts to relate these phenomena of existence into that which can be grasped by the senses. And out of beliefs or something close to "racial memory" comes myths and legends, which have governed the lives of men from time immemorial.

From Aristotle to modern thinkers like Locke, the fundamentals of human life was got from observation and deep introspection. Hence grew the science of observation and thought—the pseudo science, philosophy, a discipline in which thought turns upon itself like a gyre.

Out of this broad spectrum journeys forth, the religious and the scientific philosopher in a bid to see reason in an existence of chaos. A cosmos of order stands as an archetype from which assumptions can be drawn or discarded when current fashions change, for that which is more socially "up-beat." But there is this search for stability, found in the Microsystems of life. Religion has offered the lamp; science the spark. And with these we must now inquire.

About the Author

Val K is a poet, and a nature lover. A collection of his poems “Without a Name” will soon be published by AuthorHouse, U.S.A. For personal contact, send mails to: leviathandepthsreturns@yahoo.com