FREE ESSAY ON RELIGION OR SCIENCE?

RELIGION OR SCIENCE?

This paper will examine the scientific view verse religion. I feel support for the big
picture is shallow and untenable. I believe in science but I also have faith. Scientific
research has lead to dramatic and more humane treatments of persons suffering from mental
disease, depression, and physical injury. The reputation of scientists has reached an
all-time high. Majorities of Americans have said they trust the scientific community more
than almost anyone, including the Supreme Court, organized religion, Congress, and even
teachers. Many of these Americans believe that these scientific advances are leading them
to a better world. The questions: What is man? What am I to do? What am I to hope for? A
number of scientists and their fans seem to consider these questions to be the clearest
manifestations of the human spirit or our nescient childhood. The scientists said "Now
that we are scientists, we can put away childish things, including the concepts of God,
the human soul and the moral responsibility." An advocate of this view will argue that
science is itself an evolutionary development of the brain. He claims the mind evolved to
provide just experimental accounts of the world. He believes that questions of religion
and philosophy about the meaning of the world and human existence, are not truly
meaningful ones. Scientists conclude, "religion and philosophy are but the primitive
responses to the unknown." There are alternative theories that involve science and
religion. For example, according to the 'new creation story,' nature did its own creating
through unintelligent material processes, particularly the Darwinian mechanism of random
mutation and natural selection. He believes that God was only involved in the beginning,
in setting up the laws and thereafter nature runs by itself. Humans are viewed as the
universe becoming conscious of itself through evolution, while prayer consists of
miracles, and giving praise and thanksgiving to nature. Scientists begin to worship their
own concepts, proclaiming limitless philosophical systems rather than concentrating on
what the data is really showing. Scientists cannot prove that known natural forces can
produce complex biological organisms. No one has demonstrated that chemical evolution
cannot even begin to account for the information content of the simplest organisms. There
is no actual evidence of natural selection having substantial creative power. The only
examples available are those of variations in fundamentally stable populations. In
scientific perspective, molecular revolution has revealed an unforeseen domain of
complexity and interaction more consistent with technology than with the mechanical
viewpoint. Scientist have come to realize that cells thoroughly protect themselves
against the kinds of accidental genetic change that, according to conventional theory,
are the sources of evolutionary variability. The current knowledge of genetic change is
fundamentally at variance with hypothesis held by neo-Darwinists. Everyone is in search
of his or her truth. Understanding, the very rich and varied world, in which we live, the
need for these insights of both science and religion are necessary. Each is in search of
the truth however; they survey different aspects of experience. According to the renowned
scientist, J. Polkingborne, "scientific facts are never plain, unvarnished observations;
to be interesting they must already be interpreted." That interpretation requires an
interweaving of fact and opinion. Religion on the other hand, is concerned with the
search for motivated belief. Faith does not involve closing your eyes and believing
impossible thing because some unquestionable authority tells them to do so. It is the
quest for an understanding of human experience rooted in worship, hope and the history of
holiness represented by the great religious figures of world history. Science limits
itself to treating the world as an object, which can be manipulated and put to the
experimental test. Religion is concerned with personal encounters, which can only be
treated as their own reality. The scientific testing has to give way to trusting in the
unforeseen. There are many questions, which arise from science but which go beyond its
narrow power to answer, which seem to many of us to pint in religious direction.
Scientists are extremely impressed by the wonderful rational beauty of the physical world
as it becomes revealed through their investigations. Science is possible because the
universe is a creation, and we are made in the image of the creator. Body-soul dualism
resides as the core of our culture. The majority of Americans believe in an immaterial
self that comes into the being whole and entire conception and survives the physical
erosion of the body. It is extremely enjoyable to believe that we reside at the link of a
chain of material creation. Science instead offers a speck of self, formed from cosmic
dust in a meaningless world. Science is not going to go away. It is far too fruitful a
way of knowing to be denied by human curiosity. Even if driven underground from its
established position, it will survive. There is little chance that science will be
suppressed by the dominant culture; it is way too useful. Who is prepared to turn over
their medical and technological establishments to revivalists? The source of our
intellectual malice is not science but our lingering commitment to a philosophical
dualism that has proven to be scientifically insolvent; therefore, the tension between
our way of knowing and our way of believing. Scientific truth says there is no such thing
as a disembodied self. Human bodies are a mess of chemicals and our minds are full of
electrical circuits. Scientists have examined the human machine and found no ghosts. They
understand the genetic self is determined by a chemical code that can be read and
amended. Soon, genetic engineers will be able to add or subtract features from our
physical selves. Consciousness can be turned on and off or altered chemically. Memories
can be jogged electrically. Many of us were raised to believe in a self that only resides
temporarily in our physical frame. We were taught the idea that our soul survives our
body's death and lives forever. This idea of immaterial, immortal self is among the most
cherished of human beliefs. We strive and cling for this belief, desperately wanting it
to be true. Science and religion are very important aspects or our culture. We trust
science enough to help us maintain good physical conditions. Many of us rely on religion
to maintain healthy morals and inner peace. I am a firm believer in not questioning
faith. There are endless possibilities to what might have started human existence. Our
culture is based on creation, we learn and understand the values that are embedded in our
society. If the Lord had not created the commandments, our life as we know it would be
surrounded by evil. Faith is the trust in something that we cannot physically see or
prove. Faith and spirituality are found in the heart of the individual experience. It is
upon the believer to identify their faith. I personally put my chips on faith instead of
science, and maybe someday I'll be able to cash in for a big reward!