How can religion fit into a scientific life?

Question

I have spent the majority of my life studying and practising the scientific method. I grew up in a Christian home (Reformed Church in America), but I fell away from my faith when I was in college. I really do want to be a "Christian," and have an intimate relationship with "God," but how can I make God fit with my scientific philosophies? If something is unexplainable through science, it is unacceptable to simply submit an irrational (read, not-provable) explanation. Yet, that is exactly what Christians say God is, an unprovable explanation to all things unexplained. A little advice, please?

This is a serious question. Please, no "flame" posts.

Answer 1

Religion is a faith-based philosophy with added rituals. Philosophies may or may not be speculative, but humans cannot live without one kind of philosophy or another. A philosophy is a set of principles by which human beings decide to live. Most ordinary people are unaware that they do have and are living by the precepts of a philosophy they have accepted. One can think that he may get through life without a philosophy, but that is simply impossible. As long as a person has to make a decision, he must follow some principles that guide him/her in that process. Philosophy has that purpose.

I see a clock and ask myself, "Either the clock assembled itself by virtue of a tornado that put all its parts together, or someone made it." My first logical response is that someone made it. From this I jump to the conclusion that everything in the universe is just like the clock, so there must be a creator. The principle I have come to accept with this reasoning is that everything has been created by some intelligent creator with a purpose in mind. Based on that principle, I make decisions in my life that tend not to contradict what I have accepted, and I try to live without violating that principle.

Another philosophical principle may be derived from this line of thinking: I see a clock and know that it was the result of human thinking. Before someone was able to create the clock I see in front of me, there have been thousands of attempts at measuring the passage of time. At first people simply drove a stick in the ground and watched its shadow move in a circular fashion as the sun moved across the sky. Writing, numbers, degrees had to be discovered for measuring the amplitude of an angle, later, much later, the action of a spring and its possible applications had to be observed and discovered, the movement of a pendulum and the effects of many other scientific experiments had to be recorded and the knowledge had to be passed on from generation to generation until the final step in a long chain of human discoveries and inventions led to the man who could assemble the clock I now have in front of me. So, that clock did not come just out of the head of one person, it took thousands of lives and brains that cooperated over time to make the final product possible. That is called evolution, even for a clock! This kind of thinking brings one to follow the philosophical principle that states that nothing that is the product of intelligence assembles itself in an instant, or by revelation. All man-made things have been developed over time. On the other hand, things that man did not make, are part of inanimate matter that has the observable property of changing, but it never self-destruct. Matter does not have to have a beginning, or an end, because matter is indestructible. We know, for example, that what was once hot magma today is a continent, a desert, a mountain, and that in magma, as it cooled and changed chemical composition, all the elements necessary for life were already in it. Once primitive life was chemically formed, more changes took place and the chain of events, over time, brought us to exist as we are today. A person who follows this type of philosophy will reach different conclusions and make different decisions about one’s life and how to live it.

One could put together poetry and science and view mystical approaches merely as poetical ways of looking at life. In this way, it is possible to combine the factual scientific approach with the religious (read poetical or mysterious). This is because the poetical serves the enjoyment of the sentiments, while the scientific responds to the need for knowledge. Only in this sense Einstein conceived that “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”

Answer 2

God reveals, man observes.

According to the bible, God existed before he created everything that you or I can observe. We observe the observable. We can not observe anything that can not observed.

Science (to know) is theories that explain facts where facts are observation made by men [note plural] independent of location.

How did we know God existed before? From revelation. Simply put, the God through his prophets told us.

Is there a scientific theory about God? No. There are no facts about God.

Is there a biblical proof that God exist in the bible. No. It is assumed by the believer.

By now, you can see there are two belief systems: Revelation and Science. And you can not mixed the two system. Proof in revelation is meaningless as God in science is also meaningless.

What you believe is yours. If you believe that God spoke to man through prophets (messengers) as documented in the Christian bible, then you are a Christian. But you must remember that the bible is a religious book for the believer, not a conversion manual or a scientific text.

Science (as discuss in the history of science) is about theories that explain facts. Theories over time become laws when they are unlikely to change. And when new facts come, the theory may be modified or abandon.

For example: Evolution and Creationism. Evolution is a scientific theory that explains the facts observed by Darwin. Creationism is not a science but a belief.

As a Christian, you are limited to what God has explicitly told you. For example, the age of the earth is . The actual text says God created the heavens and the earth. [Call it big bang if you like]. Then something happened, actually the Earth becomes chaos... There is nothing in Darwin facts that would interfere with this belief.

Creationism central theme is that there is some scientific method to yield to a creator. Really? Where are the creator (God the creator) scientific facts? There weren't there for God, and they are definitely not there for a creator. [Same argument as above.]

Bottom line: We live in a world where God reveals and man observes. The worlds are mutually exclusive, that is, you can not use methods from one belief system in the other. For example, with revelation you believe it or you won’t. In science, you have explained the facts or you haven’t. When God reveals there is no error, when science investigates, errors are part of the process.

Now back to your question: How does a scientist return to his roots and follow his childhood life style? Answer: He doesn’t. You are what you believe and what you have experienced. It takes great discipline to become a scientist, is this the time to revisit your roots. You know where the book is.

Answer 3

look at all the questions science answers. Since the dawn of time we have always had questions.... ie gravity. just because a individuals come up with answers doesnt make the question any less intriguing.
Quantum Physics offers an intresting look at spirituality & science. Especially the movie "What the Bleep do we know".
There is also a book called, the universe in one atom, the convergence of science and spirituality written by the Dali Lama that does a good job at uniting the two. Especially from his perspective (Tibet was isolated during the technological & scientific BOOM at its own request) so its rather intresting

Also science can only go so far, im facinated by Earth Sciences, plate techtonics and so on yet just as amazed by spirituality.

If you would like to have an intimate relationship with God then start, perhaps you never stopped

Answer 4

Okay, you refer to your scientific philosophies. The term itself, I think, is an oxymoron, at least from what seems to me to be your understanding of science. A philosophy is a way of thinking that cannot be empirically proven. Science is simply the sum of knowledge. Philosophy is speculation. Religion is either science or philosophy, depending on your point of view.
Whenever I am exposed to scientific facts, whether in a botanical garden, or in an observatory, etc... I am amazed at God's creation. Many of the world's great scientists are Christian. (I'm not saing that is an evidence for Christianity, by the way. I'm just saying it obviously doesn't cause them any contradiction).
One thing about Christianity that appeals to the scientific mind: God invites questioning, investigation, etc. The "Seek and you will find" principle. Jesus' first argument in John chapter 1 was: "Come and see". The same argument Philip used with Nathanael. That sounds fairly open and scientific to me.
Notice, I am speaking for Christianity. I am not saying other religions are either open to science or not.
So while you cannot prove Christianity with science either can you disprove it.
You can examine the Bible scientifically from the historic perspective, from the point of view of textual criticism, form the prophetic view...
You can experience Jesus Christ in your life. That wil lsatisfy you, but you will not, in turn, be able to hand proof on a polatter to someone else. All you will be able to do is say "Come and see" - which will be frustrating if people don't want to "come and see" , but every once in a while someone does check it out - and finds answers.

Answer 5

I am a Christan and I worship Krishna. Because the Bhagavad Gita and The Srimad Bhagavatam By Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada who is a saint and spiritual master. Go to krishnaculture. for details. They very scientifically prove the existence of God also known as Krishna, Vishnu etc. And say that Christ is the Son and messenger of God. Also for the original teachings of Christ go to gospelofthenazirenes. The Gospel of the Nazirenes is the original New Testament which was found where the original Christian Essenes kept it hiding. They had to go into hiding because the government and others where killing Essenes. (Because they accepted the pure teachings of Christ) and The New Testament was kept in a Buddhist monetary until it was found and translated into English. It is now available with historical documentation by Alan Wauters and Rick Van Wyhe. If you are a sincere Christian (which I think you are by your question) you will seek this out.

Answer 6

It sounds like you are struggling with the same things my husband and I have been discussing for the past few years.

I would like to recommend a book: The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins. He is a scientist and discusses the relationship between science and god, common misconceptions and brings up exactly what you are talking about. My husband and I (we are both engineers) read it. He came away from the book feeling more comfortable being atheist.

For me, I got something else out of the book. For several years, I have resented the church making me feel bad for asking questions. The book points out some of the weak spots of religion and made me realize that I want to define my spirituality through critical thinking, study of new philosophies and focusing on making important contributions to my community. The book gave me more freedom to realize that those things exist outside of a church.

I am not trying to convince you to become an atheist (that is not where it lead me), so please don't misinterpret this post. I thought the scientist in you would appreciate his unique prospective and help you develop your own sense of religion and where you want to fit it into your life.

Answer 7

If you can't accept the explanation offered by the bible for what the scientific community might call unexplained, then you need to question your definition of 'Christian.' If you are willing to actively reject parts of God's word in favour of science or indifference where the bible offers an explanation, something's not right.

I'm a physics major, and a Christian. I reject parts of physics because I believe God. I do not reject parts of God because I believe physics. That's not how christianity works.

I can't remember where this verse comes from, but it pretty much sums up the answer: "Just as the heavens are above the earth, so are my thoughts above your thoughts, and my ways above your ways."

Basically, us humans will never be able to completely comprehend everything that God is/does. That's why it's called a faith.

Answer 8

Here are some web sites that deal with the issue.

http://www.answersingenesis.org/
Supports the young earth theory.

http://www.answersincreation.org/
Supports the old earth theory.

As an engineer, I've found good science on both sides of the issue but nothing conclusive. It's still fun to study. As a christian, I don't care. God did it some how and that's all that matters.

Try reading some of Lee Stobel's books.

Answer 9

God is provable. The Bible records many instances of ppl interacting with Him, and even secular archaeologists have said it's very accurate. So, if it's accurate in earthly matters, we can probably rely on it in heavenly matters. Also, Jesus' resurrection has never been refuted. I've seen ppl try, but they all failed. This defies popular scientific reasoning, and gives credence to Jesus' claim as God. Therefore, God exists, and Christianity is true. Thus, by default, the Bible is trustworthy.

Remember, the Bible is God's Word, it is never wrong. Never take man's interpretation over God's. Man has been denying Him and looking for ways to explain His work away ever since sin. Why would you believe the words of fallen men over a perfect God?

Answer 10

I'm sorry to say this, but in my opinion it can't. Without engaging in a very forced act of 'wishful thinking', I don't know how you can reconcile the two. Don't worry, you're not alone; I happen to know more than one scientist who claims they believe in the christian God. To me, it's a complete logical disconnect.

I wonder, why do you want to be a christian? Is it for a feeling of belonging? If you wish to be a part of the christian community then just be a part of it. You can participate in events and functions and still not delude yourself that there is a magical sky daddy controlling everything. You know better. You can take aspects of scripture and apply them to your relations with other people if you wish, without ascribing any supernatural significance to any of it. Personally, I don't think the bible is a very good document from which to derive morals, but there is at the very least some wisdom in the NT.

My most serious plea though; Do not engage in the mental gymnastics of defending the bible in its capacity as a historical document. Also do not try and contort what you know to be scientifically true into scripture. It can't be done. You know it can't be done if you're educated as you say. If you try to eviscerate the body of scientific knowledge, to prove to yourself and others that the bible supercedes science in areas of geology, evolutionary biology, and history you're being intellectually dishonest, and doing a disservice to your education and yourself.

Answer 11

Albert Einstein said "Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind". Einstein even read our revered scripture "Bhagavad Gita". Faith and Science are like two sides of the same coin. Science can only measure the material world of our 5 senses. I have a book called "10th World Saiva Conference" that portrays numerous scientific aspects of our particular religion. I have also read about numerous incredible and fantastic Hindu miracles which cannot be adequately explained by modern science and truly prove the existance of a God.