Why can't religion and science mix?

Question

I'm not talking about schools or Intelligent design I'm talking about people who belilive in evolotion don't beive in God and people who belive in God (including nonchristians) must belive in the creation theory. Why can't people belive in God and evolotion, so God created evolotion and the big bang. I tried to explain this to a group of christians but they turned on me and tried to explain to me how it must have been creation and I was wrong and they were unconditionally right. I'm still not sure how they did that ,but what I'm asking Is am I the only one who thinks it is possible for God to have created "the Scientific world" if you like. Why can't these ideas mix? and why do christians not accept this idea or at least consider it as I don't see it as giving up faith in God, or prehaps they do?

Answer 1

The idea that christianity and science must go hand in hand has been around since the the very early middle ages! St. Thomas Aquinas and countless other Christian writers of their time saw no contradictions between christian faith and science. C. S. Lewis, a christian philsopher of the 1940's-60's wrote that what is revealed by faith and what is revealed by science in nature are both valid, and if one scientific fact underminds an article of faith that article of faith must be modified.

It is only recently that some have come to conclude that THEIR UNDERSTANDING of what is written in Genesis overrides not only hundreds of thousands of scientific voices, but millions of Christian voices throughout history.

The biblical account of creation in Genesis is allegory. It is a bed-time story handed down from generation to generation long before Christ ever walked the earth. It contains powerful truth but it is not "true" like a factual account of real events (like the account of Jesus drawing pictures in the sand while waiting for his followers, for instance).

Lastly, I don't believe it is true that people who believe in evolution don't believe in God. I, for instance, believe evolution is real and I'm a Christian who believes God is real and Christ is God Incarnate. The reason evolution is such a current debate and the reason atheists have those little "Darwin" magnets on their cars isn't because evolution denies God, but because the Christians who deny evolution exemplify the atheists' view of the blind and stuanch Fundamentalist Christian who won't listen to reason.

Xan Shui,
Philosophical Philanthropist, Honest Man

Answer 2

If you are talking about both extreme ends of the spectrum where each side is convinced the other is wrong, then the answer is human psychology - its called confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance.

This is where you are so deeply attached to your opinion, any disagreement with it is met with very strong resistance in an effort to avoid having to question your beliefs.

The subconscious is trying to protect the conscious mind from the possible consequences of objectivity by convincing itself that its subjective viewpoint IS objective. This happens if being proven wrong (regardless which opinion you hold or whether its possible to be proven wrong in either case) would be earth shattering to your world view.

Not making and claim about religion or science here - not arguing between or for either the big bang theory or creationism simply looking at the psychological phenomenon that explains radical absolutist thinking regardless whether its from a literal theist or scientific atheist.

Answer 3

If you want to say that God created the scientific world, then there would be no practical difference in science. What's the difference between a scientist that is an atheist and believes in evolution, and a scientist that believes God put evolution in motion ? As far as applying evolution to the real world, there is no difference.
Only when people reject what can be scientifically be shown to be reality ( whether put into motion by a higher being or not) does it start to have a negative impact. That's the problem with alot of people who want to reject evolution. These people are holding back the progress of humanity. By acknowledging evolution we can all be better off for it. The bio medical technology that comes from understanding evolution can save lives. Theists should accept science for the betterment of us all. And I don't mean by trying to "scientifically" prove that God exist either.

Answer 4

Religion comes in a whole: a dogma. It is often explicitly interpreted, yet a revelation religion as Christianity or Islam is pretty intolerant to interpretations. It acclaims a monopoly on the truth; it claims to hold the literal Word of God and that it should be interpreted as such. It has proved to be incapable to counter the problems mankind faced throughout history.

GOOD science, on the other hand, is skeptical. It holds hypothesis, and treats its 'beliefs' as no more than beliefs, as assumptions that are subjected to change. (Note: Good science is rare.)

In my opinion, if science and religion are to be mixed, a natural religion would appear. The anthropomorphic God we know would disappear, it would loose its similarities with man. That God would be a metaphysical source of Goodness that is situated 'here', in this world--and not in heaven or anything alike. This kind of natural religion would provide a holistic world view without dogmaticisms, where sound reasoning and faith can remain intact.

Answer 5

God is the best Scientist around.
The understanding of HOW this world developed is still being argued. Evolution and Big Bang are theories, not proven laws. They are not disproven either, so arguments will keep on going for some time.

As to mixing ...
Science looks for TRUTH
Religion Looks for TRUTH

Science looks for things that effect our body
Religion looks for things that effect our Spirit and Soul.

A Body without a Spirit is a corpse
A Spirit without a Body is a Ghost

So just as the body and spirit need each other, religion and science will inevitably mix

Answer 6

Your title asks why religion and science can't mix. That answer is simple, religion requires faith, a suspension of logic, while science requires logic to be upheld. The body of your question asks something different, why religious people will not accept certain scientific postulations. That answer is more comlex.

As succintly as possible, religious people are weak. They cannot live in the shadow of the unknown, they need someone else to interpret the laws of existence and create a system of ethics to adhere to. When a scienific idea encroaches upon territory their faith has already defined they feel threatened, and frequently react extremely, defending the fabrications they need to cope with reality

Answer 7

There cant be any middle ground without one of them losing their credibility.Religion argues that there is a God that created the universe while science argues that for the Big Bang Theory. Say that religion accepted the Big Bang, then that would fundamentally flaw their belief in God and weaken religion.If science were to include God in all its theories it would not be science, there wouldn't be any discoveries and progress.Furthermore they both address big questions differently religion sort dismisses the unknown and points the finger at God, science approaches the unknown methodically.Then this becomes another issue, science is interested in discovery and religion would like to preserve the status quo; tradition versus advancing into the unknown. Both institutions can not allow for the invasion of the other because it would dismiss everything they stand for, but I think that it is a good thing for them to remain divided, it provides more choices and not conformity.

Answer 8

What you are suggesting sounds more like alchemy. I have thought about that too, and I don't understand why there are two separate parties who fight each other, when they were once a whole. I guess there is fanaticism in everything, in religion and science too.
Take the alchemists, they combined the spiritual with the scientific and could do amazing things in both areas, just because they believed in both. I think it's a little hard-headed of people to look straight ahead with one thing and to completely deny the other.

Answer 9

They can mix but you will always find extremists on either side who will not accept any alternative. I am a Christian and I find science enhances my faith not taking away from it. I believe that God was the catalyst that allowed the big bang to take place. There are still things that science can't explain, things that happen everyday in people's lives. Science helps me to understand the world around me but my belief in God allows me to see the magic in the world around me.

Answer 10

I have to agree with you on this one. I often think, why couldn't God have created animals and they evolved from their original form? Although lots of things other than evolution somewhat "disprove" each other. Science tells us there are things that are billions of years old. Religion tells us that time began only 5000 years ago, give or take. Where are the dinosaurs in the Bible? It just depends on what you believe more in: the more logical and "proven" branch of science, or the almost fictional seeming Christianity? There is that one "religion" scientology, but I don't really know anything about it. Lots of things between religion and science (especially archaeology) just don't line up well with each other. That's just how it is...