why do people think god and science are mutually exclusive?

Question

if god can create heaven and earth, surely he can create the process of evolution? and science in general.
why do people find it hard to reconcile the two? if i used a spade to dig a hole, surely its still me who dug that hole, even if i used a tool? surely it is possible to believe in both god and science?

even if you are atheist or practising another religion, please judge this suggestion *objectively*- no ''god doesn't exist anyway so its all a crock of crap'' answers please.

and for all you pedants out there, i do not consider 'people' to mean 'all people'. if i had meant that, i would have said all people, or everybody. but for clarification, 'some people' or 'many people' can be substituted. also evolution is a science, and i do mention 'science in general'. however i would appreciate answering the question rather than splitting hairs with it please.

Answer 1

I don't see any reason why you can't accept both. Think of it like this, if you're a believer in God, then maybe evolution was just the way "God" decided to DO things. And then He gave you human intelligence, so you could learn (through science) HOW He did things. Science is NOT the enemy of "God". Science is an unbiased attempt to understand how things work. That's all. I don't understand why people look at science as if it's a religious issue at all.

Answer 2

You make your question with the huge assumption "why do people..." in that all people think they are mutually exclusive. You might want to limit or structure your question properly to indicate that certain or some people think they are mutually exclusive.

Personally I believe that God created everything; including science and atheists. And to toss out something to consider...to those who argue that God doesn't exist because His existence can't be proved by science; especially physics, consider this possibility. God being all powerful...don't you think he would have created the laws of science and physics specifically in such a fashion to disallow out ability to "prove" His existence? And thus require that we believe in Him by faith alone?

I'm neither a theologian or a scientist. I am just a guy who attempts to think through questions logically.

Oh, and really...if you (or any one) truly believe in God; God and any personal pronoun should be capitalized out of respect; regardless of the so-called Internet etiquette. But again, I am not an expert on religion....only on my personal faith in God.

By the way...very good question.

Answer 3

To answer your question, I believe people think God and science are mutually exclusive because they have a current mindset of 'my way or the highway' or 'this is how it's been done, and this is how I'll do it'...

In other words, they just don't THINK hard enough.

In my humble opinion, God created everything from good to bad, truth and lies, science and insanity, etc. All these things belong to Him.

My theory is that the PROCESS of the creation of the world was the Big Bang, but the inexplicable inciting incident would be God/Allah/YHWH. 'Allah said 'Be' and it 'became''.

Knowledge is power; power is freedom; freedom is peace.

Peace be upon you...

Answer 4

I'm with you...if god is real, and created the universe, wouldn't it make perfect sense for him to set in motion a process which would perpetuate the existence of his creation? That way species may continue to exist and adapt without divine intervention, correct? So if I were to believe in god, that's what I would believe. Your spade/hole analogy is really good!

Answer 5

I think this is possible. I like to think that if God exists, the universe is the name God created for God. Science would then be the attempt to understand the name of God.

I'm agnostic, by the way.

Answer 6

One of the most often spoken about reason is that the bible accounts for only 6K to 15K years since the creation of the planet. As well science leaves open for things such as aliens and life beyond our planet in general. This is not backed by anything in the bible and is in some case called completely untrue.

If you look at one small part of science, sure you can shoe horn and grease christian religion into the hole. Yet when you look at the whole aspect then no it will not fit the christian view

Remember this quote "knowledge is the bane of faith"

Answer 7

I agree about your point that you can't seperate out science from an energy force we don't fully comprehend. if you really want to read more, check out Thomas Kuhn's seminal book "The structure of scientific revolutions." It was written in the early 60's but its a fantastic look into how our views of "science" are socially constructed.

Answer 8

The Catholic Church's official position on such things as the big bang theory seems to be movinng more and more toward just what you're saying. I realize that this is just one "brand" of religion but the Catholic Church is very influential and the rest may not be far behind.

Answer 9

I think the inability to connect the two is due to fear. People are afraid to think for themselves.. it is so much "safer" and easier to follow the party line-- "do as you are told,dont make waves, and it will all be ok in the end."
To be able to connect the two concepts requires curiosity, creativity, ingenuity and experience. One needs an open mind to be able to think outside of their particular boxes.
I think that early scientific thought left God out of the equation out of rebellion. Early scientific thinkers wanted to overcome superstition and ignorance, so they rejected the notion of God out of hand. By not wishing to identify with the outmoded thinking of the past, they threw the baby out with the bathwater.

How many times have you heard "God/ The Lord works in mysterious ways..."? Mysterious, because we don't understand it. Scientific thought has made inroads into discovering a portion of the Mysterious Ways. Knowledge of "how" God works cannot be evil.. why would it be evil to show interest in how God works? I would think that any interest shown in God would please God-- much like a parent is pleased when his child learns to walk, talk, throw baseballs, whatever. Read a bit about quantum physics, or even about the physicists themselves.. I havent found one yet whose studies haven't convinced him/her of how God is in all things-- and is in awe at the intricacy and magnificence and logic of the Source of All.

But humans prefer the narrow, closed womb of their perception, the saftey of the old, established church dogma, unchanging forever and ever , amen. It is safe there. It is easier to be in an old rut than being required to think.

Answer 10

Hmm.. Science.. is just the imagination of athiests.. it does not exist...

They play with their beakers and flasks and ambionic fluids and mutated lifeforms and then wonder why it doesn't prove evolution...

*GriN* did I sound serious? I'm really trying to sound serious here! I even dressed up for the occasion!