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Compare religion and science
The influences of religion and science in our society
Science vs religion
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Do you believe in the theory of evolution or in the theory of God as the creator of humanity? Science and religion have always been in contrast with each other. They are conflicting because of their opposing epistemology, which is a branch of philosophy that investigates the origin, nature, methods, and limits of human knowledge. Each branch has a different assumption of how things, that sometimes do not have an explanation, happen. There have been some cases in which scientists or religious people have not proven their theory, but they put all their faith in their different ideas. In the short story “The Star” written by Arthur C. Clark, we can see a conflict between science and religion, by presenting the central character as an astrophysicist and a Jesuit priest. This makes him be constantly opposing one another. …show more content…
The narrator is a religious man whose faith is shaken by something he learns while doing space exploration. He believes that science only assists to lead us to the existence of God. His work is inspired in the star Jesus was born, but he then learns that the supernova that extinguished a civilization was the star of Bethlehem. The star of Bethlehem had destroyed a civilization in order for that star to be visible on Earth. This makes the narrator put his faith in doubt and questioning many things about his religious beliefs, “But to be destroyed so completely in the full flower of its achievement, leaving no survivors—how could that be reconciled with the mercy of God” (390)? He does not understand why a race of beings had to suffer and die to make to make the star appear on Earth, so that a new religion or believe would come to humans. He starts questioning the power and benevolence of
In 1936 a sixth-grade student by the name of Phyllis Wright wondered if scientists pray, and if so, what for. She decided to ask one of the greatest scientists of all time, Albert Einstein. A while later he wrote a letter back to Phyllis with his response. Understanding the context and purpose of his response assist in analyzing its effectiveness. After receiving a letter from such a young student, Einstein aimed to provide Phyllis with a comprehensible answer. He intended for his response not to sway her in one way or another, but to explain science and religion do not necessarily contradict each other completely. By using appeals to ethos, pathos, and logos, Einstein achieved his purpose by articulating a response suitable for a sixth grade
His crew's reaction is a little different from the Jesuit's. Millions of stars are destroyed every day. They believe that many civilizations have been destroyed, but there is no rhyme or reason for it. It really doesn't matter in the end whether they have done good or evil. There is no divine justice, and there is no God. They accept the Jesuit's faith, but they are also amused by it. They wonder how he can believe in a higher power and in the workings of the universe. He replies that even though there are few Jesuit astrophysicists, since the eighteenth century they have made many contributions to astronomy.
In papal Rome in the early 16th century the “Good Book” was the reference book for all scientists. If a theory was supported in its holy pages, or at the very least not contradicted, then the idea had a chance of find acceptance outside the laboratory. Likewise, no theory no matter how well documented could be viewed with anything but disdain if it contradicted with the written word of, or the Church’s official interpretation of scripture. For these reasons the Church suppressed helio-centric thinking to the point of making it a hiss and a byword. However, this did not keep brave men from exploring scientific reason outside the canonical doctrine of the papal throne, sometimes at the risk of losing their own lives. While the Vatican was able to control the universities and even most of the professors, it could not control the mind of one man known to the modern world as Galileo Galilei. Despite a wide array of enemies, Galileo embarked on a quest, it seems almost from the beginning of his academic career, to defend the Copernican idea of a helio-centric universe by challenging the authority of the church in matters of science. Galileo‘s willingness to stand up for what he held to be right in the face of opposition from Bible-driven science advocates set him apart as one of the key players in the movement to separate Church authority from scientific discovery, and consequently paved the way for future scientific achievement.
The title of the book is misleading. Are science and religion compatible? Dennett and Plantinga both agreed that contemporary evolutionary theory is compatible with theistic belief, but Dennett believed that the probability is very low. The main argument turned out to be about Plantinga’s EAAN. Plantinga tried to argue that God could have guided evolution while Dennett believed evolution was unguided. Plantinga’s argument had five premises. He described that P is probability, R is the proposition that cognitive faculties are reliable, N is naturalism, and E is current evolutionary theory (17).
There have been various theories of the creation of the universe and mankind, each drawing back to either religion or science, or a combination of both. Charles Darwin’s The Descent of Man and the Genesis accounts are often seen as personifications of two opposing views of our universe. Charles Darwin is a representation of evolution; the development of species through a lengthy process of natural selection. On the contrary, Genesis is a representation of creation by the Bible; God’s creation of both mankind and the Earth around them. Even though the accounts are inherently opposing and each claim to possess an indisputable explanation of the universe, they contain the following similarities; both portray the human image inappropriately and both indirectly rely on the opposing belief.
As said by Yale professor of psychology and cognitive science, "Religion and science will always clash." Science and religion are both avenues to explain how life came into existence. However, science uses evidence collected by people to explain the phenomenon while religion is usually based off a belief in a greater power which is responsible for the creation of life. The characters Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's novel, The Scarlet Letter, represent religion and science, respectively, compared to the real world debate between science and religion. Roger Chillingworth is a physician who is associated with science. (ch. 9; page 107) "...made [Roger Chillingworth] extensively acquainted with the medical science of the day... Skillful men, of the medical and chirurgical profession, were of rare occurrence in the colony...They seldom... partook of the religious zeal that brought other emigrants across the Atlantic." The people of the Puritan community traveled across the Atlantic for religious reasons, and because men affiliated with medical science did not tend to practice religion, they rarely inhabited this community. Chillingworth, falling under the category of "skillful men of the medical and chirurgical profession," would not be expected to reside in this community. The narrator through emphasizes this with his rhetorical questioning, "Why, with such a rank in the learned world, had he come hither? What could he, whose sphere was in great cities, be seeking in the wilderness?" These questions demonstrate that it was so strange for Chillingworth to appear in this community because of his association with science. Perhaps, the phrase "with such rank in the learned world" could yield the narra...
began to question his faith. He thought, how could God destroy a civilization if he loved it so
In the history of science vs. religion there have been no issues more intensely debated than evolution vs. creationism. The issue is passionately debated since the majority of evidence is in favor of evolution, but the creation point of view can never be proved wrong because of religious belief. Human creation breaks down into three simple beliefs; creation theory, naturalistic evolution theory, and theistic evolution theory. The complexities of all three sides create a dilemma for what theory to support among all people, religious and non-religious.
“The lack of conflict between science and religion arises from a lack of overlap between their respective domains of professional expertise—science in the empirical constitution of the universe, and religion in the search for proper ethical values and the spiritual meaning of our lives. The attainment of wisdom in a full life requires extensive attention to both domains—for a great book tells us that the truth can make us free and that we will live in optimal harmony with our fellows when we learn to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly.”
Evolution views life to be a process by which organisms diversified from earlier forms, whereas creation illustrates that life was created by a supernatural being. Creation and evolution both agree on the existence of microevolution and the resemblance of apes and humans but vary in terms of interpreting the origins of the life from a historical standpoint. A concept known as Faith Vs Fact comprehensively summarizes the tone of this debate, which leads to the question of how life began. While creation represents a religious understanding of life, evolution acknowledges a scientific interpretation of the origins of life. The theory is illustrated as the process by which organisms change species over time.
At first glance, many facets of science and religion seem to be in direct conflict with each other. Because of this, I have generally kept them confined to separate spheres in my life. I have always thought that science is based on reason and cold, hard facts and is, therefore, objective. New ideas have to be proven many times by different people to be accepted by the wider scientific community, data and observations are taken with extreme precision, and through journal publications and papers, scientists are held accountable for the accuracy and integrity of their work. All of these factors contributed to my view of science as objective and completely truthful. Religion, on the other hand, always seems fairly subjective. Each person has their own personal relationship with God, and even though people often worship as a larger community with common core beliefs, it is fine for one person’s understanding of the Bible and God to be different from another’s. Another reason that Christianity seems so subjective is that it is centered around God, but we cannot rationally prove that He actually exists (nor is obtaining this proof of great interest to most Christians). There are also more concrete clashes, such as Genesis versus the big bang theory, evolution versus creationism, and the finality of death versus the Resurrection that led me to separate science and religion in my life. Upon closer examination, though, many of these apparent differences between science and Christianity disappeared or could at least be reconciled. After studying them more in depth, science and Christianity both seem less rigid and inflexible. It is now clear that intertwined with the data, logic, and laws of scien...
Astronomy and religions rooted in the stars are present in every culture. Astronomy evolved from a heavily religious context of astrology and divination to modern astronomy, and became what it is today because of a necessity of using it for long term timekeeping, record keeping, city planning and agriculture. The use of astronomy as a basis of time allows for a degree of predictability that was not previously present in other forms of timekeeping. Astronomy is the use of mathematics to understand and predict the movement of the moon and stars. While astrology and divination takes those same elements from astronomy and adds a spiritual element.
The Star by H. G. Wells is a story about the near destruction of the human race, but more than that, it is a story about the selfishness of the human race. During this story, people have the chance to see many world changing events that could even effect the very construction of our solar system, but they don’t care. They are too busy living their lives and dealing with daily problems that something like the destruction of a planet is overshadowed by what is for dinner tonight. A great example of this apathetic attitude, is shown soon after the star’s first appearance.
The relationship between science and religion has been debated for many years. With strong personal opinions and beliefs, it is not surprising that no progress has been made in this argument. In my opinion, I feel as though religion and science have to be related in some way. There is no possible way people can separate two things that attempt to prove the same facts. My belief is that a metaphorical bridge has to be formed to connect the two. Personally, I feel as though science can be a compliment to religion, and that the scientific discoveries can and should be used to prove that God exists, not disprove it. If science did this, then the relationship between science and religion could be a friendly one. If that happened, people could stop debating and fighting over the two, allowing priests and scientists to talk and work together peacefully.
Science and the study of religion have existed in society for hundreds of years and have agreed and disagreed on many of the same topics. When it comes to solving problems and figuring out complex phenomena we can use both science and the study religion to get answers. While religious studies are not intended to solve problems it can be used and is used just like science to solve problems we have in society. Science is based more on reason and evidence while religion is based more on philosophical ideas and faith. Science is meant to answer problems that require reason and evidence while religion is not.