The Science of Religion

The Science of Religion 



    There is truth. At least, I assume that there is. I know that I exist and that I'm capable of acknowledging my existence, which tells me that there is some kind of greater truth which creates the state in which I am capable of existing and comprehending things. Therefore I assume that there is truth. And as I have been gifted with five major senses and a mind, I assume that the truths which I can understand are those in the sensible world interpreted by the mental. As far as sources of truth go, there is truth determined purely by reasoning, truth interpreted from observations, truth tested through means which I determine to be empirical, and truth given to me by a trusted source, whom I assume has his or her own ways of knowing whar is, in fact, true. There is one truth which covers all of these bases: the existence of God. 

    I can reason the existence of God through presumptions about the functions of the universe in which I live. For instance, all things of which I know are contingent, therefore the universe is contingent, and as an infinite loop without catalyst is a logical impossibility, I must assume that there is some force which is not contingent (at least upon this universe) and which is responsible for this universe in the same was as a breeze exists because of the atmosphere which is held to earth by gravity which exists because of fundamental particles which come from combinations of quarks which were created when the universe banged into existence. Likewise, I can observe that there is great beauty all around me, beauty which is entirely needless in a Darwinian world of kill-or-be-killed, and that in this excess I find the fingerprints of a creator. One with a sense of humor, too, have you seen ostriches? What's up with those things? I can test the truth of God's existence through the means of asking him directly, and I can receive this truth from a trusted source. Multiple sources, in fact. My family, my teachers, my culture, my society, and the majority of my species for over a hundred thousand years have passed down to me the knowledge that God exists. The best source, however, is the deity himself whom I asked for verification and who responded that yes in fact he does exist, last he checked, though of course that could just be an assumption on his part, as my own existence is one on mine. 

    The point of the matter is, I have determined through subjective but reliable means that God exists. Through similar means, I have come to view certain books, proclamations, songs, liturgies, ideas, works of art, and houses of stone as belonging to him and imparting valuable knowledge either about him or about his work, through what I will call his word. At the same time, I have come to the conclusion that there are other ways of learning about the world in which I live, other truths and methods of finding truth which have nothing (directly) to do with my dealings with God. One of these is the age of the universe, which I have learned in the fourth way: I have been told by people I trust to know what they are talking about that the universe is around 13 billion years old and that the Earth on which I live is around 4.5 billion years old. The question, then, is what to do when a revealed truth (such as is contained in Genesis and has been interpreted for two millennia to say that the Earth was created over the course of 6 days, beginning on a Saturday according to a Mr. Bishop Usher, and is around 6000 years old) contradicts with a non-revealed truth. Given that both God's existence and word, and the age of the world are truths, and truth cannot contradict itself, then we are left with a conundrum. The solution seems complicated at first but is actually quite simple: don't discount God's existence or the reliability of scripture, both of which have been testified directly to the soul. Rather, disregard religious interpretations (which are never consistent and universal anyway) of that scripture. 

    What scripture does, and what religion does, is teach us about metaphysical realities. It teaches us about the nature and will of the divine, about the destiny of humanity and their role in the spiritual creation. Through religion, we learn the "why" and "who" of existence. That is not the area where science and reason dwell. Though they can be used to better understand the religious truths we learn from God's word, they are not intending to answer either of those questions. Science answers "when" and "how," and occasionally "where." So when scientists tell me that they can, through means which I can mostly understand, date the age of thge Earth to 4.5 billion years ago, I believe them. And when a prophet tells me that, in line with what is taught in the book of Genesis, God exists, that he created the world, that the world is supposed to be ordered, that he made mankind in his image, that man is sinful and needs redemption, and that man's eventual eternal destiny is to be divinized, to undergo theosis, I believe him too. Though when he starts talking about snakes and apples, I get a bit concerned. Whatever the case, revealed truth and determined truth are two sides of the same coin. I would not ask a physicist, on the basis of his degree in physics, to tell me about the atonement; I would not ask a priest to tell me about quarks and gluons. 







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