From the Brain of Matty

religion vs. science (12.01.07 7:15 pm)

⁴⁶And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

⁴⁷Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

⁴⁸He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

⁴⁹But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

Luke 6:46-49

Those who side with religion against science often draw refence to the parable mentioned above. Science is shifting, its very basis is the idea that our understanding continually evolves; new ideas and theories replace old, paradigms shift and change and are replaced. Some would argue that a house built on a shifting foundation is unstable. I would agree. If you want to build a house, choose the most stable foundation you can. However, it is religion that aims to build houses. Science has shifted the paradigm, it is not about building houses, it's about growing knowledge. Grass grows on sand; it doesn't grow on rocks. Here is a new parable:

¹Whosoever questions what is told to him, I will show you who he is like:

²He is like a man who planted his crops in the shifting soil: and the roots of the crops penetrated the soil deeply, and bound the it together so that it was stable to walk upon, but it was still loose enough that the man could plow up the crops when they were harvested, and plant new seeds: for it was planted in the soil.

³But he that hears, and does not question, is like a man that scattered his seeds on bare rock; where the seeds did not shoot, and the crops did not grow; and the man was starved.

In the ancient olden days we used to think the world was essentially sensible; that it told a story, and made sense. To that end we used myths and legends to describe the happenings around us: the sun is drawn across the sky by fiery horses; the moon is a woman, who turns dark and brooding every 4 weeks; lightning is cast by a giant with a big hammer when he gets mad. And thus we invented gods - the best explanations we could come up with at the time.

As we observed and questioned, we realised that the more we knew, the less we understood. The world actually grew in complexity, and decreased in order - it didn't make sense! The sun isn't a fiery chariot, it's a ball of hydrogen and helium atoms being squished together so hard they continually change form one to the other and back. The moon is an unusually large chunk of rock orbiting the Earth in an unusually stable orbit. Lightning is a result of electrical potentialities, low voltage paths, and who knows what else. The world is round, and we don't fall off the bottom!

The solid foundations of religion are faith and obedience. They are the solid foundations of a simple world, where you can build your house on a rock, and that rock will never change, and your house will stand forever. The foundations of science are as shifting as the world around us, and our understanding of it. Our goal is not to pinpoint the truth and build a house, it is to increase our understanding and let the plant of knowledge grow.

On that note, never trust someone who won't abandon a theory - that's not science, it's religion.

NB: notice I didn't mention God. I never said there's no place for Him in science. Just that He doesn't fling lightning bolts when He's mad.

I hope.

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