"Science Is My Religion"
Posted by simplisticthoughts , Monday, October 22, 2012 5:35 PM
I cannot tell you how many times I have found myself within the academic circle and have been told that science is one's religion. In essence, they are making the assertion that their faith system is based upon scientific discovery and observation. Personally, despite possible popular opinion, I love science! In fact, I have wanted to be a geologist for years but mathematics is not my strong suit so I went with my other academic passion: history and philosophy. As a Christian, despite popular opinion, I believe science and God make a wonderful union. Science and God for centuries went hand in hand and some would say that in earlier times religion was science. The pendulum started to swing in the opposite direction and the two split most noticeably during the Enlightenment, which in all honesty, I am sympathetic towards. For centuries, religion (especially in Europe) was the dominant power force; breeding corruption and controlling the people to pursue its own agenda that was not always theologically based. But my blog is not that of a historical inquiry, yet a philosophical one.
I have been thinking of this phrase "science is my religion" and had a string of thoughts. Now bear with me, this is a matter of philosophical opinion and my goal is not even to debunk this phrase in question, yet shed some introspective light. The goal of science through the scientific method is to continually disprove until one can no longer disprove and hopefully this leads to facts or laws. As we all can agree, science is a constantly evolving thing in the sense that it is always progressing. What scientists knew about the body in the 1600's is not what we know today, yet people considered these ideas during that century as truth, until it was debunked or new discovery sprang forth. This same idea will be relevant a hundred years from now; the scientific evidence many adhere to as truth now may very well be discredited in the future. So here is my question: if science is an evolving/progressive area of study, is it possible to say that the beliefs one asserts as truth now could very well be wrong, based on the pattern of science in years past? Let me iterate, I am not saying that all science is wrong or that you, the reader, is wrong. For most of us, even within the faith realm, a majority of our knowledge is received. Most of us are not in the trenches discovering these ideas or truths nor have first-hand experience, so we are placing trust into the hands of professionals who have doctorate degrees to inform the populous. I used to laugh and say that many atheists think they are scientists and a lot Christians think they are theologians. I can even reconcile that religion and sects of religion have changed dramatically over the years based upon interpretation, but the one thing that remains is God's word to reference.
I remember reading a quote by C.S. Lewis some time back and it was not until recently I understood its tenets. He said, “A young man who wishes to remain a sound atheist cannot be too careful of his reading". I do not think even the atheist can argue with this statement, because its nature is truth. If science is what one ascribes to, one best be careful of what they adopt as truth or fact. Without an anchor in which to return to in reference to one's belief system, one is susceptible to the research of other individuals, who could turn out to very well be wrong. Just a thought...
