Comments on: Religion or Science: Do We Have to Choose?

By: negin

negin — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:33:04 +0000

Thank you for your responses!

Yes, the matters – and there are many – that fall into the “domain” of both religion and science are complicated and become the cause of debate and conflict. But those are also the most beautiful matters! Both religion and science can be used to shed light upon them and, depending on which you use, a different aspect of its reality is explored. One example, that I particularly care about (!), is health; which is clearly under the influence of both physical and spiritual factors.
As you wrote Geoff, we really need to investigate the true nature of religion and science to be able to understand the harmony between them. And even more, try to excel in both!

By: LizKauai

LizKauai — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:47:15 +0000

I guess this principle – the harmony of science and religion- the harmony of faith and reason, to some – was the clincher for me. In my heart, I KNEW there had to be an explanation of reality that satisfied both sides of the issue.
We have dear friends who are amateur astronomers. One is a semi-fundamentalist protestant minister. I always wondered how he reconciled himself to his faith and his curiosity.

The beauty of life on this plane is the process of discovery. A great day to be an inventor, a scientist, a farmer, a doctor- just about anything!

By: Geoff Cameron

Geoff Cameron — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:16:32 +0000

I think most people blithely agree that science and religion should be in harmony. But the real challenge is establishing what, exactly, falls into the domain of each. There are clearly some areas that should not be governed by religion: the study of genetics, for example. And areas that should not be governed by science: say, prayer and meditation. The problems arise when matters fall into the domain of both and there is a struggle over which should apply, like the fields of bioethics and psychology (or neuroscience). Some people even say that evolution falls into this category (although Baha’is would disagree).

There really is something to this debate, and it requires real philosophical engagement with what religion and science are. The evolution debate illustrates this — it is very different today than it was 50 years ago because far more people now accept that religious texts are not literal in all respects. We need to really investigate the nature of true religion and proper science to establish the harmony between the two.

Thanks for the post, Negin.