Why I’m a Man of Science—and Faith
Thursday, May 28, 2020
Sunday, April 19, 2015
Science and Faith Are Not Incompatible
Good 'Three Questions' from National Geographic and Francis S. Collins, so I'll replicate it here for your perusal.
Hope you enjoyed that brief insight as much as I did.
Francis S. Collins, a physician and the geneticist behind the Human Genome Project, is the director of the National Institutes of Health. He is also founder of the BioLogos Foundation (biologos.org), a group that fosters discussions about the intersection of Christianity and science.
Are science and religion compatible?
I am privileged to be somebody who tries to understand nature using the tools of science. But it is also clear that there are some really important questions that science cannot really answer, such as: Why is there something instead of nothing? Why are we here? In those domains I have found that faith provides a better path to answers. I find it oddly anachronistic that in today’s culture there seems to be a widespread presumption that scientific and spiritual views are incompatible.
When people think of those views as incompatible, what is lost?
Science and faith can actually be mutually enriching and complementary once their proper domains are understood and respected. Extreme cartoons representing antagonistic perspectives on either end of the spectrum are often the ones that get attention, but most people live somewhere in the middle.
You’ve said that a blooming flower is not a miracle since we know how that happens. As a geneticist, you’ve studied human life at a fundamental level. Is there a miracle woven in there somewhere?
Oh, yes. At the most fundamental level, it’s a miracle that there’s a universe at all. It’s a miracle that it has order, fine-tuning that allows the possibility of complexity, and laws that follow precise mathematical formulas. Contemplating this, an open-minded observer is almost forced to conclude that there must be a “mind” behind all this. To me, that qualifies as a miracle, a profound truth that lies outside of scientific explanation.
Francis Collins feels that science and faith can be complementary. What do you think about the relationship between science and religion? Let us know—and also tell us who you'd like to see in 3 Questions—in the comments.
Hope you enjoyed that brief insight as much as I did.
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Agnostic Deism
Agnosticism is the belief that no one can truly know for certain whether there is a god or gods, because there exists no physical evidence one way or another. Belief, or lack thereof, rests entirely on faith. Deism holds that yes, there is a god or gods, but that reason, knowledge, and understanding of the natural world — not organized religion — are how we find the answer as to whether God exists.
Agnostic Deism, or Agnostic Theism, holds that there is a deity or deities, but that this concept is inherently unknowable because, again, there is no physical evidence, thus requiring a certain amount of faith. Our search for answers must rely on our own ability to use reason, scientific method, and proper interpretation of known facts. In that sense, Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker may be considered a blueprint for finding these answers, thus allowing us to philosophically determine the existence and nature of God, and the deity's intentions and goals for us, its mortal creations.
To be an agnostic is to retain an open mind as to the possibility of God's existence, acknowledging that it may be impossible to ever really know the truth. Thus we agnostics are in a better position to find answers, because, unlike atheists and theists, we have not closed our minds off completely to possibility.
Of course, until we die, we can never really know what of our conclusions, if any at all, are correct — and by then it's too late, and we cannot relate our findings to those we leave behind. Reason requires that we respect that our beliefs may not be the truth, or at least the whole truth, and that other faiths may each hold a piece of the puzzle.
Thus the purpose and intent of this blog is to dissect the concepts of atheism, theism, religion, belief systems, and the various, often violent disputes among these competing philosophies, in order to make sense of it all. In a society wherein each group seeks to impose its own ideas on others, often by force of physical violence or through legislative action, or both, it is important to understand the multitude of ideas and beliefs, challenge them where necessary, but in a manner that respects that to those who hold them, they are each legitimate, and if we wish respect for our own beliefs, we must first show respect to others.
Too often disagreements between and among believers of various faiths (which, I will point out in greater detail at a later date, includes atheism) lead to contentious, hostile, and all-too-often violent confrontation. Rome understood this quite well: a conquered civilization may grudgingly accept new rulers, but it will rebel violently and until its dying breath against attempts to forcibly change, replace, or do away with its religious beliefs. Thus, with some notable exceptions, the Roman Empire until its adoption of Christianity was mostly tolerant of the religious beliefs of the peoples it conquered, and even assimilated aspects of the various religions into its own, especially Greek gods and customs, given Roman names and twists.
In the search for answers, the use of reason and scientific method to determine the existence and nature of God therefore should be explored as the best option. The reasoned analysis of the various religions, their texts, and their basic tenets, should also provide valuable insight into our search, for each holds a piece of the greater puzzle.
Agnostic Deism, or Agnostic Theism, holds that there is a deity or deities, but that this concept is inherently unknowable because, again, there is no physical evidence, thus requiring a certain amount of faith. Our search for answers must rely on our own ability to use reason, scientific method, and proper interpretation of known facts. In that sense, Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker may be considered a blueprint for finding these answers, thus allowing us to philosophically determine the existence and nature of God, and the deity's intentions and goals for us, its mortal creations.
To be an agnostic is to retain an open mind as to the possibility of God's existence, acknowledging that it may be impossible to ever really know the truth. Thus we agnostics are in a better position to find answers, because, unlike atheists and theists, we have not closed our minds off completely to possibility.
Of course, until we die, we can never really know what of our conclusions, if any at all, are correct — and by then it's too late, and we cannot relate our findings to those we leave behind. Reason requires that we respect that our beliefs may not be the truth, or at least the whole truth, and that other faiths may each hold a piece of the puzzle.
Thus the purpose and intent of this blog is to dissect the concepts of atheism, theism, religion, belief systems, and the various, often violent disputes among these competing philosophies, in order to make sense of it all. In a society wherein each group seeks to impose its own ideas on others, often by force of physical violence or through legislative action, or both, it is important to understand the multitude of ideas and beliefs, challenge them where necessary, but in a manner that respects that to those who hold them, they are each legitimate, and if we wish respect for our own beliefs, we must first show respect to others.
Too often disagreements between and among believers of various faiths (which, I will point out in greater detail at a later date, includes atheism) lead to contentious, hostile, and all-too-often violent confrontation. Rome understood this quite well: a conquered civilization may grudgingly accept new rulers, but it will rebel violently and until its dying breath against attempts to forcibly change, replace, or do away with its religious beliefs. Thus, with some notable exceptions, the Roman Empire until its adoption of Christianity was mostly tolerant of the religious beliefs of the peoples it conquered, and even assimilated aspects of the various religions into its own, especially Greek gods and customs, given Roman names and twists.
In the search for answers, the use of reason and scientific method to determine the existence and nature of God therefore should be explored as the best option. The reasoned analysis of the various religions, their texts, and their basic tenets, should also provide valuable insight into our search, for each holds a piece of the greater puzzle.
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