Science Versus Religion

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Some see a conflict between science and religion. Religion has often been opposed to science, when science contradicted some of it's beliefs. On the other hand, some have said that since science cannot prove the existence of God, there should be no religion. The truth is there should be no conflict because they operate in different areas and answer different questions.

Science has to take creation as it finds it. It can never answer the question why. It can only answer the question how. Science involves experiment, observation and theory. Where you can experiment, you do. Chemistry and physics are two scientific fields where you can perform experiments. Astronomy is a science where observation is the only method. Once scientist have conducted their experiments or done their observations, they try to form hypothesis and eventually theories. There are religious groups that find the theory of evolution a threat. it's only a theory, they say. What they don't understand is that all scientific truth is theory. Newton discovered the theories of motion. They proved to be true and are used by engineers and scientist everyday. You may have heard them called Newton's laws of motion. But they should have been called Newton's theories because Einstein's theory of relativity showed that though they worked well here on earth in normal circumstances, they were not the whole truth. The theory of evolution is the same. It's a scientific theory that, though true as far as it goes, is subject to revision as new facts emerge.

Religion can never answer the question, how. Once, the Catholic church had the earth at the center of the universe, with hell below and heaven above. When Galileo discovered that it was just one of a number of planets orbiting around the sun, the church threatened him with excommunication or worse if he didn't recant. The church of course was wrong. Religion gets into trouble, when it tries to say how things work in the natural world. Religion can only answer the question why? Growing up Catholic I remember an early question in religious education. Why did God make me? The answer was God made me to know him, to love him and to be with him forever in heaven. Could that be proven? Could it even be proven that God made me. No! That like all religious dogma has to be accepted on faith. Some scientist might say that since none of it can be scientifically proven, why believe anything. But there is a creation here. The principle by which it works has always been. Scientist seek to discover how it works. They use what they learn to create many wonders. But they can only create, if they follow natures rules. But who or what made it like it is? Who or what made the rules? Why are we here? Why is anything here? Science cannot answer that. That has to be left to religion or philosophy. As humans we seek for knowledge to know our world and how it works but we also seem to need faith. As long as we are always open the truth and not dogmatic all will be well.