Skip to main content

Number 21 - Science vs Religion

Can reasoning and faith co-exist?

Science and reason are an intoxicating power-tripping cocktail. Through these tools, the human-thinker feels like they can decipher and predict the world. Like anything can plausibly be within your fingertips. This must be how the enlightenment thinkers have felt and it definitely is how I felt during my late years of high school.

Precisely this aura of man centered superiority through reason is what is often seen as the opposite of religion. Pop culture tells us that science is progress, freedom and prosperity while religion is associated with backwardness, prohibition and hardships. A free thinker always dares to question while the believer acts like a follower, content of being told what is truth. I find this comparison mistaken and unhelpful as a philosophical simplification.

Of course I have to admit that I am a bit biased here because of my dual identity as a christian and an engineer. But it is exactly this perspective that allows me to see that faith and reason are not at odds; they are in fact complementary.

Science by itself is quite limited. We know much less than we like to think (our oceans are still unexplored, we do not fully understand how brains and bicycles work etc.), there are things we do not even know we do not know, our current models (even ones we use daily like gravity) are known to be partially false and even worse we have proof that some things might be inherently improvable! To top it off, science has very little to offer in terms of purpose! Science for example can be used by insidious forces to create weapons of mass destruction or to exterminate entire animal and human populations. Faith can be, along with ideology of any kind, one way to develop a moral code. To tell right from wrong.

Even more than that, I have found faith to be an important tool for self-development. It gives us space to feel and think. Especially in today's age, governed by external stimuli, moments for introspection have become increasingly important. It has also served me quite well in a personal basis - accepting that humans cannot do everything by ourselves and we have all to count our blessings for where we are. If not for our planet, our families, our health-care systems our education we would have gone nowhere. No matter the true origin of all those gifts, one always has to remember where they come from and be humble towards the wonders of the cosmos.



Comments

  1. HipthiOctober 13, 2024 at 12:40 PM

    I hope your considerations of faith to be used as a step to the world of faith to the reader .

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Easter feast and task pipelines (48)

A Greek Easter feast As this post goes live, your host and author is most likely indulging in the joys of Easter Sunday. In Greece, where I come from, Easter is the biggest holiday of the year. And, as you might expect from a culture famous for its love of food, the Sunday feast is a central part of the celebration. The meal varies by region and family tradition, but one thing remains constant: roasted lamb. It symbolizes the sacrifice of Jesus, and it's always the star of the table. If you're reading this on Easter Sunday, there’s a good chance I’m savoring some leftover lamb while you scroll through these lines. Now, let me tell you—preparing this feast is no small feat. Roasting the lamb and getting the rest of the meal ready is a coordinated effort, usually involving many helping hands. To make sure everything is done in time for the classic Greek lunch hour (around 14:00), the tasks must be broken down and distributed efficiently. This is where the real planning begins....
Post a Comment
Read more

I think, therefore I am (35)

I think, therefore I am Consciousness—or self-awareness—feels like one of the most distinctly human traits. Sure, some animals are clever, but only a handful, like certain primates, seem to pass the “mirror test” and recognize themselves in their reflection. So, what exactly is consciousness? The truth is, it’s hard to pin down. Interestingly, an accessible definition of consciousness doesn’t come from philosophy or biology, but from medicine—specifically anesthesiology. In this field, consciousness is defined as the awareness of pain and our surroundings during surgery. It's a practical, measurable approach: you’re either aware or you’re not. This definition not only makes consciousness easier to grasp but also highlights its connection to our sensory perception. This view brings us to the classic "dual theory" of consciousness. In this framework, the body and mind are seen as separate entities, with the brain acting as the “control room.” The mind issues commands, the b...
2 comments
Read more

A chess game played at a two hundred kilometers per hour (66)

A chess game played at a two hundred kilometers per hour That is how the sport of modern fencing is often portrayed by its practitioners, or, frankly, anyone with an inclination to dramatize. Often, in student fencing circles this phrase is used ironically to juxtapose how simple, pragmatic and brutal this sport can sometimes be. However, I am inclined to approach this phrase by visualizing its contents; fencing is indeed an ancient game, requiring wit and is supplemented with technology unimagined by previous generations. It really is a marriage cold calculation and passion. A passion which is shared by the previous blog exploring modern fencing technology, and which drives one to explore developments of fencing technology even deeper. How Horses Became Formula 1 A common passerby would not think of modern slender, antenna-like blades as swords. And they would be completely right, none of the three fencing weapons (saber, foil and epee) are swords. Assuming the sole purpose of a sword...
Post a Comment
Read more