An exchange on science and religion

Today I got an interesting email from an intern asking about science and religion.  My response led me to some interesting ideas that I'll share here:

Hello,

I am an intern with RMN and as part of our duties we have this YouTube channel known as the GPA that deal with compelling visions of the future from the perspectives of scientists and innovators.  

I found your blog and I liked what you had to say in regards to the topic of christian science and am interested in hearing what you have to say in how science relates to religion in this modern world. There are plenty of different topics such as Artificial Intelligence, or the mathematics behind preserving your brain and transhumanism.

Check out our playlists 

Thanks and enjoy!   DHB

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Hello!

Delightful to hear from you and thanks for your message.  I watched a couple of youtube selections and found them very interesting.

I've been asked about science and religion a lot, and have some favorite ideas. You may have heard of John Polkinghorne, the former physicist who turned to the priesthood.  This is an excerpt from an interview with him written up in  God vs. Science | The Saturday Evening Post's article: " How an acclaimed physicist is struggling to reconcile one of the great philosophical arguments of the modern age."

Science and religion are not mutually exclusive, Polkinghorne argues. In fact, both are necessary to our understanding of the world. “Science asks how things happen. But there are questions of meaning and value and purpose which science does not address. Religion asks why. And it is my belief that we can and should ask both questions about the same event.”

As a for-instance, Polkinghorne points to the homey phenomenon of a tea kettle boiling merrily on the stove.  “Science tells us that burning gas heats the water and makes the kettle boil,” he says.  But science doesn’t explain the “why” question. “The kettle is boiling because I want to make a cup of tea; would you like some?

“I don’t have to choose between the answers to those questions,” declares Polkinghorne. “In fact, in order to understand the mysterious event of the boiling kettle, I need both those kinds of answers to tell me what’s going on. So I need the insights of science and the insights of religion if I’m to understand the rich and many-layered world in which we live.”

In Christian Science (CS), we take a deep look at the teachings of Christ, not from a dogmatic or orthodox stance, but to practice what Christ Jesus taught and to see how forgiveness and compassion can heal our relationships with one another, and how an understanding of God as Love can cure disease. 

Just as Christian Scientists have to correct mistaken notions by sharing Scientology has nothing to do with Christian Science; we also need to share that we are united with Christians on many fronts, but not all. For instance, evil is not ignored, but it is challenged; it is not considered a power source, nor is it dignified by giving it our power.  All individuals - regardless of race, religion, orientation, gender -  are understood as being made in the image and likeness of God.  God is seen as Love, and this is not variable, and so it follows that God does not send sickness, suffering or death;  but understanding God, as Christ Jesus taught, has shown us a way out of all human malaise.   

Mary Baker Eddy discovered Christian Science after years of trying to find a rule or principle behind Christ's healing works.  She articulated her discovery in a book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, a book that starts out with "The time for thinkers has come."  Many are finding that they can practice these principles and find healing today.  (See christianscience.com for more accounts of healing plus info about the Church that Eddy founded.)

One challenge is that all religions can be somehow clumped together with oversimplified generalizations.  These can hide the profound significance of the healing impact of prayer found in a number of religious disciplines. (See Spirituality and Healing | HMS for just one example of how this is being explored or simply google "prayer and healing" for a wide spectrum of the discussion, or go to Duke University, University of Minnesota, Harvard, George Washington School of Medicine or any of the dozens of medical schools to see what they are talking about regarding spirituality and healing.) 

Christian Science is a practical provable Science, in which we can apply the laws of God as readily as a mathematician can apply the laws of mathematics.  God, in CS, is defined as Truth, Love and Principle.  God is defined as pure Love, a law - not an uber person -  but the pure force behind all creation.

Lest this seem too cerebral, we need to prove what we say.  Without proof religion then becomes theory.  God is the highest ideal of all good.  And as the understanding of God as a perfect principle develops in thought, our consciousness is open and expectant to the power and possibility of harmony. Forgiveness, compassion, and hope can ripen into an understanding of divine Love, and actions follow. Consciousness constructs a better body, as the body conforms to the thought governing it.

Consciousness, spirituality, and absolute Truth are all a part of the modus operandi of healing through Christianly scientific prayer.  We must prove what we teach, and we have decades of healing testimonies and continue to build on these testimonies.  (Click here to get to some of those stories.)

We look at HOW to heal, and nurture a love for God, for one another and for all mankind to remind ourselves WHY we heal. 

As it says in  I Thessalonians 5:21, we "test everything (and) hold fast to what is true." 


Science is the search for Truth. Free of all pretense, self-interest and prejudice, it is thrilling to join together with other thinkers who are dedicated to the health and well being of mankind and share what we are learning and what we can learn from one another.

We live in exciting times of great potential for good, 

Kim

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