Science and Religion.

by Blueblades 4 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Blueblades

  Religion and Science, science and religion, so often it's portrayed as a fight to the death, no holds barred. Does there have to be a winner?

  I think there's a lot of room for comfortable dialogue, lots of areas with interesting questions of overlap. Science can ask many helpful questions about religions as institutions , why some religions are more stable over time, and what allows some religions to persist longer than others. Such questions can be asked without threat to religions or religious people.

  Science and Religion does not have to be a necessary conflict. Any thoughts?

  Blueblades
• 

  zeroday

  Science strives to prove theory with fact even when facts change existing scientific thought. Science will accept that they have been wrong and change Religion usually will not. Religion's fear of science is that they could be proven wrong and will not accept that. Ask Galileo...
• 

  Sad emo

  Hi Blueblades

  I could see where there is a conflict between the two if a religious person reads their holy book as absolute literal truth eg the creation account in the Bible - you just can't reconcile 6 x 24 hour days with billions of years!

  From a personal POV I have little if any conflict - putting it simply for me, science is mostly concerned with 'how' and 'when' whereas religion is more about 'who' and 'why'
• 

  bavman

  The more I read about science and religion the more I believe these are ultimately two separate entities and should mostly be kept as such. Science, in my opinion is best at finding and re-finding reality. Religion is at it's best when developing qualities and the human spirit. Problems come in when religion attempts to explain in literal terms how we got here and so forth. These two institutions can do well at keeping each other in check.
• 

  quietlyleaving

  From a personal POV I have little if any conflict - putting it simply for me, science is mostly concerned with 'how' and 'when' whereas religion is more about 'who' and 'why'

  good point sad emo.

  A related point is that having knowledge (religious or scientific) is somehow seen as investing the possessor with authority and ownership. I suppose when we come to see the gaining of knowlegde as something for sharing and not as something for owning then we'll begin to make some headway imo.