Science and Religion
Aii) Explain why the scientific cosmology could be seen as contradicting religious beliefs.
Scientists believe that the world started with the Big Bang. The Big Bang theory is the belief that there was a massive “explosion” that formed all matter in the universe, gradually taking the form of the gases hydrogen and helium. Scientists say that as the gases cooled, they condensed into stars and planets and earth was one of these planets. Scientists can detect background radiation in space that has been left over from the Big Bang and “ripples” can be detected that seem to indicate how the galaxies came into being. Also, the universe still appears to be expanding and as the galaxies and planets move away from each other, they move into longer (red) wavelengths. This is called the Red Shift.
One scientist, Charles Darwin, also said that we have evolved from apes and there would have been a time where there were no humans. The theory of evolution is that we all started as single-celled organisms and have evolved, over millions of years, to photosynthetic bacteria, multi-cellular bacteria, fungi, and finally humans. According to scientists, if the entire earth history was shrunk into half a day, humans would have only been around for 39 seconds.
The theory of evolution and the Big Bang pose some questions to Christians and Muslims, as their accounts of creation are quite different. The Big Bang theory suggests that it all happened as a matter of chance. This is not how Christians and Muslims believe things happened. They think that it was all meant to happen and it is all part of God’s grand plan. The theory of evolution suggest that humans are not more important than animals as animals came first and humans have evolved from them. The Bible contradicts this and says that humans are the most important as they were the only part of the whole creation that were made in the ‘‘image of God’’ (Genesis 1:27). In the Bible, it is suggested that humans are given authority over the rest of the creation (Genesis 1:28).
Creationists believe that there is no way that science and religion can mix. They believe that many Christians have been influenced too much by the theories of evolution and these Christians have compromised their own beliefs. They think this is because the Christians who are mislead often lack proper understanding on how to interpret the Bible. They think do not believe in science because they say that God gave them warnings of these prophecies and told them to ignore then. “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the scoffers, walking after their own lusts, And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation. For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.” (II Peter 3:3-6). They believe that the compromises of theistic evolution, progressive creationism and others are based upon faulty interpretations of scripture.
The traditional Islamic view also suggests that humans were given authority over the rest of the creation (surah 20:30-34) and therefore argues that the theory of evolution is not true. Muslims accept many scientific theories of creation, as they do not believe they challenge the accounts of the Qur’an but help them to understand more about Allah and the way in which he works. Evolution is a theory that contradicts Islamic beliefs and Muslims generally do not accept these ideas.
According to science, there was a time that humans did not exist and many animals did. This questions whether the world was made specifically for humans as both Christians and Muslims believe. Following from this, in the Bible, it states that God gave Adam the task of naming all the animals (Genesis 2:19). This also suggests that there was human existence from the beginning. Another contradiction is that some scientists suggest that there is no reason or plan to the universe. They say that, although this universe is very unique, it could all have happened another way. Christians and Muslims believe that the world has a purpose and everything in it was designed by God and has a reason. If Genesis and the traditional Muslim view are taken seriously, evolution is ruled out as they both say that all the different species were in existence from the beginning. It must be stressed that each Christian or Muslim have their own ideas about their religion and not all Christians and Muslims dispute the scientific cosmology.
Science and Religion
Aiii) Explain how the scientific cosmology can be seen as supporting religious belief
Islam has always been closely linked to science. The modern view follows an evolutionary sequence and so the modern scientific theories do not create any problems for Muslims. In the Qur’an, there is a clear reference to the Big Bang: ‘‘Are then, they who are bent on denying the truth not aware that the heavens and the earth were [once] one living entity, which We then Parted Asunder? – And [that] we made from water every living thing? Will they not then [begin to] believe’’ surah 21:30. Not only does this apply to the Big Bang, but it also applies to other scientific theories. One is that every living thing is made from water, which is true since in all living cells, water is the major component. The other is that it indicates to the theory of Evolution. Modern Islam says that the creation happened in “ages” rather than “years”. Also, the sequence of events, according to Modern Islam, follows a more evolutionary characteristic. Both these theories are backed up by science as scientists believe that evolution took place and it took millions f years for us to evolve. Muslims accept scientific developments and explanations because science does not threaten their belief that Allah is behind everything that exists. They feel that scientific theories only show peoples’ growing understanding of what was revealed to the Prophet Muhammed by Allah.
Christians have two main views. One of these is Conservatism. Conservatives all believe that scripture originated with God himself and take the pages of the Bible quite literally. They do, however, isolate any biblical cosmological verses that are literally untrue and either interpret them symbolically of offer alternative English translations for certain Hebrew words i.e. “days”. They say that both science and the Bible are correct. The Bible’s main points fit in with science and the “days” that God refers to could actually be millions or billions of years. They believe God’s command “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3) is a direct reference to the Big Bang. The order of creation in the Bible also follows the order of science. They also emphasise that the ancient Hebrews "lacked the scientific terminology [that] we use to describe things today. We should not expect descriptions of 'tectonic plates' or of 'molten lava.'” And the Hebrews ”lacked key words which would have been most useful in describing cosmological phenomena."
Some Christians, liberalists, say that the accounts in the Bible are not supposed to be interpreted literally as scientific or historical accounts of the how the universe was made. They were written thousands of years ago so they are stories could have been changed as they were passed down the generations. Many Christians agree with the scientific cosmology of the Big Bang and say that it was caused by God, who carefully made sure that the world was well designed after the initial explosion. They say that the way in which stars are formed out of hydrogen and helium and by nucleic reactions produce carbon and oxygen, which are spread around the universe by exploding supernovae, shows that a creator must have organised things. In other words, if the universe was formed because of certain circumstances, how could this have happened if God hadn’t ensured that all these conditions were there at the right time? Some Christians even accept the evolutionary process saying ‘‘Evolution is how God made the world make itself’’. It is these Christians that say the Bible needs to be re-interpreted to fit modern society. They believe the story of creation is more a parable than truth.
Some would say that, while science explains how the universe was made, the Bible and the Qur’an try to explain why.
Science and Religion
B) “You can’t be a scientist and religious”. Do you agree? Give reasons for your opinion, showing that you have considered another point of view.
Some people say that you can be a scientist and be religious. Science has investigated the start of the universe and come up with the cosmology of the Big Bang and evolution. If you are a scientist, this is what you would believe is right. That does not mean to say that you cannot also have Christian or Muslim views.
St Thomas Aquinas, 1225-1274, argued that: everything in the world around us has a cause, but the chain of causation cannot extend back to infinity, therefore there must be a first cause, and this is God. Science agrees that everything has a cause but has not come up with an alternative preceding the Big Bang. The modern Muslim view easily accepts scientific developments as they do not contradict their belief, but show how we as humans are starting to understand more of God’s work. Some religious people ask how everything can be so perfectly designed to do its job or be given the ability to adapt to do its job, that it must be the work of a designer. This is backed up by the theory of Paley’s watch. He begins by stating that if you walked across a field and saw a stone, you wouldn’t even think to ask how the stone go there. It would be of no importance as you do not usually ask questions like that about stones and, also, it could be that the stone was there for all time and so no conclusive answer would be found. However, if during your walk in the field you saw a watch, you would probably ask how it got there. Now the reason why the assumptions made about the stone do not apply to the watch is because the watch has the appearance of design as it has a variety of different parts all working together to produce motion whereby the time can be told. Paley came to the conclusion that everything in the world must have a designer due to the complexity that every thing has. We as human beings are all unique; no two people even have the same fingerprint. The great scientist Sir Isaac Newton is quoted as saying: “In the absence of any other proof, the thumb alone would convince me of God’s existence”. To many, that designer is God. Christians all over the world believe slightly different things as they have each interpreted the Bible in their own way. While every Christian believes that God created the world, they do not all believe that this was done in six days. They believe it is more likely to be years. Therefore, the theory of the Big Bang is highly possible. The sequence that everything is created, according to Genesis 1 and the Modern Islamic view, is very similar to that of evolution. Earth came first, then sky, then land and sea, then plants, then animals, then humans. The last three stages, although the Bible describes the processes that made them differently, are very similar to that of evolution. If you are religious you can believe this and believe the scientific cosmology.
On the other hand, some people think that you cannot be a scientist and religious. Creationists believe in the Bible literally, they refuse to accept any modern scientific theories such as Darwin’s theory of evolution. Their rigid, dogmatic view that the evidence of science must conform to Holy Scripture places them at odds with the scientific community.
Philosophers such as Epicurus and Nietzsche believed that everything happened by chance; there is no such thing as Divine Intervention.
Epicurus taught that the basic constituents of the world are atoms, uncuttable bits of matter, flying through empty space, and he tried to explain all natural phenomena in atomic terms. Epicurus rejected the exsistence of the soul and he said that the gods have no influence on our lives.
Nietzsche posed the question “Why is there suffering in the world?” Why would God choose to create such suffering? He argues that, if God is perfect, why did he create the tectonic plates. The tectonic plates, when moving, cause death and destruction with earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. A clear example of this was the recent Tsunami. Many innocent poor people were killed and many ask why would God allow this to happen.
When I started this coursework, I thought there was no connection between science and religion. But as I have worked on it, I have noticed that there are possibly more connections than not. Science quite often backs up religion. I think the Bible needs re-interpreting to fit modern day. Once this is done, there are few problems with science and religion contradicting each other. I believe that Genesis has been written to explain why the world began not how. This is because there is so much evidence for the Big Bang but that doesn’t mean to say that the Big Bang was not part of God’s plan. Because of this, I may be criticised as being a “doubting Thomas” and needing to see to believe. We as humans now understand more about how things happened and do not need to believe the Bible word for word. If we did where would we draw the line? I think that, as long as your religious belief and scientific belief do not contradict each other, as can sometimes happen, and you can back up your opinions with sufficient evidence, then it is perfectly feasible to a scientist and religious.