Science and Faith

[ihavesinned]

This is from CNN June 19, 2007:

" JERUSALEM (AP) -- Three-century-old manuscripts by Isaac Newton calculating the exact date of the apocalypse, detailing the precise dimensions of the ancient temple in Jerusalem and interpreting passages of the Bible -- exhibited this week for the first time -- lay bare the little-known religious intensity of a man many consider history's greatest scientist.

Newton, who died 280 years ago, is known for laying much of the groundwork for modern physics, astronomy, math and optics. But in a new Jerusalem exhibit, he appears as a scholar of deep faith who also found time to write on Jewish law -- even penning a few phrases in careful Hebrew letters -- and combing the Old Testament's Book of Daniel for clues about the world's end."

"n one manuscript from the early 1700s, Newton used the cryptic Book of Daniel to calculate the date for the apocalypse, reaching the conclusion that the world would end no earlier than 2060.

"It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner," Newton wrote. However, he added, "This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fanciful men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, and by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail."

[ihavesinned]

Continued:

"He believed there was wisdom in the world that got lost. He thought it was coded, and that by studying things like the dimensions of the temple, he could decode it," she said.

The Newton papers, Ben-Menahem said, also complicate the idea that science is diametrically opposed to religion. "These documents show a scientist guided by religious fervor, by a desire to see God's actions in the world," she said.

Newton's religious writings, Einstein wrote, provide "a variety of sketches and ongoing changes that give us a most interesting look into the mental laboratory of this unique thinker."

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/06/18/newton.papers.ap/index.html

It seems at least Einstein and Newton did not view science as being at odds with faith. This seems to be at odds with what many on this forum believe.

[trainedobserver]

How can science support or pretend to respect the dualistic world view of a particular religious faith over another?

That's a basic hurtle I have with the whole business of legitimizing religious world-views. How can a viewpoint that divides the universe in two "Good & Evil" have any legitimate place other than in a mythology class or religious function?

[ihavesinned]

"How can science support or pretend to respect the dualistic world view of a particular religious faith over another? "

I don't think it can, since it is not something that can be analyzed through scientific inquiry. I thought that maybe realizing that some of the greatest thinkers the world has known were also men of faith might cause people to embrace reason a little, instead of rejecting it outright.


It is however, interesting to point out that Einstein's belief in God led to what was in his words " the greatest mistake of my life".

Einstein was shocked by the apparent randomness and chaos inherent in quantum mechanics which led him to his famous quote that was something like "I don't believe God plays dice".

He devised a "cosmological constant" to account for apparent discrepancies in his theory of relativity. He later wrote that this was a great blunder and abandoned the idea.

It is also interesting to note that recent research implies that he might have been right after all.

[yaakov2]

The whole science versus religion issue is usually mistated anyways. Science that relies on religion ignores observational and experimental data. Religion that relies on science is a theory instead of a theology.

I see science and religion complementing each other instead of being in opposition.

[still_small_voice]

Separation of science and faith?

[giulia]

I think science is a detailed observation into the mind of God, having said that, I don't understand science very well, neither have I had much interest in it, I do, however understand God because I have been granted the mind of Christ, and I also understand science when it is explained to me in lay terms, I recognise it as being an account of God's work.