Are scientists right and the Christian Bible wrong?

Is there a conflict between religion and science? You bet there is. And it has been with us since the dawn of early religious expression 50,000 years ago when, for example, the fear of the unknown, such as thunder and lightning, helped create the concept of god(s).

One can trace the development of supernatural explanations for natural phenomena over the centuries, but none has been quite so pervasive and dramatic as those embodied in fundamental Christianity, a religion that still today stands out as a powerful force against rationality and science.

History is replete with examples of religious mandates that have been overturned by the sweep of scientific discovery and observation, such as those of Copernicus and Galileo. The horrors that have been carried out by religious zealots to protect their distorted view of reality and challenge the advance of scientific achievement is a monument to human shame and ignorance.

Beyond the massive conflicts between different religious views, such as the Crusades and the Thirty Years’ War, religion has pioneered in the murder of heretics, apostates, infidels, witches, free-thinkers, secularists and a host of others who did not fully follow the beliefs demanded by the church in power at a particular time.

The Renaissance (1300 to 1600), the Enlightenment (1600 to 1800) and the emergence of modern scientific logic beginning at about this time period and culminating today in a vast store of information and understanding now challenges religious mythology and supernatural explanations that have given religion, and especially the conservative segment of the Christian church, such an unhealthy influence over people’s lives and behavior patterns, as well as the operations of governments.

So are scientists right and the Christian Bible wrong? The answer, when it comes to logic, rationality, factual probability and just plain common sense is: Yes!

Some people take the position that these are two realms of truth and reality – but this is pure balderdash! We live in one world and one reality and those who see the inner psychic world of the brain or mind as another domain that cannot be studied and objectively observed are woefully uninformed.

Those who look to the Bible as the ultimate authority fail to realize that all Bibles and all religions are man-made creations that at one time served a valuable purpose in the early evolution of humankind, but that now need to be reexamined in light of new knowledge and reason and perhaps modified to move humanity toward a more sane and kindly existence.

The religious fundamentalists who feel they have a monopoly on the truth assert that the emotional, mental and moral realities we experience every day, as described to some extent in the Bible, are more real than physical life. Wow! Surprise! There is only one physical life and it includes the brain and its functioning, which is responsible for our emotions, feelings and thoughts.

Through functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) positron emission tomography (PET scans), which have been available for less than 20 years, neurobiologists are now unraveling the nature of our conceptual thinking.

Not only emotions, such as happiness and depression, are explored but such religious concepts as “God,” “soul” and “spirituality” are being examined to determine where in the brain chemical changes take place when we are influenced by such thoughts.

Augmented by the identification in 2001 of the approximately 26,000 genes in the human genome and the current investigation of gene functioning, these pioneering scientists will soon elucidate further how we think and how our emotions and experiences are generated and registered.

It is entirely possible that the entire “religious” experience we share can be attributed to chemical changes and functioning within the 100 billion neurons in our brain. Just as there are centers in the brain responsible for such activities as sight, sound and smell, there appears to be another for mystical or religious experiences, the so-called “God part” of the brain. Thus, it is not true that the inner psychic world referred to by biblical advocates cannot be “isolated in laboratories and objectively observed.” It is indeed being done and results hold tremendous promise for the human race.

We are on the cusp of placing religious ideology, mandates and practice in proper perspective with the realization that we can move on to a more rewarding spiritual appreciation of life and the opportunity to live together respectfully and lovingly without negative supernatural concepts and horrors such as “sin,” “heaven and hell,” “the devil,” “holy wars,” “salvation” and all the others that have generated so much unhappiness, fear and hatred over the centuries.

We are at a new spiritual beginning, a new Enlightenment and sense of awe and wonder made possible by scientific knowledge rather than biblical revelation. It holds great promise.

Let’s give it a chance.

Richard E. Faust of Surry is a graduate pharmacist and holds a doctorate in pharmaceutical chemistry from Purdue University, a Master of Business Administration from Columbia University, and a number of honorary degrees and recognitions. He teaches a course at Acadia Senior College called “The Role of Religion in the Evolution of Society.” Voices is a weekly commentary by Maine people who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life. Reply to letters@bangordailynews.net.