March 28, 2024
Letter

Science and religion

Richard E. Faust [of Surry, who teaches a course at Acadia Senior College called “The Role of Religion in the Evolution of Society”] claims that scientists are “right” and the Bible “wrong” (BDN, July 22-23).

I submit that judgmental terms such as these are not applicable. Both science and religion are belief systems. Belief in the validity of the Bible is fundamentally no different from belief in the validity of science. Those who embrace science have confidence in its ability to make predictions, to solve problems and to improve the quality of life. So do those who embrace the Christian Bible.

What distinguishes them is that scientific principles are based on the scientific method, in which hypotheses are tested and results are reproducible; biblical principles are the divinely inspired word of God. The former are evidence-based; the latter are not. They must be taken on faith, which brings us to the ultimate issue: belief in a god.

That 40 percent of scientists believe in God is meaningless and misleading. Faith is belief in the absence of proof. As Aquinas pointed out, it is a “gift.” Some of us have this gift, others do not. Some who began without it acquire it later in life. Wherever it originates, it cannot be invoked.

“Proof” of the existence of God is as unconvincing to the atheist as evidence of evolution is to fundamentalist Christians. But the complexity of the human eye is no more proof of a divine creator than the organization of an anthill is proof of ant monarchy.

Science and religion need not be mutually exclusive. Many devout Christians can reconcile established science with belief in a higher power. One caveat: scientific principles are the domain of the classroom. Faith-based principles belong in church.

Peggy Gannon

Palmyra


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