One of the age old debates out there is can science and religion co-exist? If so, how? A lot of this seems to stem from theories about the very origins of our existence. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all teach that God created the heavens and the earth while science tries to explain how we all got here without any divine assistance.
As a religious person who respects science, it can be hard to find a healthy relationship between the two. I personally believe God created the heavens and the earth, but I also am not one who believes in day age creationism, namely, that the earth was created in six 24 hour periods.
My belief is the creation of the earth was a gradual process that took place over a series of periods and that God had other purposes for the earth before putting humans on the earth. That’s how I am able to square away the geological timeline of everything with science. Still, there are times where science and religion do seem to clash. Most notably with the theory of evolution.
Being more transparent, I do not ascribe to the belief that God used evolution to put man on the earth. Having done a fair amount of scientific research into the matter, I am yet to be convinced that the theory of human of evolution is true. I’m open to the possibility that God used it, but I just haven’t seen the evidence that supports it upon doing a lot of research. There seems to be too much guess work. While microevolution/speciation is observable, the leap from that to macroevolution feels like too large of a leap for me to make. Just based on the data that I’ve come across.
If you don’t believe in God, then the theory of human evolution is all that you have. If you believe in God, more possibilities exist, including the possibility that God used evolution. A possibility I am open to but haven’t seen the evidence for.
Anyways, I do feel like the evolution debate is at the heart of the religion versus science debate and I think it’s unfortunate because it has created many people to not see the good in the other, pending on what side of the coin they line up on. Many who line up with the side of religion tend to ignore the beauty of science and all that it can teach us about the world around us and God’s sheer majesty.
Those who line up on the side of science tend to feel like a belief in God somehow devalues science or that science must hold 100% of all the answer to life questions. Perhaps the origins of our existence isn’t really a question science is cut out to answer, giving room for religion to play a role in our lives.
Of course, there are many people like me who try to appreciate both science and religion and wrestle with how to make the two as harmonious with each other as possible. I do think there is a way that both can play an active role in our lives.
Anyways, that’s more than enough of my own thoughts on the matter. What say the people of Cake? How do you feel science and religion should best be reconciled with each other?