THE POLARITY OF SCIENCE AND RELIGION

The question for compatibility of science and religion is the question of faith and reason. The answer appears unbalanced. I believed however that both of them ought to be compatible and complementary. But the problem is that while some tend to pride science over religion, both are complementary to the extent that religion takes over where science cannot explain, mutatis mutandis, faith takes over where science stops. Science or reason deals with the empirical/the known whereas religion or faith deals with supernatural/unknown.

Science should be founded on religion. Nowadays, the problem religion is suffering is the attack from science, it is obvious that people are quick to reduce everything to science, to cause and effect. People are ready to embrace the idea of pragmatism and human atomization that everything in the world is mathematized and thus, relegating the power of Holy Spirit to the background.

Science and technology of present day, especially in the western world have been able to explore the world, when one talks of Test tube babies, In Vitro fertilization, abortion, contraceptives etc. one sees that they are contrary to religion, they are using their human senses to explore the world, to challenge religion. Can someone imagine somebody like Karl Marx saying that religion is the opium of the people? All these are challenges of faith. But if you are able to allow God to be the caption in the ship and the pilot in the air you see that it will lead to better changes, sound morality in the world and it will exalt science.

Science affects faith to the minimal level, for instance, you see a child of God when he in trouble, tension, instead of involving God first, he will say I will solve it this way or solve it that way. Anyway, I am not trying to relegate the work of brain to the background but that I am trying to let you know that in anything, whosoever, let us place God first.

As an addendum, just like in the book of Joshua 10, we saw the power of religion over science. It has never been recorded in the history, you cannot use your scientific power to hold or put stop to the normal flow of nature but in Joshua 10, because Joshua’s relationship with God, when he prayed the sun stood still and obeyed him to the extent that they finished the war, until the battle was over.