Welcome....To the world of Ideas and Original Thinking

Science and Religion - Contradict or Complement


A Mystical wind blows over the world today crossing all boundaries of religions and cultures. Sensitivity to the ultimate mystery is awakened even in scientists, philosophers and artists….The crisis felt in the traditional circles of Christianity is a pointer to the call of the spirit to explore the deeper dimensions of faith.[1]

The rising restlessness within human hearts, ever increasing longing for something new every time and the growing global consciousness of deep interdependence in the  one world, hints at the relentless search human is in, today
.
The reality around us is multi faceted and mysterious. The more one explores, the more he/she is revealed of the hidden mysteries of life and of the universe. The inbuilt longing or search or restlessness very subtly connects human back to the mysterious reality of which he/she is part and parcel of. Human more than ever is in search of his roots and the purpose of his existence today and the advances in science and technology is one of the expressions of this relentless search. Science, in simple terms a systematic study of the reality.

People often tend to think that science and religion are at cold war with each other. I believe this is nothing but an exaggerated statement, which carries little weight. Religion as we see aims at an inner quiet journey, to the deeper reality. Science is an active search for the hidden mysteries and an attempt to understand the reality. On the periphery they might come across, as contradicting each other, but analyzing deeply we come to realize that they complement each other. 


Let us explore this through the example of big-bang theory, for our better understanding. (What I am presenting here is a very superficial analysis, which needs to be reflected more deeply) The existential question that haunts humans often is –Where did I come from? This leads me to speak about the creation of our universe. Science comes up with the idea of Big Bang. A mighty explosion, that happened at some point in time when all the mass of the universe was together. The immensely dense mass or atom, that exploded led to the present structure of the(ever expanding) universe. In simple words it’s a process of contraction and expansion. Logically arguing, the expanded universe, someday, bound to come back to its original state again or contract again as before.

Reflecting on the big bang we come to understand that everything came from the same atom or has a common origin. Thus the reality around, the cosmos, the heavenly bodies, the trees, the mountains, the animals and birds, the stars and everything in the universe share common elements. They share common origin and common destiny (coming together again or contraction). Without getting into details, I would just like to state that we find similar teachings in Vatican II documents too.

The inner restlessness or the inbuilt urge to interconnect could well be understood in terms of the deeper relationship human beings have with the rest of the universe.

At this point it would be apt to note that even the world class scientists are not fully sure of what exactly led to big-bang. The Religion responds with the idea of uncaused cause, whom it names – GOD or creator.
Dwelling on the point of expanded universe is bound to contract again, leads us to the understanding of gathering of all things together again. St Paul in his letter to Eph: 1,10 “as the plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth”. Thus can we call the ongoing scientific and technological advances, a step towards the gathering of all creation?

Yet another point we need to keep in mind from the big-bang theory is the aspect of universal brotherhood. If all of us came from the same source, there is nothing or no one called, ‘the other’.  This leads to the understanding of universal family. Isn’t this the deeper message of every religion?

The conflict arises, when the institutionalized religions of today, try to project that they possess all answers and all truth in them. The recent record breaking controversial Hindi Movie – PK challenges the organized institutional structure of religion. There is an interesting argument in the movie in the temple scenario between a shopkeeper and PK(an alien trying to understand religion and God).  Having bought the statue of a god, PK realizes that it’s not functioning and rushes to return it to the shopkeeper, saying, “God is not working. His battery must be down.” Perplexed shopkeeper tries to convince PK saying, that “there is nothing wrong. I myself created it with my own hands…” PK, not able to understand the logic behind asks a further question, “Did you create God or God created you?” 
I believe people today are desperately trying to protect God (which is their own creation) which is the biggest lacuna of our times. I would put such highly institutionalized religious attitude as mere socio-political approach, which gives little room to the spirit. But these irrational practices shouldn’t hinder us from reading the signs of our times, for as Christians we believe in a God, who writes straight even on crooked lines.

The occasional conflict between science and religion needs to be seen as a reminder for you and for me to explore the deeper dimensions of faith. The authentic search in science and religion, invite us to glance at a RELIGION which is beyond religions and at a GOD who is beyond gods. They also very subtly convey us that there is an awakening to the ultimate mystery, in human. 

As I conclude, I improvise on what I said earlier, that a genuine search in science and religion complement each other, leading to the deeper shores of faith, where one feels secure and restful. In the understanding of St Augustine, that will be a point when the creation meets its creator or according to St Paul, a moment, when all things are gathered in HIM. 

Let’s be genuine seekers.




[1] Sebastian, Painadat, Spiritual Co –Pilgrims, Claratian Publications, Philippines, 2014, pg xi.

No comments:

Post a Comment