He mentions the well known English atheist scientist Richard Dawkins who wrote in his book, The God Delusion, the more intelligent and the greater the level of education the less likely one is to have a religion. He doesn't have a very high opinion of scientists who are believers.
A question quickly comes to mind. Can science answer all the questions that we have? In the scientific age, called also the age of the fourth industrial revolution, does religion have a place? Some scientists have the conviction that religions are no longer viable—scientism.
Science has without a doubt given answers to many of our questions about nature and life, a great benefit to humankind but it can't answer the question of the 'why' of life and nature. Of course, the scientist with a belief in scientism believes that science has the answer to all our questions. This is an internally held belief and actually their religion and not a scientific response to reality.
Scientists have no way of giving answers to the meaning of life. It is here that religion enters our thoughts. Different religions have different answers to the questions about life, death, and search for the answers to morality, the existence of a being greater than the human and awe in the contemplation.
It brings to mind the many questions that we ask ourselves. How am I to live? How am I to understand this problem, this accident? How am I to deal with my own scars and find peace of mind and soul and find some solution? These are questions science can't answer.
In this new age of the 4th industrial revolution, what is the meaning of religion? Dawkins points out the evils of religion and calls for its abolition but he says this from his own convictions which are the product of his own lived life. He is actually unscientific, he is influenced by his own personal individuality which is his religion. He condemns it and at the same time is a believer in his own religion.
In conclusion, we can say that nobody is able to get rid of a belief system. One can refrain from taking upon oneself a religious belief but no one is able to free themselves from asking questions about life and its meaning. Consequently, as in the past, the present and in the future, the search for meaning will always be present.
Science and Religion have both their own areas of study and search. They need not be enemies and see everything only from their own vantage point. St. John Paul II said: "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth, and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—"
No comments:
Post a Comment