Science challenges Religious Belief.
(Dragon Bites)
There are many Christian Belief's and there are a lost of scientific theories that some say challenge religion and disproves it while others believe that science can sometimes reinforce a religious belief or that they can-coexist together without disproving each other.
One of the core Christian beliefs is that God is responsible for creating the universe and world from nothing, however many scientists challenge this belief because they say that the Big Bang just happens without a cause to start it – and so some Christians reject the theory of the Big Bang.
Another Christian belief is that the work of God is perfect and it has an ongoing purpose, however both the Big Bang and the theory of evolution challenges this belief because scientists say that the universe came from nothing and that evolution is a blind process that always changes.
Another belief is that there is a special and perfect relationship with all parts of creation which support each other however the theory of evolution challenges this because over time the world has changed so dramatically that the creatures would have had to evolve into new species in order to survive.
However there are others who believe that science and religion can co-exist without disproving each other or challenging their beliefs.
Those that do believe this do so because though they believe that the universe was created through the Big Bang they also believe that God was the one who started and caused the Big Bang.
Stephen Jay Gould once said, 'Science covers the area: what is the universe made of (fact) and why does it work (theory). Religion deals with questions of meaning and right and wrong. The two areas do not overlap' this suggests that he believes since these two areas do not overlap you can believe in both of them.
He also once said, 'Science gets the ages of rocks, and religion the rock ages; science studies how the heavens go, religion how to go to heaven' this also suggests that science teaches us some things but then there are things that only religion can teach.
Professor Winston also said, 'Science can help to explain how the universe came into being, but religion explains why we are here' this suggests that he believes that science accounts for the how, and religion the why.
There are some who believe that evolution and the Big Bang was caused by God, they do this because they believe that God is so omniscient and omnipotent that he could cause the creation of the universe and that he could create a plan for the future and just start with a simple creature which he knows will evolve and adapt until it becomes the one he wants it to be.
I believe that religion and science can co-exist, because I believe that while religion tells me why science can tell me how, this is shown aptly, using the quote from Galileo Gallilei, 'The bible tells us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go' I believe that this suggests that he believed that science and religion are compatible and one without the other would mean that you didn't know all you can about the universe in which we live in.
Ryanna Coleman
You can't be a scientist and be religious'
There are some in the world who believe that to be a scientist you have to separate your religious beliefs from scientific fact, however there are also some that believe that religion are able to co-exist simultaneously.
Those that believe that science and religion should be separated believe that to be a scientist you have to only concentrate on your facts and not on beliefs that are thousands of years old and may not be accurately correct.
Richard Dawkins said 'Science and religion are deeply opposed' this suggests that he believes that as science has proved that the universe was created through the big bang and not in he seven days as the bible says that it does, this proves that God does not exist.
Richard Dawkins also said 'Faith is the great cop-out, the great excuse to evade the need to think and evaluate evidence. Faith is belief in spite of, even perhaps because of, the lack of evidence' this suggests that he believes that only those who believe in religion do so even though there is no actual evidence to support it and mainly because many had done years before.
Peter Atkins, also one said 'Science is almost totally incompatible with religion' this suggests that he believes that science can not exist with religion and that there is no way that the ideals of these two can work together.
Many also believe that the Big Bang was a random, unprecedented event that had no cause or controller, and so many believe that because it was so random that God couldn't have possibly created the universe or started the Big Bang.
However there are some who believe you can be religious and be a scientist, they do so because they believe that science is only one small part of learning to understand the universe ad you need religion if you are to completely understand how the universe was created and why.
Stephen Jay Gould once said, 'Science covers the area: what is the universe made of (fact) and why does it work (theory). Religion deals with questions of meaning and right and wrong. The two areas do not overlap' this suggests that he believes that science and religion cover totally different topics and that to say that you can have one without the other is wrong since you need to know why to understand how.
He also once said, 'Science gets the ages of rocks, and religion the rock ages; science studies how the heavens go, religion how to go to heaven' this also suggests that science teaches us some things but then there are things that only religion can teach and that religion and science can exist in the same place, or person, because it all helps to the greater understanding of God's plan and how the universe works.
Professor Winston also said, 'Science can help to explain how the universe came into being, but religion explains why we are here' this suggests that he believes that science accounts for the how, and religion the why.
I believe that you can be religious and be a scientist- I do so because I believe that God took an integral part in designing the world in one way so that we could evolve and have our free will to change the world into the way that God designed it to become originally. I believe this because Isaac Newton once said, 'It is the perfection of God's work that they are all done with the greatest simplicity. He is a God of order and not confusion' this suggests, to me, that God is an omniscient being who knows how everything should be and yet he gives us free will to do as we wish, I believe this also suggests that science is part of religion as it helps with the keeping of 'order'.
