Place in Our Secular and Scientific World for Religion - Term Paper Example

Do you think that there is still a place in our Secular and Scientific World for Religion? It is commonly thought that science and religion cannot co-exist. Each side readily denies the others’ argument. The relationship between the two is hostile as it is frequently considered that scientific claims are false if religious claims are true, and religious claims are false if scientific claims are true. Both sides are eager to call the other delusional and naïve. However, this is not always the case. In reality, Science and religion work hand in hand to enlighten each other. Both sides will benefit by knowing that some of the greatest scientific minds have been avid observers and followers of religious traditions. (Falk) Many claim that as science progresses, religion will disappear as it will no longer be needed to explain the “mysterious”. They are sadly mistaken. I believe that religion is here to stay despite the secular views and scientific progress of people. If scientific evidence is all that is needed to eradicate the need for religion, then I should have happened a long time ago. As the world has gotten “smaller”, a lot more information has been made available about traditions and cultures. Science has successfully explained most of the natural laws and yet many still turn to their respective God for peace of mind. Science and secularism, on the other hand, are only good for promoting an air of doom and despair. (Campbell) Religion is the ultimate truth and will be followed until science is able to explain absolutely everything in the universe. Philosophers have also had some religious views when it came to science. In their time, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were highly regarded for their wisdom and philosophies. Neither of them were followers of the prevalent pagan mythologies of the time. All of them felt the existence of a greater being, an absolute being, which is above human eccentricities and the weaknesses of Greek gods and goddesses. Of course, they had heated arguments about the nature of this Supreme Being and his creations. These Greek philosophers have left behind teachings that are similar to those of Jesus Christ. (Lindsey) Aristotle’s Unmoved Mover has been a part of his explanations of many physics and metaphysics phenomena. Of this Unmoved Mover, he says, “God has no matter, which means that there can only be one God, since it is matter that differentiates one form or definition into many manifestations of that one form or definition. His work in physics led to a worldview bringing his followers back to God, pronouncing him as the designer of our clockwork world. His study of the celestial mechanics convinced of the presence of a God as the ultimate creator of science. Since God has no matter, then God is one not only formally or in definition, but also numerically.  In addition, there can be only one unmoved mover, because there is only one heaven:  continuous motion is one motion, since such motion is a system of moving parts.” It was Aristotle’s belief that anything that has an absolute pattern or design has to be created; it cannot happen accidentally and needs a reason or case for creation. The Unmoved Mover is the first cause. ("University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ") Sophists were also Greeks busy promoting the ideas of relativism and subjectivism. These ideas may be popular but cannot be useful as a foundation for life. Socrates repeatedly engaged in dialogue with the Sophists as he looked for objective and eternal truths. Sophists denounced morality and social order saying “might is right”. Socrates lost his life fighting the Sophist point of view. (Pecorino) St. Augustine took Plato’s teachings a step further by “Christianizing” it. He said that the forms, eternal truths and the good could only be had from God. According to St. Augustine, science needs religion because “speculation and empiric knowledge need to be supported by divine illumination”. He believed that there are facts that cannot be explained with reason and the only way to understand these truths is by using intuition and by the grace of God. He believed in God and also introduced the concept of just war in which he denounced the use of unjust force. (Pecorino) (Zack) Thomas Aquinas was a philosopher, theologian and a priest. He is known for “Christianizing” Aristotle’s work. The Unmoved Mover is renamed to the Primary Mover. He says that motion is reality and needs a force to initiate it; this force is God, the Primary Mover. Thomas Aquinas believed that God is the first cause for new things to be created and God himself does not need anything for his existence. Being the keen spectator of nature, he observed that Nature is intrinsically perfect and can only be descended from God, the most original and perfect of all being. (Davies) Religion has been favored especially by those studying astrology such as Epicurus. He believed that the dynamics of planetary movements “take place without the ministration or command, either now or in the future, of any being who at the same time enjoys perfect bliss along with immortality." When it came to religion and God, Epicurus took a somewhat humorous approach, saying that Gods are heavenly creatures who must not be troubled with worldly matters. His doctrine states that good and bad must be measured by the pleasure and pain achieved from it. In addition, an abashed materialist, Epicurus believed that life and mind could only be understood in the terms of material processes. He believed the humans achieve all knowledge by using the senses. (Epicurus and O’Connor) Stoicism teaches that a frugal life is an ideal life. Stoics strongly believe that there is no eternal truth and wisdom is the greatest virtue a person can have. They also believe that when a person comes into this world, their mind is a Tabula Rasa or a blank slate. The experiences and learning leaves imprints on this blank slate making a person. (Zack) There was a time when it was not an option to disbelieve religion and God. It was when there were many mysteries to life and the only explanation of many phenomena was the presence of a divine hand. However, despite the promotion of science and atheism, religion has a lot to teach scientists and atheists. Religion and science are best working together to bring about a better understanding of the world. (Hancock and Sweetman) These philosophers, like many famous scientists, are witness to the fact that science needs religion; it prepares us to be God-loving people. Philosophers and scientists carry in them a child-like wonder and amazement for this world, a need to find out everything. Instead of simply believing the Sunday school version of God, they experience his majesty and therefore are better, stronger believers in the presence of God and religions than common folk. From Aristotle to Newton, they have all witnessed the beauties of outer space or may be the complexities of sub atomic particles and therefore refuse to believe that it all just “happened”. There has to be creator for this grand scheme of things who is wiser and more complex than humans can ever be. Only religion can help us understand him as science has a long way to go before it can start explaining God. Works Cited Falk, Darrell. Coming to peace with science: bridging the worlds between faith and biology . InterVarsity Press, 2004. Web. . Campbell, Hank. "Why Does Religion Still Exist?."Science 2.0. N.p., 12 April 2009. Web. 31 Mar 2012. . Lindsey, David. The Beast In Sheep's Clothing: Exposing the Lies of Godless Human Science. Pelican Publishing, 2005. Web. . "Aristotle - Life and Works." The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . N.p., 23 Oct 2009. Web. 31 Mar 2012. . Pecorino, Philip. Introduction To Philosophy. Queensborough Community College, Web. . Zack, Naomi. The Handy Philosophy Answer Book. Visible Ink Press, 2010. Web. . Davies, Brian. The thought of Thomas Aquinas. Oxford University Press, 1993. Web. . Epicurus, First, and Eugene O'Connor. The essential Epicurus: letters, principal doctrines, Vatican sayings, and fragments. Prometheus Books, 1993. Web. . Hancock, Curtis, and Brendan Sweetman. Truth and religious belief: conversations on philosophy of religion. M.E. Sharpe, 1998. Web. . Read More