Religion

Religion is always a touchy subject and the latest case of religious tension is surrounding the new movie The Golden Compass. This movie supposedly has anti-Christian and anti-Catholic aspects in it. As a Catholic the thing that offends me the most is the protest against this movie. Where does this fear come from that people who watch a movie are going to walk out of the theater and say “screw the church I am going to be an atheist”. This sense of fear is perpetuated by the same group of people who are against the teaching of evolution in schools. These people have some idea that anyone who follows a religion has a weak mind and will simply loose their faith when confronted with a difference of opinion. As far as I am concerned I do not want anyone with such a pitifully weak mind to be part of or even associated with my faith.

When it comes down to it things like evolution are just a theory, as far as I am concerned it is a damn good one. Our entire existence is governed by logical natural laws which can be determined by empirical scientific evidence, why would this not include our evolution? The universe and this planet are not chaotic with random unexplainable occurrences, what if God set up this universe in a way that it forms in a logical manner and it does so for the purpose that we many understand it and thus advance ourselves. The theory of evolution keeps in step with the cause and effect system that governs this whole world and just because God did not just plop us down here one day in no way means that our existence was not desired by the divine.

It is the inability for Creationists and Evolutionists to realize that both of their theories are not mutually exclusive that leads to these problems. In my opinion the better we understand this existence the better we understand how God fits into everything. As humans it is our ability to understand the natural world that separates us from other creatures and it is our ability to advance ourselves through this knowledge that makes us closer to God.

Science and religion can work together, just as we can misunderstand science we can also misunderstand religion, being as humans are prone to fault. Over time our advancement in both fields will lead us to a clearer understanding of our existence. The history of religion has even changed with our understanding of science. Historically we see people believing in the existence of a soul within all objects and beings, next we see the emerging of deities that govern various categories of matter of daily life, and most recently we see the development of religion in which one supreme God rule over every thing.

Enter science; we are only beginning to understand the physical aspects of the universe, however what if God is an energy form that permeates the universe. If God is connected to everything then this supports the concept of him being omnipotent and all knowing. By knowing where all matter is he therefore knows where it has been and where it is going. In Christianity for instance there is the concept that we are all God’s children, well, if his energy is in us (what we would call a soul) then we are as much his children as we are our parents whose DNA is in us. Even concepts like heaven and hell can be brought into question. Maybe neither is a physical place but rather states of being, complete connection or disconnection to this energy force.

I am no more a theologist than I am a scientist and it is not my intent to preach religious theory or scientific facts. My intent is merely to point out that religion and science are not as distant as we are all lead to believe, and if we truly wish to live in a learned society we must allow questions in pursuit of the truth, because the truth will not only set you free, but it can also define you.