Attempting to describe the relationship between religion and science

This was written as a response to another question on Quora: "What is the relationship between religion and science?"

It is quite obvious that there IS a relationship between the two: Both are human activities, both are ways of seeking answers to questions, and both have profound affects on how humans live their lives.

Scientific research can help us learn the effect of specific religious beliefs and/or practices on ones ability to do scientific research, understand scientific theory, or use science to solve problems. We can also use scientific methods of research to understand the affects of specific religious beliefs and/or practices on whether a person’s life is happy, creative, productive, etc.  Social sciences can help us to understand the effects of religion on the societies in which they are practiced.

The people in a marriage or other partnership have different roles to play in order to make their relationship harmonious and mutually beneficial - and the people in the relationship often have to make an effort to find and implement the means to keep that harmony.  Similarly, science and religion have different rolls to play in the lives of individuals and in the development of civilization.  Pointing to present or historical examples of conflict between science and religion and concluding that they are always incompatible is like pointing to bad relationships between women and men, and concluding that men and women are incompatible in any relationship.

An individual who finds a good, dynamic (i.e. flexible, ever-evolving) relationship between science and religion in her or his life can become a person who is seen by others as exemplary. Likewise, a society - whether limited to the population of a single village, or one which spans the entire earth - which finds the right balance between science and religion can be the matrix in which its individual members achieve exemplary levels of happiness, creativity, and ever-growing ability.  The question, then, becomes: what relationship between religion and science can lead to individuals and society being happy, creative and productive? 

Science has an important roll to play in our lives and in society and civilization.  Most individuals do little or no scientific research, but familiarity with (and access to) the body of scientific knowledge and of the methods and standards of science help them to understand their world and to make choices based on that understanding.  Those who do legitimate, peer-reviewed, scientific research advance our understanding of how things work, the likely outcomes of various actions, and the web of cause and effect in the world.  But there are decisions that cannot, logically, be answered by science, and humans have needs which can be better fulfilled through religion.

Science leads to technology, but it takes something beyond science to answer the question, “what is the appropriate use of this technology?”  In this age, one appropriate roll of religion is to provide the wisdom to answer that question.  Some sample questions are, “should we be studying ways to build better weapons of mass destruction, or should we apply the same human resources to finding better ways to educate our children?”  “Should we be applying the technology of social psychology (i.e. advertising and public persuasion) to influence people to buy things they don’t need?”  “Should we apply that same technology to influencing people to get along?”  “Is it right for medical research to concentrate on developing treatments for illness rather than finding means of prevention?”  Science does not provide answers to such questions.  Ethics might provide answers, but it does not provide motivation. 

The role of religion is to provide both ethical answers and personal motivation to follow these ethics.  In this age, one of the central questions which religion asks of us is, “does this action or use of technology benefit all of the people of the world, or does it benefit a few at the expense of many?” In this age, one role of religion is to help us be aware of the oneness of Mankind.  In this age, one role of religion is to lead us to set aside our differences and prejudices and to cooperate in solving the problems of society and of the world.  When religion is the cause of strife, of discord and conflict, then no religion would be better.

So, in short, the relationship of religion and science is that religion points to what should be done and the purpose of our existence in this universe, while science is the tool for how our goals can be achieved and for understanding the nature of our universe.

The Source Of All Good (Words of Wisdom 1}

In the book “Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh” there is a Tablet entitled “Words of Wisdom”. This tablet consists mainly of [what I see as] definitions of certain words that often appear in scripture. I have been studying this tablet, and would like to share some of the ideas that have occurred to me regarding various passages therein. As always, these are only my personal opinions, and you are invited to share your own insights.

The first “definition” reads, “The source of all good is trust in God, submission unto His command, and contentment with His holy will and pleasure.” When I read this to a dear Christian friend of mine, he responded saying, “The source of all good is God!” In the way he said it, it seemed he saw his point as a refutation of the passage from the tablet. Any Bahá’í, indeed most any monotheist, would agree that God is the ultimate source of all good and of all the virtues. So what might this passage be saying?

In the context of this passage, I see that God, in His Bounty and Grace, showers His good (or goodness) upon us all, but we have to be willing to receive it. After all, the veils that shut us out from God are in front of each of our eyes, and we pray (in the Long Obligatory Prayer) “... make of my prayer a fire that will burn away the veils which have shut me out from Thy Beauty...” So, God tells us in this passage what we have to do and how we should be in order to receive His goodness:

We must trust in God. In this earthly life, there are many things that we tend to put our trust in: our parents, our school teachers, our government, our instincts, strategies and responses that have “worked” for us in the past, etc. What God asks of us can be counter to popular advice or what we would otherwise trust. “Love your enemies.” “Read the Divine Verses every morn and eve.” If we trust God, we not only follow His commandments, but we turn to Him for strength, for guidance, and to define the very purpose of our lives.
We must live and act in submission unto His command. God is the source of all good, but we are only good insofar as we follow His command. I believe that we should actively seek to better understand His command, and that we should embrace that command whatever it is, whatever apparent hardships may come from it.
We must find contentment with His holy will and pleasure. Everything that comes to us in our lives, I believe, can serve to teach us. I also am of the opinion that whatever circumstance we find ourselves in, it is God’s will and pleasure that we be in that situation. This point has seen much debate, but my feeling is that if we are sufficiently awake, present, and mindful we will be content that the circumstances we find ourselves in accord with God’s will. Then we can let go of our fear and resentment (or our pleasure and vanity) and follow the promptings of our higher, spiritual nature (see 1 and 2 above). Being content does not imply that we do not feel any impetus to change our circumstances. Rather, it means that we can see our circumstances with sufficient detachment to allow us to effect positive change while trusting in God and being submissive to His command.

The power of technology

I wish to respond to these questions which were asked in the Philosophy Forum http://tinyurl.com/yl75lf5, "Is it conceivable to become too technologically advanced? Has the techno-gizmo world evolved too rapidly for its makers? Is there a point where technology does us more harm than good?"

Technology is the embodiment - the practical manifestation - of the power of the human intellect to discover the secrets of nature through scientific investigation and reasoning. The products of technology, including tools, toys and techniques, are the means to augment our power to do many things that we can do without technology: Walking is augmented by riding, driving, and flying. Food production and preparation are augmented and accessorized by a staggering variety of machines and products, from the farm to packaging, to the kitchen and to our bodies. The ability to clean is augmented with a slew of chemical cleaners (some not so safe), rags and mops, disposable or long lasting, and machines that get clothes, dishes, carpets, you name it, clean with ... well, maybe its less work, sometimes.

In a darker vein, imaginative games that children (and adults) can play with things in nature are augmented (often replaced) by electronic games. High-quality, long-lasting products, well presented, are replaced by cheap, mass-produced goods, cleverly advertised. The human ability to kill, destroy, and to force others to obey our will is augmented by the technology of weapons.

What does it mean to say, “the techno-gizmo has world evolved too rapidly for its makers”? What is it about us, the makers and consumers of technology, that needs to catch up? Could it be that money and marketing drive R & D? Could it be that we are influenced in our choices by the technology of advertising, so we spend what we earn on things that we really don't need? And what about those weapons? Could it be that we lack the wisdom and the understanding to pass beyond the need for weapons? Could it be that we do not know ourselves and what is actually good for us well enough to decide what technology is worth developing and worth using?

“With great power comes great responsibility.” Technology is power. What we are behind on is our sense of responsibility, and even our understanding of what it is we are responsible for. A teen uses his newly developing ability to drive by cruising and showing off in potentially dangerous ways. But he or she can mature into a parent who uses a car as transportation to work, to school, to shop, to vacation, etc. Right now we humans are, collectively, acting like that teenager. I pray to God that we will survive long enough to grow up and learn responsibility to our fellow humans and to all of life on earth. We are all connected, and what we do with the power we have learned to wield affects all of us.