{"id":20581,"date":"2022-05-13T13:21:21","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T18:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/?p=20581"},"modified":"2022-05-13T14:24:25","modified_gmt":"2022-05-13T19:24:25","slug":"faith-and-reason-on-the-same-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/faith-and-reason-on-the-same-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Faith and Reason. On the Same Team."},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Sometimes it seems religion and science describe two different worlds. (One is observable . . . science, the other is in our imagination . . . religion). Science roots us in our daily lives. Religion, on the other hand, is about a reality called \u201cspirit\u201d that can\u2019t be observed with scientific tools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s where things can go wrong. The two need to respect the other\u2019s competence. Religion must accept scientific fact as part of God\u2019s wisdom. Science must allow for truth to exist that can\u2019t be physically verified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, religion has closed its eyes to scientific fact. \u201cWhat do you mean the earth is round?! And you say \u2018the earth travels around the sun?!\u2019 Blasphemy!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science, since the Enlightenment (1600\u2019s), has placed \u201creason\u201d, aided by the scientific method, as the only way of coming to know what is true. You say, \u201cGod said let there be light? And that\u2019s how it all started? Prove it.\u201d You say, \u201cJesus died on the cross and was raised from the dead? Prove it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some think when we talk about religion we have to put our knowledge of this world on the shelf (eg. our knowledge of astronomy.) Faith tells us Jesus \u201ccame down from heaven\u201d, \u201che suffered death and was buried, and rose again\u201d, then he \u201cascended into heaven\u201d, and \u201cis seated at the right hand of the Father.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science can read these words as indicating a heaven situated a few miles above us, from which he \u201ccame down\u201d and then \u201cascended\u201d back to \u201csit at the right hand of God the Father.\u201d It\u2019s like a palace in the air with two chairs set side by side. Nice thought, says science, but there is no evidence this is true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not trying to be a smart aleck here. This is what the words of the bible can cause us to imagine about God and Jesus and heaven. And these imaginings can seem childish next to the hard and sometimes scary facts about the limitless cosmos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What can we say to help here? I think the first thing to remember is the difference between believing <\/strong>and imagining. <\/strong>\u201cI believe in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.\u201d This is a statement of faith acknowledging a fact . . . there is one God, and all that is, comes from God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then we imagine. \u201cWhat did making the earth look like?\u201d Michelangelo tried his brilliant best in the Sistine Chapel. Remember that painting of God the Father on the cloud reaching out with his divine finger to touch the finger of the sleeping Adam? Did it really look like that? No. But does it convey a truth? Of course. God created us out of love. How exactly? We don\u2019t know. Science can help here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So two things are happening here. The WHAT <\/strong>(Faith) and the HOW <\/strong>it happened (science).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The WHAT <\/strong>of Faith . . . God created the heavens and earth in the \u201cseven days\u201d of creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The HOW <\/strong>of science . . . nature, over millions of years, progressed in form and complexity to bring about the beings we observe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The WHAT <\/strong>of Faith . . . God made us from the dust of the earth and blew his spirit into us. (Genesis 2)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The HOW <\/strong>of science . . . evidence suggests an evolutionary force of nature brought about, over millions of years, a physical body capable of holding the human soul. The soul, created directly by God. Nature cannot create a spiritual soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church wants us to know what is true; then artists and poets imagine the visuals. Science offers proven physical knowledge that can help us understand more deeply the brilliance of God, who, by the way, is the very source of reason itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith and Science . . . both on the same team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blessings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fr. Tim<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"linkedin\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes it seems religion and science describe two different worlds. (One is observable . . . science, the other is in our imagination . . . religion). Science roots us in our daily lives. Religion, on the other hand, is about a reality called \u201cspirit\u201d that can\u2019t be observed with scientific tools. Here\u2019s where things […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-weekly-column"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20581"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20596,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20581\/revisions\/20596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holytrinityweb.com\/weekly\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}