Religion and science

I try to never impose my morals on anyone around me, and I try not to let my personal belief system prevent me from being open to new ideas.

I don’t like it when someone else shoves his or her views down my throat.

I believe in God, and as such I hold myself to what I consider, and hope, would be Christian standards of living.

And while I am human, I try to make the most of my day, see the good in people, which I assume everyone else on the planet does.

But I by no means think I’m a saint.

I also believe in gay rights, civil rights, regular rights and evolution.

I’m taking a science course this semester, and we, like in every class, had a homework assignment.

The question was simple. “What does the presence of such and such a chemical mean for life on Earth?”

And the options were as follows: “A. blah blah science, B. blah blah science, C. life on Earth was created by an omnipotent being, or D. life on Earth has evolved over an extensive period of time.”

When I first saw it, it didn’t really bother me.

I chose “D” and moved on.

But the more I think about it, the more I realize how manipulative a question it really was.

I didn’t march up to the front of the class the first day of the semester and declare I am Catholic, and therefore anyone who believes in science is an idiot.

The question was an unnecessary commentary on how vastly superior scientists are to someone who would be stupid enough to read the Bible.

It was a crude attempt at what I assume my professor believed was scientific
evangelization.

It made fun of my belief system, and put me in the position of having to choose science over religion.

That is unfair because religious scientists such as Gregor Mendel, who was a Catholic priest, have made some of the most important scientific contributions to date.

I’d rather learn more about the world scientifically and religiously, because I believe they go hand in hand.

The two can, and have, worked together to explain things that neither understands.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said it the best.

“Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge which is power; religion gives man wisdom which is control. Science deals mainly with facts; religion deals mainly with values.

“The two are not rivals. They are complementary.”

­— ewenning@indiana.edu