As is evidenced in my career as a Mechanical Engineer, I am enthralled with science and technology.
I treat engineering problems as a search for truth: the best solution to a problem.
In recent browsing, I came across a thought that captivated my attention because of how it resonates with my own ideas. This comes from the astronomer, Vera Rubin (a modern day pioneer). She writes:
"We’re still groping for the truth. So I don’t really worry too much about details that don’t fit in, because I put them in the domain of things we still have to learn about. I really see no reason why we should have been lucky enough to live at the point where the universe was understood in its totality… As telescopes get bigger, and astronomers get cleverer, I think all kinds of things are going to be discovered that are going to require alterations in our theories… Science consists of continually making better and better what has been usable in the past."
Women in Science, Dark Matter, and Our Never-Ending Quest to Know the Universe. By Maria Popova
What fascinates me about this is her ability to put things "that don't fit in" somewhere in the category of things we still have to learn about. And why don't we know about these things? Because the required foundation has not been established.
For me, science and religion are not in opposition. There are, among all the scientific truths we know, some concepts that could be interpreted as being contrary to the truth I understand, based on my religion. I counter that we don't know everything about science. And regarding religion, there is a lot that is "yet to be revealed".
When we stop being curious, we stop progressing. In both science and religion, there are things I am curious about. I cannot discard science because all theories are not proven. Likewise, I cannot discard religion simply because all questions are not answered. In each case, I have to put some questions "in the domain of things we still have to learn about." In the meantime, I proceed to expand the foundation that will allow for more understanding - in both science and religion. How? By trial and error: experimentation.
As a way to find the truth, experimentation works in both religion and science. I suppose the people who find the most conflict between religion and science do not understand that concept. Or perhaps they believe that the way they live their life has no effect on their experiments. While this may be true in the lab, it is not true in the religious lab of life.
As I continue to reflect on why so many people can only see conflict between science and religion, I realize that few people understand that God DOES communicate with us. This I know: God loves me. Everyone can find that out for themselves, and like me, build on that foundation of truth line upon line. Hooray for TRUTH!
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