I bet you're thinking:
"Sigh. Here we go again. Someone debating their point of view that Science is better than Religion or vice versa."
Well you're not wrong…..except you are. I am debating my point of view, yes, however it's not which is better than the other. No, my point of view isn't that simple. In fact it's not even a black and white point of view, and as someone who prides himself on finding the clear cut opposite views on every situation - that's hard for me to say. My opinion on science and religion is, as some would say, contradictory.
Maybe you're thinking "how can you believe in religion and science?" or even more specifically "how can you believe in religion and evolution?" Oh dear friend or foe, I shall tell you.
Growing up I was not a fan of organized religion, and to an extent I still am not. I grew up and saw tons of hypocrisy from many people that claimed to be devout Christians which as we all know preach that you should turn the other cheek and cast no judgement onto others. This is something we all struggle with sure, but I saw people using their beliefs as a Christian to cast judgement onto others there by directly going against their beliefs. Thus I grew up abstaining from organized religion and practiced my beliefs (which again some call contradictory) at home. I never needed (and never will need) to go to a church to pray or practice my belief. Due to never hearing the stories of the bible weekly I grew up to think for myself on how the world works. Now please don't take that statement as me saying "those that grew up going church never learned to think for themselves!" What I mean is that no one told me how the world was created, no one told me what you're supposed to know from the bible or anything of the sorts. My parents raised me to think for myself and supported any thought or decision I've ever had. Thankfully this never made me feel pressured by them to believe in the exact same things they believe in. So my view of religion is easily not the same as yours.
Since I have always grown up loving science (I'm a multifaceted nerd of the Third Kind) I typically find myself watching the Discovery or History Channels. Growing up I was taught evolution in school (Disclaimer: I'm not 100% sure my memory is correct here so let's assume there is at least a 5% chance this statement is incorrect) so hearing humans and apes are related fascinated the fuck out of me. Had I seen Planet of the Apes around this time, there is literally no telling how much my mind would have exploded. My favorite part about learning various types of scientific shit (there are only so many words in the English language and shit is a synonym for most of them ok?!) was probably dinosaurs and space. Why? Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Star Wars. Obviously. Why'd you even ask? I digress. As I grew up I noticed my mind works in a scientific-method manner. As in I form a thought, I try to find evidence to support my thought and then I make a final conclusion upon said thought. That's why I have a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, it's just how my brain functions. So clearly science has influenced my life in a different way than it probably did yours.
I have to set up my views so that....
Now how do these topics always wind up being opposites with each other? Religion has four definitions in Merriam-Webster Dictionary (do I italicize? I haven't had English courses since 2010 so forgive my lack of care for grammar). I see the most commonly accepted definition of religion as being "(1): the service and worship of God or the supernatural (2): Commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance." Science has five definitions in Merriam-Webster Dictionary with what I believe to be the most common definition being "such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena." So based upon these two definitions, they seem to contradict. Religion is based upon belief and devotion and faith (I.E. Spiritual) while science is based upon knowledge of the physical world (I.E. Concrete). Now this is Thomas separating these two topics into cut and dry contrasts. So let's peak into my brain and see how I view it.
The definition of religion I most identify with is "a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith." As you see I already have changed the meaning of "Religion vs Science" simply by defining religion in the way that it speaks to me spiritually in my soul. For me I believe in both Spiritual and Concrete ideas. The definition of science I find to be similar to my own is "the state of knowing: knowledge as distinguished from ignorance or misunderstanding." With this definition it explains exactly how my brain works, idea-research-conclusion. Now let's piss off both sides of the God-created-world/evolution argument in one sentence: to me both of these ideas are simply that – ideas. How am I supposed to know for sure God created the world in 7 days? I can't. How am I supposed to know that over millions of years we evolved from bacteria into large amounts of bacteria capable of complex thought? I can't. I literally cannot know (unless there's a DeLorean somewhere) which one is right or which one is wrong. Let's step this complex thought up a notch: I cannot know whether they both wrong or…..they're both right.
Hold on meow!
Sorry Ms. Grande, I will not hold on. I will, however, slow my roll and explain though. I believe (note this motherfucking glorious word that expresses it's only my opinion) both of these can be right. Which is why I believe in religion and evolution. I use religion instead of "God made the world in 6 days and the 7th day he rested" because it's a fucking mouthful and too much to type continuously. Why do I believe this? Well to be honest, what is time? I know I could define time but I mean in the large scale of the universe what the fuck is time? I see time as relative. Not someone of relation to me (ooohhh that's a cool thought to explore though…) but as something that is perceived differently to all people. I could say "today has dragged on" and you could say "it's been really quick for me!" Time is in my opinion (philosophical Thomas has arrived) the fourth dimension. Now this has been argued by scientists – do you see where I'm going with this? No?! Ok I'll continue – for years. How many years? I don't know and I don't care. The point is if time is the fourth dimension, then one day we may discover how to navigate it, ergo time travel. So if we cannot currently crack the fourth dimension what's to say someone or something in the universe hasn't already done that?
Still with me? Ok great because it's confusing and probably contradictory. If evolution was carried out over millions of years here on Earth, and when you die you go to heaven for eternity – how long is 7 days in eternity vs 7 days on Earth? (Bam! Finally to the point of this paragraph!! So much lead up, thank you for staying with me.) God made the earth in 6 days and on the 7th day he rested. Man was made on the 6th day so what if the dawn of man via evolution was the 6th day for God himself and he told Jesus to tell us that. Our 7 days on earth could literally be perceived in heaven as (let's use Earth time explanations to avoid confusing you with comic book time travel explanations) milliseconds. So the millions of years of evolution right up until the dawn of man was only six days for the big guy upstairs. See looking at religious-world-creation vs evolution as contradictory ideas is ignoring the infinite amount of ways that these two ideas could actually be one in the same. Let's get very extreme to present this thought. Ross Religion (Stan Lee shout out) believes so strongly in the word of the bible he argues dinosaurs never existed. Ross my friend, there is evidence literally coming up from the ground and we have yet to find dragon bones but you believe in dragons because they were in the removed pages of the bible. Drake Darwinism (Stan Lee shout out) believes so strongly in evolution and science that he says religion isn't real because there is no evidence of it or God. Drake old pal, we still haven't found the "missing link" that connects us to the Neanderthal so by that attitude evolution isn't real.
Ryan Stiles Agrees
Let's tackle another VS scenario between religion and science that again will be based on evidence. Does God exist? Religion: Yes. Science: No. Again black and white. I will counter this thought with another one. Do aliens exist? Religion: No. Science: Yes. Now I know these are insinuating that if you're science driven you have to say yes to aliens and no to God but to make my point I have to show the direct contradiction. When it comes to God existing I have heard multiple people say "Show me evidence God exists" but these same people believe in aliens existing – with no evidence to support their belief. Now I'm not saying all people who don't believe in God believe in aliens, just the people I have heard (yes literally with my own ears) make this argument. I'm sure there are religious folks who believe in aliens, and science folks who believe in God – fuck it I hate being black and white lets mix this shit up into some good old fashioned grey thoughts.
There is no physical evidence of God; there is no physical evidence of aliens - unless of course this is read in the future where there is evidence of both to which I say it is 2016 so I'm basically your version of a Neanderthal. Aliens – the science community states that based upon the observed universe, statistically there are 40 billion planets that could sustain life and have conditions similar to those of Earth. God – the religious community say that they don't need to be told for sure God or Jesus are real because they're in their heart and can feel or perceive them. What if God is an alien? Remember the fourth dimension from earlier? Yeah you do. What's to say another lifeform from another planet came to earth after the dawn of man and was worshiped as a God?
Did I hear someone yell blasphemy? Yeah probably did. Well guess what person whom yelled, if you think about it isn't it possible? Neither science nor religion can prove that this isn't what happened. "But Thomas" you say, "God made us in his own image." Just because an alien came to earth doesn't mean it wasn't humanoid. I mean I've had this thought that if Star Wars was a long time ago in a galaxy far far away and the Empire instituted prejudice towards human race being superior (in the expanded universe that is no longer canon but stay with me), then maybe the universe had a purge of humans and brought small tribes of humans to primitive Earth. Leaving humans stranded here without the proper technology to navigate the stars and having to readjust to life in the most primitive of ways. Essentially think of the various species of the universe sending humans into an episode of naked and afraid that lasted literally thousands of years and still continues to this very day. This thought is obviously a small tangent (sorry about that) but think about it – if you don't know everything about a made up universe (I only recently found out about the Empire fact) then how are we to know everything about our universe? Which brings me back to my point, God could have created us in his own image then came from the stars and became worshiped as a God.
Ahh Terrance Stamp
Now I know this isn't as enticing a thought as the fourth dimension, and that's because it's essentially a branch off the idea of Superman (looking at you Zack Snyder) and tangent from Apocalypse of X-Men melded into one (sort of). My point to all of this is that both sides argue upon the existence of God and the ability to prove it vs the physical evidence found on Earth. They fight and squabble and to what end? Until now religion has been viewed as View A and science as View 1, with both sides battling it out for who is right. "God exists because I believe in him." "Aliens exist because I believe in them." Simple and crudely broken down statements but they say the same things just in different ways pretty much all the time. Then they argue against each other saying that the other is wrong and try to prove it.
Fighting to no end...
You see how stupid the arguments can get with limiting your spectrum of the world? Open your mind up and explore things that make you uncomfortable. You might just find how A and 1 can be combined into a universal and beautiful mixture that I will affectionately name A1 after my favorite steak sauce.
My opinion is not right or correct or the only thing you should believe. If you see it a different way I would love to know how you see it, as long as it's impartially expressed of course. Why debate when we can discuss?
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