Is it okay to compare and contrast science and religion?

Use this forum to discuss the December 2020 Book of the month, "Wilderness Cry: A Scientific and Philosophical Approach to Understanding God and the Universe" by Hilary L Hunt M.D.
Heidadela
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Re: Is it okay to compare and contrast science and religion?

Post by Heidadela »

I agree that religion is all about faith while Science is a theory based on facts, which can be manipulated to a scientist's satisfaction. However, the two can never go hand in hand because their foundation is different, hence, it is not okay to compare the two.
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Post by Etienneza »

Absuolutely!The comparison must continue,as both diciplines make pronouncement that influence the full spectrum of human existence.Some find that points where these town lines either converge or at least intersect.Everything that adds to the value of human or animal and plants life forms, should be critically evaluated.froms these finding plausible postulations may then be drawn to form the basis for posterity theory.My humble opinion only.
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Post by Ellylion »

Maddie Atkinson wrote: 01 Dec 2020, 07:09 I think it is absolutely okay to compare science and religion. Science has proved stories that happened in the Bible and discovered origins of these stories. I think that as a whole, it is a given that a lot of the stories, especially in the Old Testament, are not to be taken at face value, but rather metaphors for morals and beliefs. So being able to find the origins of these stories are, to me as a Christian, very important. People also use science to help support their beliefs. For example, to help explain how God created everything when science proved that the world was not created in seven days, I believe that God created the Big Bang, so in that sense he did create everything, just more generally. Also, it is so difficult to justify things said in the Bible when science is such a big part of society these days. So yeah, I think it is perfectly okay to contrast science and religion, especially if it helps people to make sense of the Bible and their own personal beliefs.
I absolutely agree with you. Even some scientists can't help but notice that the Big Bang does not contradict with the Old Testament's account, so I would say that it's quite legit to compare science and religion.

And, of course, very often science helps people to comprehend the Bible better, paradoxical as it seems :)
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Ellylion
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Post by Ellylion »

Sushan wrote: 01 Dec 2020, 00:40 The author uses her knowledge regarding quantum physics and other philosophical studies to challenge and see the true meaning of the religious teachings that the world has known and believed for decades.

But as far as we know, religious teachings are a set of beliefs that are based on various historical events, cultural values and even mythical stories. Some of these things cannot be either proved or neglected by either science or philosophy.

Considering that argument, is this okay to compare religions with science as the author has done via this book?
In my understanding, science and religion at least sometimes speak about the same things but use different languages, so to say. So, I think, it's absolutely normal to compare their accounts, especially in the light of quantum physics :)
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Post by natasha juhl »

It is ok to compare and contrast science and religion as long as you remember that they have two different goals in mind. To say that one is superior to the other would not be an accurate statement because they have different goals to accomplish. They are ultimately complimenting and support each other so you must keep that idea in mind when making comparisons.
“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.” – Lemony Snicket
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Post by Wesusa »

Sciences are generally considered to be the result of studies and scientific evidence. I don't think they should be compared because religion is what people choose to believe in. There is no need to scrutinize something that is meant to be believed in.
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Post by Dabrielle »

I support those who believe that science and religion can be compared and contrasted. As a Christian myself, I see many times when science serves to substantiate accounts in the Bible. I remember reading an article discussing the revolutions of the earth and the author saying that the missing degrees in the earth's revolutions can be explained when Joshua commanded the sun not to go down while he was in battle. This and many other examples prove that the accounts of the Bible are real. I, therefore, believe that such comparisons force the curious to engage in serious research and the results most often than not substantiate the validity or Christianity.
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Post by Hhannahh »

So long as man lives he'll always question everything, including his reality and existence. On that, I say it is okay to compare and contrast since and religion. And we must bare in mind that God is bigger that religion, so a questioning of religion is not outrightly a questioning of God.
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Post by Kennedy NC »

Many religious teachings point to historical happenings and events which may be verified by science. In so far as this is true, it is okay to compare and contrast science and religion.
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Post by Brainiac140 »

Over the years science has always been what seems to prove religion wrong and vice-versa. I think is okay to compare and contrast them. It all depends on the subject at hand
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Post by Christopher M 1 »

I think it is fine to compare science and religion as long as one keeps in mind they are fundamentally two different ways of viewing the world. Religion is based on belief and faith and largely deals with the supernatural. Whereas, science is the process of building knowledge based on fact and observation. It deals only in the natural realm. Therefore, science could never really be used to 'prove' a god or gods exist because by definition they do not occur within the natural realm studied by science.
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Post by rondanoh1 »

I don't think that science and religion have to be separated. Science is a way for man to discover and understand the physical world we are in. Religion is a way to relate to our God (god). But we also must remember that religion human-made and is based on someone's interpretation of their beliefs.
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Post by cogitononsum »

I think that it's great to compare them both, because that enables innovation and new ideas and new technology, because in the end we're all just trying to reach the same goal, trying to explain everything.
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Post by Dimi1 »

Science's gaps are, throughout the ages, covered by religion and vice-versa so I think they both need to be on the table when discussing to get the whole picture.
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Post by markodim721 »

I don't think it's wise to compare science and religion. At the heart of science is the effort to constantly review the results. On the other hand, faith is primarily a matter of belief.
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