No Conflict Between Science and Religion

There is no conflict between true science and true religion because both serve the truth; the contradiction is in the eyes of the interpreter, and those who write about such false interpretations. First, we look at the false interpretation of the so-called scientists. If you examine the works of eminent scientists, e.g., Albert Einstein, you will discover that they (or a majority of them) believe in God. The controversy happens when some scientists say that there is no God. They should know better! Science deals with things physical, and those that can be examined by the senses. The true scientist sees all the laws of nature and he or she knows its limits. While it is evident that there is an intelligent being that designed all these wonderful laws, that is also not direct evidence of God's presence. So it goes both ways. The point that I'm driving at here is that true scientists cannot make pronouncements on the absolute presence or absence of God; if they're honest, they will not say such things. If they insist that God does not exist, that is their opinion; they should not misrepresent science in general. This conflict is demonstrated in the movie Contact, which I saw recently (rerun from HBO).

On the other hand, there are those who call themselves religious teachers or evangelists who absolutely reject science because it contradicts the bible. After reading Genesis (describing the creation of the universe in just six days), they insist that God literally created the world in 6 days. They then start to discredit such disciplines as archeology, paleontology, geology, biology (evolution, e.g.) etc. and disrupt the proper education of their listeners. The bible is not a science book! Contrary to others' bias against it, the Church insists on the complementarity between science and religion, between faith and reason. Others may retort that the Church suppressed such scientists in the past like Galileo or Darwin, and surely some clerics overstepped their roles as ministers. If people try to examine what happened, perhaps they should focus on that the scientists said. People of faith cried foul when such learned scientists started to develop their own philosophies and overstepped their roles as scientists. How can science disprove God's existence? Without science we'll still be living in the dark ages, so it surely is very important. But theories cannot delve into things spiritual, as it is largely physical and intellectual.

Remember, the bible is not a science book; it's not even a history book (not written the way historians write history). On the other hand, a science book is not a religious book. There is really no conflict—Faith and Reason need each other.