Science and religion

[Tonus]

So today the pastor was saying how science and the bible go hand in hand, but science hasn't yet caught up with the bible.

It sounds as if he's saying that one day, science will be sophisticated enough to prove the non-scientific and supernatural and mystical content of the Bible. I would say that where this is concerned, science will never "catch up with the Bible" because so much that is in the Bible is not scientific. After all, one of the rationalizations that I frequently hear from believers is that god exists on some plane that cannot be understood or explained by science.

I know that the JWs teach that some biblical references show that it's in harmony with science, by showing some texts that can be interpreted that way or compared with what are thought to be common ideas of the time (ie, that blood circulated through the body, or that ants stored up food). Assuming that this is true (that they held views that were contrary to common understanding, but scientifically accurate) does not change the fact that many of the things described in the Bible are unlikely to be confirmed by science because they are supernatural occurrences.

[Cinjin]

I've only considered myself a non-christian for about a month or 2. I'm just getting to a point where calling myself an atheist isn't too weird. I'm still going to church bc my family doesn't know yet, my husband is on the worship team, and I help out too. It's hard to back out of being so involved all at once.

I totally understand that.
It can take many many years to shake off the hold any religion has on a person. It's called imprinting and it's the reason why it's so important for christians to get their hands on children. That's whole-nother thread though.

Check out this website and you will see that it is not just the parishioners that are opening their eyes. The preachers themselves even find the truth. It destroys the lie that christianity offers some kind of "inner-peace" when 20-year preachers become atheists.

By the way, the greatest thing I ever did for my own life was get rid of that horrible disease called Christianity.
Life is so beautiful when you are finally free to enjoy it without guilt and self-loathing.

[pocaracas]

So today the pastor was saying how science and the bible go hand in hand, but science hasn't yet caught up with the bible.

Others claim the same about other holy books...





Which holy book is right?

[sarcasticface]

So today the pastor was saying how science and the bible go hand in hand, but science hasn't yet caught up with the bible.

Others claim the same about other holy books...





Which holy book is right?

Fascinating. That's exactly what I was thinking at church the other day. If someone is going to say that the bible is true because it is scientifically accurate, than he's got to also assume that the other holy books that are scientifically accurate are true. Which, I've heard it said that the quran has more science in it than the bible. I have no idea if that's true, but it's definitely something that interests me.

[The Grand Nudger]

You've read entirely too much into that chestnut. Science is only valuable (insofar as such a generous interpretation of any given religious text is concerned) when it offers reinforcement, however shaky, of a previously held belief about magic. This is why science is simultaneously right and wrong in the eyes of those who might propose this despite reaching both conclusions (the "right" and "wrong" ones) using the same principles, standards, and process. Science, for example, supports the quranic narrative as much as it supports the biblical narrative (which is to say not at all) - yet amongst those who believe that it does science will be mystifyingly exclusionary. "My magic is less magical than your magic". I think the really interesting thing about this trend is that science has clearly become something one wants on their side, even in cases of those who would like to assert the truth of the miraculous. If science wasn't on their side, would they abandon their belief? Doubtful in many cases.

Talk about worshiping at the altar of another.

[Mister Agenda]

Hello.

I'm in the process of finding out what I believe. I still go to a Christian church even though I don't believe in the bible anymore. So today the pastor was saying how science and the bible go hand in hand, but science hasn't yet caught up with the bible. When I heard him say this I could hardly wait to get home and find out what you guys had to say.

I don't know anything about science, so I would love to get suggestions on videos, articles, blogs, or books about how religion and science go together OR how they DON'T go together. I just want to do my research. Do science and other religions (besides Christianity) match up? Science and the Quran?

Please share. I am but a sponge ready to soak up your knowledge.

Science and religion match up when the religion is willing to accommodate the science. Any religion that holds scripture as trumping science concerning the nature and origin of the universe can't honestly say that it is compatible with science.

[thesummerqueen]

strodel is a Fallacy Jack in the Box.

[The Reality Salesman01]

When the pastor says that science has not yet caught up with the bible, he is making a comparison of zero relevance. Science is not intended to be applied to an unfalsifiable hypothesis. It is reproducible data and demonstrative conclusions and experiments to which science is applied. If you expect science to be able to demonstrate how you talk to invisible spirts that only you see and hear, and for science to explain how those spirits tell you what to do, and science doesn't deliver, I suppose you could say science hasn't caught up, but it's not trying to either. Nor does anyone expect it to. Perhaps a more accurate assessment would be that science isn't compatible with the Bible. Even if science attempts to explain the physical phenomena occurring in your brain and nervous system to which your "spiritual experience" can be attributed, it is of little use if you intend on chucking the explanation out of the window and instead pronouncing it as a spiritual revelation! Suggesting that the Bible is somehow superior is simply a misunderstanding and makes just as much sense as saying: "While calculators are useful at math, they are inferior to typewriters." You could use a calculator to help design a type writer and determine angles and electronic functions necessary for the typer writer to be efficient, but if you expect the calculator to help you with explaining what a person writes with it from their imagination, you may be expecting too much from the wrong device.

[fr0d0]

TBH the pastor sounds more of an atheist than a theist. It's a lot of atheists that are constantly saying that science will explain the gaps in our understandings, even when those subjects are sepcifically non scientific.

[Ryantology]

TBH the pastor sounds more of an atheist than a theist. It's a lot of atheists that are constantly saying that science will explain the gaps in our understandings, even when those subjects are sepcifically non scientific.

I agree with you here. Theists specialize in the analysis of fiction; science is of little help in that enterprise.