Philosophy and Religion

Religion and Science: Is it possible to believe in both?

If someone said to you that “it is irrational to have a religious belief because of the scientific advances of our time”, how would you response? Would you agree or disagree with their view? I know that I would disagree, because to me religion and science are related; and instead of hindering one another they further advance one another. When asked to think about this, most individuals would assume that scientists and theists are always in contrast with one another and that they can’t get along because of their field of study, but instead of breaking down the bible and what people believe, science can also give explanation to some of the mysteries of the past.

The example most commonly used when arguing this point is the Theory of Evolution by Charles Darwin. His theory was actually a response to William Paley’s Design Argument. With Darwin’s theory, he thought that he had discovered a natural and scientific explanation for the order of nature and an order of species-specifically how differing species came into existence. With this theory, some say that this proves that God does not exist, and therefore discrediting religion. Another way to look at this theory is that evolution is a tool that God used to develop humans and other organisms. So instead of proving how religion is false, it gives us an idea as to how we came into being.

Another position to consider would be William Craig’s, he argues that the beginning of the universe did have a cause; that the Big Bang Theory did not occur naturally; it had a cause behind it. Those who opposed Craig’s theory never argued the fact that whatever exists has to have a cause. Some would have defended the argument by giving the example that a horse could not have come into existence from nothing, and so that would also apply to the universe. With this you would have gotten the argument about how would God have come into existence? Some would say that the...