Theory and Theology The Overdue Collaboration
[Music]
when faced with two choices
how do you come to a decision what
factors you consider important
maybe you get a gut feeling or make a
pro con list
or maybe you use logic or listen to your
emotions
my first significant decision dates back
to 2005
when i was a year old in traditional
korean culture
a baby’s first birthday is celebrated
with a big party
the main event is when the baby picks an
item from a selection
that represents different
characteristics or achievements for the
future
so there might be a ball for athleticism
a long string for a long life
or even a pencil for intellect so you
can imagine the commotion as people
tried to get me to pick a certain item
they favored
every time i would reach out to grab
something there’d be an uproar
and i’d get scared and pull back
eventually i did end up choosing the
stack of cash so i’m waiting a couple
years for that wealth to kick in
but even as a baby i struggled to make a
choice
every time i would make up my mind
something would disrupt that thought and
turn me another direction
this is precisely how i felt approaching
science as a catholic
about three years ago i heard a sermon
on the holiness of the human person
i found this really compelling the bible
teaches that all human beings are made
in the image of god
this makes us perfect and holy and
different from the rest of god’s
creation
a couple months later my biology teacher
introduced me to the concept of genetic
engineering
this is the practice of altering an
organism’s genetic makeup
this technology can make humans
healthier and even more
stronger faster and fitter i thought
that’s really cool and then i paused
hold on if we’re so perfect and so holy
made in the image of god what’s holding
us
back from making changes why are we at
liberty to create these changes
but at the same time if we have the
means to make humans lives
healthier or easier what’s holding us
back from doing so
growing up catholic i learned about many
principles that would guide me in
everyday life
when i say catholic i mean that pretty
seriously baptism at four
first commune at seven confirmation at
14 which is
by far the worst age to have any extra
oil on your forehead
but that’s an issue for another time
so i began my faith journey very early
on one of the first things i remember
learning about
is the book of genesis this book teaches
that
god created the entire universe in six
days i didn’t question this
at all i took it as fact but can you
expect otherwise from
an eight-year-old however as a kid i was
also a big reader
i read a lot all the time and wherever i
could
and eventually i came across this
concept known as the big bang theory
this theory states that the universe
began as a single point that expanded
with immense force
again i was puzzled how could there be
two explanations for one event
was the big bang a work of god maybe
if so why wasn’t it in the bible story
since then i’ve had many science versus
religion moments
i thought i’d have to choose or
prioritize one worldview over the other
however i came to a realization when i
had this epiphany
science deals with the natural world the
physical and religion deals with the
supernatural
and the spiritual now neither fit
perfectly into these boxes
but recognizing that they play different
roles is a good starting point
there are issues that arise when one
discipline makes claims over events
outside of its usual sphere for example
that genesis story about the creation of
the universe
when taken literally as it’s often
taught this
bible passage goes against many proven
theories in
astronomy or ecology but now we’re
talking about more than light
or water or plants things only become
more complicated when human beings get
involved the bible teaches that the
first humans adam and eve
were present at the beginning of the
earth but darwin’s theory of evolution
teaches that all living things
including humans undergo changes through
natural selection
in fourth grade i got hooked in this
documentary tv series called walking
with dinosaurs
there are a lot of weird-looking
creatures in this show and i enjoyed
watching them
until i realized that the narrator kept
referring to them as our ancestors
our ancestors what did he mean our
the creatures in the screen looked
nothing like me or adam or eve
so i came up with some wild berries
was the biblical adam a carbon atom
maybe
or was eve bacteria thankfully i’ve
learned a couple things since
fourth grade in my sophomore year here
at saint francis i learned that the old
testament often uses metaphors
to convey a message or a theme we cannot
take
everything literally so maybe the
prophet jonah did spend
three days and three nights inside of a
whale but the major takeaway of that
story
is not lung capacity but unconditional
faith
we must learn to interpret what we read
the bible does not always seek to inform
us about the workings of the universe
it is also meant to guide your
spirituality
so we know that science and religion are
not at odds they play different roles
dictating different areas of our world
but i’m going to go further and say that
there is potential for collaboration
here
at a basic level there’s a great deal of
common ground both seek to provide a
better understanding of our world and
how it came to be
moving forward they both want to improve
humanity and its impact
so why is it so hard to create this
partnership
the crucial difference between science
and religion lie in their
modes of thinking this is where my
lifelong internal conflict began
with the fundamental differences between
the ways that science and religion
taught me how to think
the scientific method teaches us to test
ideas over and over again
and collect hard data the thought of
believing something without direct
of evidence is a sin in the scientific
world
but as a catholic that’s precisely what
i do
i put my trust in a higher power and i
take faith in miracles that i’ve never
actually witnessed another important
difference between science and religion
are the timelines that they occur on
while religion has remained consistent
for thousands and thousands of years
centuries ago scientific ideas were
explained very differently
for example the earth was the center of
the universe
if there was a storm it meant the gods
were angry
so while science has progressed
exponentially since then
religion has persisted and while we’ve
come
a long way since sundials i do have to
give ancient civilizations some kudos
they placed science and religion in the
same context for them there was no
divide
and here at saint francis this catholic
school our religion and scientific
education come hand in hand
maybe you begin biology class with
intentions
or walk from physics to moral issues or
maybe you find these prayer hands coming
out before a chem test
i find the duality really enriching and
evidently thought provoking
so partnering science and religion in
the real world could very well be
worthwhile
and effective because in truth neither
holds all the answers science can give
us the what
and the how but it can’t give us the why
and that why is crucial while knowledge
certainly is
power by itself it’s not quite enough we
need meaning and we need purpose for the
things that we put our energy into
and religion can give us that as can
philosophy or ethics
my point is science and religion alone
cannot stand as strong as they could
together
i don’t deny that this partnership will
be difficult religious views
and scientific advances are becoming
increasingly politicized
in the current cobit 19 pandemic
protocols such as wearing a mask
or getting the vaccine are polarizing
people
often the reasoning against
science-backed safety measures is
religious
whether it’s about complete dependence
in a higher power or
questioning of the vaccine is ethical
these views take religion to an extreme
without considering the overarching
principles of empathy or safety
science offers things that religion
cannot the facts the figures
and the constant revision and vice versa
religion can offer us deeper meaning why
are we putting our time and our energy
into these endeavors
and should we be
using both principles of science and
religion lets us have a greater impact
on our constantly changing worlds
if we recognize truth in both we can
finally create
this long overdue collaboration thank
you
you