Faith in Science |
| Posted by The Masked Crusader (cschalk) on Nov 10 2009 |
I've been reading a lot of articles and watching a lot of television on astronomy and physics, and science in general, and I believe that it can be proven that God exists. Granted, to accept my position, a bit of faith is required, so we need to start our discussion with what faith is, both theologically and scientifically.
The definition that scientists, agnostics and atheists would use to describe Faith comes from the Webster's Dictionary: a firm belief in something for which there is no proof. Theologically the definition is similar: A belief in something which is not seen which is true. For the purpose of these discussions, I would define faith slightly different: A firm belief that something is true even though we may lack the technological capability to verify its truth.
I think this definition is a little more friendly to both the religious as well as the scientists, including non-religious scientists. Let me give you a little background on my experiences. I was raised in a religious family. My parents were very religious and I attended church both during the weekends and was educated from religious texts each and every day during high school in seminary. For those out there that may have recognized this pattern, Yes - I am LDS. I am a religious person, but I don't see religion and science butting heads but rather confirming the other to be true. I am not an educated scientist, my education is in computers and technology rather than physics and classical science, but the concepts, I think, are the same.
My definition is faith is oddly similar to the definition of a hypothesis. In the Scientific Method, a hypothesis is an "educated guess" or theory based on research. The hypothesis is the basis of an experiment where the validity of that theory is scrutinized. The end result of that experiment is the answer to the truth of the hypothesis. If the experiment confirms that the hypothesis is true, then the hypothesis is re-categorized as a law. If the experiment suggests that the hypothesis is false, then notes are taken, research is advanced, and a new hypothesis is created for the next experiment.
I will give you an example how this process works in Science. The hypothesis that I'll be using is that pure oxygen can light flame onto a glowing splint. The experiment to test this hypothesis would consist of three parts, A glowing splint, a vessel full of pure oxygen and a person to put the glowing splint into the oxygen. This is a first year chemistry experiment, and all first year chemistry students perform the experiment. I did when I was in freshman Chemistry in college. If you do this experiment, you'll observe that pure oxygen does, in fact, light a glowing splint. The hypothesis is true.
How is a hypothesis proven? Well, one way to test the hypothesis is to perform an experiment based on the claim of another. The classic way to confirm a scientific principle is to redo an experiment someone else has done. This is how many of the elements are identified: One scientist makes an element (usually a super heavy element), and another scientist creates the same element. If both parties can come to the same result doing the same experiment, then the hypothesis true.
So, have there been other people who have given us an experiment we can do in order to prove God exists? Yes, and I'll get to that in a future segment of this series. I am not interested in preaching religion in this series, but rather to correlate scientific principles with the idea of a supreme being.
I believe that there is a God, that He lives. I also believe in science. I believe that the laws of science are true laws that must be followed. I posit two things: First, God must follow the laws of science. and second, God knows and understands higher laws that we do not currently have the technology to study or understand. This means that God, in my definition, is a scientist, the Ultimate Scientists if you will.
How many theories are posited by scientists that are, to this day, unconfirmed? On top of that, how many laws of nature are not known or even fully understood by the human race? Countless I'm sure.
So, back to the hypothesis: God exists. Since a hypothesis is an educated guess, we must must do the research and educate ourselves on the subject of God before we can come up with an adequate experiment. You cannot test the laws of physics without an education in Physics. One cannot solve proofs in calculus unless they are educated in mathematics. The same goes for the hypothesis that God exists. You can't merely dismiss the theory until you are educated in the subject, have tested your hypothesis, and come to a scientific conclusion.
During this series, I will explore different subjects and suggest some hypotheses of God that are currently unanswered by modern science. Such subjects as where did the universe come from, what existed before the Big Bang, entities of higher dimensions, and the like. Since my experiments are of the nature of theology, I will use references from scripture and the works of other religious leaders to give basis and back up my thoughts.
I have enabled commenting on this series, so if you want to leave me a comment, please do so. I do ask, however, that you remain professional and constructive in your comments on this site. Please view our terms of service for guidelines on interacting on this site.
Last changed: Jul 19 2011 at 11:02 AM
BackComments
| None Found |
Add Comment