Well, of course they are, but the new pope spoke to the subject today:
Science made such rapid progress in the 20th century that people may sometimes be confused about how the Christian faith can still be compatible with it, Pope Benedict said on Friday.
But science and religion are not opposed to each other and Christians should not be afraid to try to understand how they compliment [sic] each other in explaining the mystery of life on Earth, he told the Vatican's doctrinal department.
The Pope made his comments at a time of heated debate, mostly in the United States, about intelligent design arguments challenging evolution. A Pennsylvania court ruled in December that intelligent design could not be taught as science in school.
"The Church joyfully accepts the real conquests of human knowledge and recognizes that spreading the Gospel also means really taking charge of the prospects and the challenges that modern knowledge unlocks," he said.
The dialogue between religion and science would actually help the faithful see "the logic of faith in God," said the Pope, speaking to members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
As I've said before, the trouble isn't with science but rather with many scientists. True science is simply another window into understanding God's creation.
4 comments:
"True science is simply another window into understanding God's creation."
Amen!
"True science is simply another window into understanding God's creation."
Still not sure what you mean by "true science." Scientist are always better understanding God's creation, their individual perceptions of God notwithstanding. But scientists are simply unable to either prove or disprove the existence of God, nor is it their job to confirm your beliefs about how God's creation came about. That, I think, is the purview of philosophers and theologians.
Well, for example, God created gravity. When Newton 'discovered' gravity and we began to understand it, we came to understand what God created more fully. When we sent men to the moon we came to a better understanding of what God created. The apostle Paul also tells us that observing God's creation also helps us understand God Himself:
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." (Romans 1:20)
No argument from me so far. Of course God created gravity. God created all the physical laws that govern the functioning of the Universe. And God created the chemical laws from which life virtually springs.
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