Can God and Science co-exist
Can God and Science co-exist? The answer is, maybe.
The problem with monotheistic religions is that they, traditionally, have been fanatical about their belief in creationism. The concept of evolution is viewed as an affront to the belief that God Almighty created everything. This belief, or better put, superstition has been a detriment in our understanding of ourselves as a species, our relationship to the universe and nature, and of our true origins. The book of Genesis (actaully the whole Bible itself) has been an obstacle to our spiritual and intellectual enlightenment, it has pitted the scientific community against the religious, rather than unifying two very crucial aspects of our society in order to reach a true understanding of where we come from and where we're heading.
The Catholic Church will be sponsoring a five day event in Rome entitled Biological Evolution, Facts and Theories, which will feature scientists, theologians, and philosophers from around the globe to tackle a subject that has divided western civilization since the dawn of creationism.
This surprising move comes after the Church of England issued an apology to Darwin for having "misunderstood" his theories of biological evolution and natural selection. The Catholic Church claims that they never condemned the theoris or the work of Charles Darwin and therefore will not be issuing any apologies of their own, but they are open to the debate.
Could this all mean that we are finally ready to start making some progress? What effect could these talks have on the way Americans view this issue, which is so in the U.S.? Will we find a middle ground between religion and science?
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The issue here is not about
The issue here is not about finding a middle ground, but understanding that what is in Genesis, in particular, is something that is taken as a historically accurate event, rather than being viewed as a metaphor. The same story exists in many other cultures albeit expressed using different characters and symbols. Whether we are talking about the Judeo-Christian or some other religion the underlying theme is the same. What we lose here is not only our connection to the universe but also our understanding or our own spirituality against a mythic field rather than a historical one.
It is not that the Bible, per se, is an obstacle, but rather our insistance that it is a book of fact and not one which is rich in symbols and metaphors. A book that can teach us and enrich our lives if only we would view it more from a psychological and spiritual perspective and not a factual and historical one. Its like saying that Dorthy and Toto actually existed and that there really is a Land of Oz...of by the way, pay not attention to the man behind the curtain. Darwin did you say.....