Will God Survive Science?

Today I heard Dan Brown being interviewed on the CBC radio program "Q". He is the author who stirred up a lot of controversy with his book called The Da Vinci Code. Now he has a new one entitled Origin.

Mr. Brown commented that one of the big questions facing humanity is: "Will God survive science?"  I jolted at that question. Unexpectedly it brought to my attention, once again, how different the world seems to a mystic.

For me, it is a matter of whether religion will survive science, not God. Science is merely a tool used by human primates to get at the true nature of the reality in which we are situated. No doubt Homo sapiens has been able to use knowledge thus acquired in astounding ways. But, to entertain the idea that our species can actually escape from the Law governing our organic predicament is very revealing.

Don't you think it is about time for all of us to hold up a looking glass for honest self-inspection? We have got to stop coveting illusions about our omnipotence or face extinction. Technological advancement and character development are separate aspects of the human animal. If we dare to face the truth about our own humble position we get to see that humans are barely domesticated primates with lethal weapons.

Too many of us lack a conscious awareness of our own psychological processes. I am not saying that it is easy to escape the stranglehold of one's own subjective frame of reference. Nevertheless, an accurate assessment of one's own thoughts and actions is what is required of the human animal. And that, is what religion was meant to deal with. With this in mind we can see how far off course our religious institutions have taken us.

We have reason to be disappointed in our religious organizations. They have not been very successful at prodding Homo sapiens along the evolutionary ladder. And now, it really does look like our cognitive science has come up with some very effective tools to help the human primate turn his gaze inward so that he can deal with his inner beast.

Everything has its day. Maybe the religion we have known, and in some cases learned to distrust, has taken humanity as far as it can. But does this mean we should be throwing out the baby with the bathwater?  Can we re-purpose our religious institutions for the evolutionary task at hand?

Regardless of  the fate we choose for religion, let us refrain from imitating the folks of Genesis 11 in the Bible. In order to make a name for themselves they built the tower of Babel; and then, they watched as The Almighty made sure it crumbled to the ground.

Faithfully yours,

Sheila Banks

                                     Pic: Badhoo/Dreamstime.com

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