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Science and Religion



Hi all--

The discussion appears to be changing towards the relationship of
religion and science, or the relationship of science and religion.
Whichever one prefers. My wife and I are getting ready to have our book
on science quotations go to the publisher and a section of the quotes is
on science and religion. I thought that I would share some of our work
for your consideration. I am not attempting to expand the discussion,
just provide you with some words that others have said on the subject.

The following two quotes suggest that there should be a distinction
between theology and religion and the relation of theology to science.

Toynbee, Arnold J.
Theology, not religion, is the antithesis to science.
Toynbee's Industrial Revolution
Notes and Jottings (p. 243)

Tillich, Paul
...theology cannot rest on scientific theory. But it must relate its
understanding of man to an understanding of universal nature, for man is
a part of nature and statements about nature underlie every statement
about him.
In T. Dobzhansky
The Biology of Ultimate Concern
Chapter 6 (pp. 109-10)


Heisenberg has pondered the topic of science and religion.

Heisenberg, Werner
In the history of science, ever since the famous trial of Galileo, it
has repeatedly been claimed that scientific truth cannot be reconciled
with the religious interpretation of the world. Although I am now
convinced that scientific truth is unassailable in its own field, I have
never found it possible to dismiss the content of religious thinking as
simply part of an outmoded phase in the consciousness of mankind, a part
we shall have to give up from now on. Thus in the course of my life I
have repeatedly been compelled to ponder on the relationship of these
two regions of thought, for I have never been able to doubt the reality
of that to which they point.
Across the Frontiers
Chapter XVI(p. 213)

And Freeman Dyson has stated--

Dyson, Freeman
Professional scientists today live under a taboo against mixing science
and religion.
Disturbing the Universe
Chapter 23 (p. 245)


And from Einstein--

Einstein, Albert

Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.
Out of My Later Years
Science and Religion
II (p. 26)


...science not only purifies the religious impulse of the dross of its
anthropomorphism but also contributes to a religious spiritualization of
our understanding of life.
Out of My Later Years
Science and Religion
II (p. 29)


...the cosmic religious experience is the strongest and noblest driving
force behind scientific research.
Cosmic Religion
Cosmic Religion (p. 52)


I am of the opinion that all the finer speculations in the realm of
science spring from a deep religious feeling, and that without such
feeling they would not be fruitful.
Forum
Science and God: A Dialog (p. 373)
Volume 83, June 1930




The following three quotes emphasize exactly what has been going on
during the last few days of discussion.

Sperry, Roger
Probably the widest, deepest rift in contemporary culture and the source
of its most profound conflict is that separating the two major opposing
views of existence upheld by science and by orthodox religions,
respectively. Together they represent two totally different kinds of
'truth', the former asking us to accept impersonal mass-energy accounts
of the cosmos, the latter requiring faith in varied spiritual
explanations.
Perspectives in Biology and Medicine
The New Mentalist Paradigm and Ultimate Concern (p. 415)
Volume 29, Number 3, Part I, Spring 1986


Raven, Charles E.
To mention Science and Religion in the same sentence is...to affirm an
antithesis and suggest a conflict.
Science, Religion and the Future
Chapter I (p. 1)


Temple, Frederick
Science and Religion seem very often to be the most determined foes to
each other that can be found. The scientific man often asserts that he
cannot find God in Science; and the religious man often asserts that he
cannot find Science in God.
The Relations between Religion and Science (p. 4)

However, many conform to the concept that science and religion (religion
and science) go hand-in-hand.

Hertz, Rabbi Richard
I find no conflict between science and religion. Science teaches what
is. Religion teaches what ought to be. Science describes. Religion
prescribes. Science analyzes what we can see. Religion deals with what
is unseen. Each can help the other.
The American Jew in Search of Himself.
Chapter 4 (p. 42)


Hooykaas, R.
Metaphorically speaking, whereas the bodily ingredients of science may
have been Greek, its vitamins and hormones were biblical.
Religion and The Rise of Modern Science (p. 162)


Huxley, Julian
...it is no longer possible to maintain that science and religion must
operate in thought-tight compartments or concern separate sectors of
life; they are both relevant to the whole of human existence.
In Teilhard de Chardin
The Phenomenon of Man
Introduction (p. 26)


Huxley, Thomas
True science and true religion...are twin-sisters, and the separation of
either from the other is sure to prove the death of both. Science
prospers exactly in proportion as it is religious; and religion
flourishes in exact proportion to the scientific depth and firmness of
its basis. The great deeds of philosophers have been less the fruit of
their intellect than of the direction of that intellect by an imminently
religious tone of mind. Truth has yielded herself rather to their
patience, their love, their single-heartedness, and their self-denial,
than to their logical acumen.
In Herbert Spencer
Education
Chapter I (p. 81)


John Paul II, Pope
Science can purify religion from error and superstition. Religion can
purify science from idolatry and false absolutes.
In James Reston
Galileo, A Life (p 461)


I hope that the quotes presented will emphasize that the topic of
discussion is indeed a great and meaningful topic. One can see how
great the topic is by the individuals who have spoken on the subject.

In any event, I hope that you will enjoy these quotes and find them of
use somehow. If nothing more, present them to your science classes and
see what the students have to say about them.

Have a nice day
--
Carl C. Gaither & Alma E. Cavazos-Gaither (Authors)
Statistically Speaking: A Dictionary of Quotations
Physically Speaking: A Dictionary of Quotations on Physics and Astronomy
Mathematically Speaking: A Dictionary of Quotations
Practically Speaking: A Dictionary of Quotations on Engineering
Medically Speaking: A Dictionary of Quotations on Dentistry, Medicine,
and Nursing
Scientifically Speaking: A Dictionary of Quotations
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/StatBook/index.html