The Limits of Science

For this week's spiritual thought, I'd like to touch briefly on the topic of science vs. religion. This is something I'll explore on a much larger scale when I finally get back to my "Why I'm a Latter-day Saint" book. But for today, it'll only be a quick introduction.

I love science. My father instilled in me, when I was very young, a sense of critical thinking and a love of space. He would show me things through his telescope and encourage me to read all kinds of books on math, science, and logic. And that was all before I was 5 years old.

This was further solidified when my 6th-grade science teacher, Mr. Alhadeff, introduced me to Carl Sagan. He encouraged me to watch the original COSMOS "live" on PBS, and I fell in love with all of Sagan's philosophy, instruction, and exposition. 

In hindsight, I can see that this background has given me a very strong handle on life and has helped me to prosper. In fact, the current CEO of one of the largest banks in the US told my wife a couple of years ago that I was the smartest guy at his bank. I disagree with him, but it's the impression I leave on most people who know me. (People who really are smarter than me just shake their heads -- they know I only appear to be smarter because I'm also such a friendly guy.)

And yet, I hold to my faith strongly. Most of my "smart" colleagues tend to be agnostic (not really atheists), and I am like an enigma to them ... with everything that I know, why do I believe in God?

Perhaps I blame Carl Sagan. Even though he was no friend to Christians or any organized religion, he admitted several times in his COSMOS show that there are things we just don't know. Science is limited. There is always more to learn, and science is a very useful tool. However, it can never explain questions in the "why" category. For example, science may be able to describe how the universe was created, but it could never answer WHY it was created. Most scientists are likely to throw up their hands and say, "Why are you even asking that question?"

Much science fiction imagines a world in which we outgrow religion, but I don't think it'll ever go away, because as humans, we will always ask "why?" And science will never be able to answer that question. So, there will always be room for religion. Scientists tend to call this the God of the Gaps, but I'll save that for later. You would not believe how large and engaging this discussion can become.

I'll give a little taste here. I know a napkin proof exists that it's mathematically impossible to prove or disprove God. I'm still working on it, though. I think it might include these elements: In order to prove God exists, one must prove that he (or it) is more than one's imagination, but one cannot even prove that one's view of reality exists. To disprove God, you can't overcome the "God made it look that way" argument, OR one must obtain godlike knowledge, which ends up creating God.

Yeah ... that napkin proof still needs work. But I know that God will always exist outside the realm of science, math, logic. This is why logical discussions and arguments are very weak in converting people in to or out of religion. One can only acquire spiritual matters through spiritual means. I know that God and Jesus exist, not because of my awesome analytical skills, but because of my feelings and my experiences. 

I know that ultimately there is no logic in the singularity behind what I believe, and I'm perfectly fine with this. Because, ultimately, there never was any requirement for this logic to exist. I know the limitations of logic, math, and science (Hofstadter's Gödel, Escher, Bach is also highly recommended reading), and I see exactly how both science and religion help in my life to give me fuller understanding and perspective in life.

There is so much more on this to come later ...