Kaliwanagan Kay Kristo (May 25, 2017): There is a fundamental conflict between science & belief in God || JOHN PESEBRE

Question 1: What is the brief statement of the doubt?

Hindi ko na maubos mabilang ang pagkarami-raming mga kabataan -- Christians man yan o non-Christians, na nagsabi na merong fundamental na conflict ang science and belief in God. Although this has been refuted time and time again most especially sa academia, tila baga hindi pa siya nakakarating sa grassroots level lalo na sa mga kabataan. Kaya naman many youth these days assume that there is really a fundamental conflict. By “fundamental” dito we mean yung nasa ugat mismo o nasa gitna o nasa kalikasan. Although napakarami na pong paraan kung paano ito sasagutin, we will try briefly sa episode na ito to provide a quick response.

Question 2: Where did this doubt come from?

Yung sikat na issue ng fundamental conflict ng science at belief in God is a fairly new one kasi nga ang modern science is fairly new discipline sa history at  marapat lamang na sabihin ay nagsimula talaga nung panahon nila Newton, Galileo, Boyle, Copernicus atbp. Hindi ko sinasabi na walang aspects ng science nung medieval na po pero yung tila baga universally institutionalized siya ay naging unprecedented sa emergence ng modern science.

May mga ginugol na rin akong time sa pag aaral nito dahil sa isang lecture na prinesent ko sa isang seminar. Kumuha na lang ako ng quote galing sa isang libro to summarize ang pinanggalingan netong idea na ito. Ayon sa What’s So Great About Christianity? ang simulain ng conflict na ito sa modern times ay ang mga sumusunod --

The first is John William Draper, who introduced the "warfare" model in his popular 1874 book History of the Conflict between Religion and Science . . . The second source is Andrew Dickson White, the first president of Cornell University, whose 1896 two-volume study History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom is a more sophisticated warfare account.

DAgdag pa ng author,

There is a Star Wars quality to the science versus religion narrative. It is typically portrayed as a battle between good and evil: The goodguys developed a new way of acquiring knowledge based on testing and evidence. The forces of darkness were captive to old doctrines derived from sacred books, such as the long-held belief that earth is flat. Despite their ignorance, the forces of darkness occupied the seats of political power. Fearful that their old way of superstition was threatened, the dark forces suppressed and persecuted those who dissented from orthodoxy. A terrible battle ensued. Many good people were accused of heresy merely for advancing valid scientific theories. Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake for saying the universe is infinite. Copernicus and Galileo were persecuted for showing that the earth revolves around the sun. Fortunately, this sad history now is behind us; the forces of light have prevailed over the forces of darkness. Today science is on the advance and religion is on the retreat. Scientists can now work unmolested and the Catholic church has even apologized for its treatment of Galileo. The moral of the story is that we should always be grateful for the rise of science and vigilant in guarding against the fanaticism of religion.

Question 3: What is wrong about this doubt?

Ayon na din sa may akda, “This thrilling drama suffers from only one limitation: it is not true.“

Question 4: How is it wrong?

By way of refutation, sabi ni historian David Lindberg, "There was no warfare between science and the church." Ang mga historians ngayon are “virtually unanimous” sa pagtuligsa sa maling conflict na ito na isa lamang fabrication; at ang mga fabricators ay yung dalawang napaka influential na tao na nabanggit ko kanina na si Draper at si White.

Moreover, if you look sa mga architects ng modern science may mapapansin ka sa roll call na ito,

Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Brahe, Descartes, Boyle, Newton, Leibniz, Gassendi, Pascal, Mersenne, Cuvier, Harvey, Dalton, Faraday, Herschel, Joule, Lyell, Lavoisier, Priestley, Kelvin, Ohm, Ampere, Steno, Pasteur, Maxwell, Planck, Mendel. A good number of these scientists were clergymen. Gassendi and Mersenne were priests. So was Georges Lemaitre, the Belgian astronomer who first proposed the "big bang" theory for the origin of the universe. Mendel, whose discovery of the principles of heredity would provide vital support for the theory of evolution, spent his entire adult life as a monk in an Augustinian monastery. Where would modern science be without these men? Some were Protestant and some were Catholic, but all saw their scientific vocation in distinctively Christian terms.

By way of affirmation ng ating Christian commitment, ang Diyos ang creator ng natural world, ng kalikasan (Gen 1). Ang kalikasan ay nagsisiwalat ng Kaniyang kaluwalhatian. Sa Romans 1:20 we are told, “Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made.“ Halos ganyan din po ang sinasabi ng Psalm 19 at 148. Ang Panginoon ay nangungusap sa kalikasan at isa sa mga paraan para matuklas ng tao ito ay sa pamamagitan ng science kasi through science we understand the mechanisms of nature. Hindi niya lang ni-reveal ang kanyang wisdom sa nature, but He also gave us the ability to understand it down to its quantum level o farthest galaxies, although very limited pa rin ang alam  natin. Yet we can talk meaningfully about them.

Question 5: What wrong idea about God is this doubt trying to create?

Ang maling idea ng Diyos that ths doubt is trying to communicate is a god that does not reveal himself in nature, does not care for men to see his glory at does not concern himself that men will use their minds (maski pa siya ang gumawa neto). Hindi ko ma-gets ang ganitong diyos kaya naman malamang ito rin ang nire-reject ng mga ayaw sa Diyos. They are rejecting the wrong god.

Question 6: What is the Biblical teaching about God that recuperates this wrong idea about God?

Let’s read Psalm 148:6,

Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights above. Praise him, all his angels, praise him, all his heavenly hosts. Praise him, sun and moon, praise him, all you shining stars. Praise him, you highest heavens and you waters above the skies. Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. He set them in place for ever and ever; he gave a decree that will never pass away.

Question 7: What application can you draw from this correct teaching about God?

Answer the question, “Anu-ano yung mga inaatasan dito na magpuri sa Panginoon?” 2) Ano ang nilagay ng Psalmist na dahilan kung bakit ang mga ito ay dapat magpuri?

Now do this as meditation, “Bakit sa tingin mo nararapat lamang na papurihan ang Panginoon habang ika’y namamangha sa kalikasan?”

Question 8: What action point can you resolve to do at this point?

Prayer is important for the believer. Gratitude in prayer is important. Finding a place, yung medyo natural ang environment is also important kasi ang nature nga daw ay paraan ng pagpapahayag ng Diyos ng kanyang kaluwalhatian. Pwede ka mag retreat, maski over the weekend lang to a very natural place and there talk to God in prayer and studying his Word.