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Pondering Science, Religion, and Truth
Most of us in Logan Senior High School’s Class of ‘58
were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the
Mormons). At our 50th class reunion this summer it was
interesting to see how many different directions life had taken us and the
effect on religious faith. Our brilliant classmate Kip Thorne
became a world renowned astrophysicist. He told us about his experiments
with gravity wave detectors to see if “ripples of warping of time” can be
observed when black holes collide. At a previous class reunion (1998) he
told us that his Mormon heritage had given him his sense of ethics, but he
had left our church. In contrast, our senior class president, Quinton
Cook
became an attorney but his life’s path was also filled with lay religious
leadership service. With strength and encouragement from his classmate/wife,
Mary Gaddie, he accepted one church calling after another. Eventually he was
called to be a “general authority” in the Church. Less than a year ago he
was called to be a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, an ultimate
Church leadership role. In our church we revere apostles as prophets, seers,
and revelators.
Also this summer I had a science/religion discussion
with a house guest about Truth. He believed divine revelation, as
recorded in Holy Scripture, to be absolute truth. If science conflicted with
what he read in scripture, the science must be wrong. To me, conflicts
between science and religion should be ascribed to inadequate understanding
of science, religion, or both. My religion embraces all truth, regardless of
its source.
Science primarily describes the nature of
existence, with only incidental capacity to imply anything about the
purpose of existence. Science starts with our current level of ignorance,
uses the scientific method to lead our understanding from one useful concept
to the next, and rejects failed hypotheses along the way. Experiment by
experiment, theory by theory our comprehension of nature expands into the
infinite details that can be discovered. Science also invents useful
observational tools (e.g. microscope), which in turn yield more discoveries
(e.g. causes of disease), which can enhance our wellbeing.
Religion primarily reveals the purpose of
existence, with only incidental reference to the nature of the world
around us. True religion starts with absolute truths revealed by an
omniscient God. Our ignorance of those truths begins to fade as we enlarge
our acquaintance with God’s purposes and gain life experience. “Line upon
line, precept upon precept,” we understand bits and pieces, which begin to
fit together into an enlightened view of the larger whole. We benefit by
becoming more proficient in making choices, which have the eternal
propensity for good.
We do not have perfect knowledge of all things. So
when I study science or religion and encounter an apparent conflict between
them I can’t simply reject one or the other. As comprehension increases,
apparent conflicts begin to dissolve away.
Truths from science and religion will converge into one grand body of
perfectly compatible truth, comprising both the purpose and the nature of
existence.
Wanless Southwick - September 2008
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