Introduction to SPRT, continued ...

OK, so let's address some of the things that I know people will say to the idea that religion and science are (or should be) pursuing the same end.

Many people of faith find science threatening, because it suggests a lack of faith. In other words, you ought to be able to believe without proof. (After all, isn't that what Christ said to Thomas? "You believe, Thomas, because you have seen; blessed are those who believe who have not seen.")

True enough. But in my view, faith is that which you hold on to while you are seeking proof. And when I say "you," I mean the human race. As I intend to discuss herein, many of the things that we have been admonished to do - and not to do - as a matter of faith or religious belief, turn out to be firmly grounded in science. Over the hundreds or thousands of years that passed before those things could be proven, faith in the rightness of those admonitions kept people healthy and society strong.

By contrast, there are those in the scientific community that look upon everything that cannot be proven (now, yet) as mere superstition.

It is this, more so than anything else, that brands Christians and other believers as "ignorant," "backward," "stupid," etc.

But there is a critical difference between faith and superstition.

"Faith" is a belief in things that (in theory) CAN be proven, but which have not YET been proven.

"Superstition" is belief in things that can be (and/or have been) DISPROVEN.

Big difference.

Thus, there is no inconsistency between being a person of faith and a person of science. Indeed, even in purely secular matters, there are scientists who pursue their theories despite their colleagues' insistence that their research is pointless, or futile. In the absence of proof, what keeps these vigourously curious men and women going, if not a form of faith?

What I hope to do here, is to arm persons of faith with the scientific and rational support for some of the views they espouse. In the arguments about issues we face in the present day, the more support one has, the better. To a lesser extent, I hope that the scientific skeptic who finds himself or herself visiting this site might be able to admit of the possible existence of spiritual realities, the proof for which we simply don't have at present.

We shall see.

More tomorrow!
/Prairy P.

Welcome to SPRT!

Hello, and welcome to SPRT - Science in Pursuit of Religious Truth. That's the name of this blog, and here's our slogan:

"The only thing keeping you from seeing SPIRIT here is two i's."

Rather catchy, huh? It just came to me a couple of weeks ago, and I decided it was worthy of a blogspot.

Let me tell you a little bit about what this weblog is for. The name may sound counterintuitive, but it is born of my own personal experiences.

As an educated woman, an attorney, a professor, and a free-lance writer, I have often found myself struggling to explain and justify Christian (and Catholic) positions on various issues on the basis of science, rather than tenets of any particular religious faith.

I've always been amazed - and disappointed - at the "conflict" between science and religion. Why should these two be at odds with each other?

My thought is, if, as we believe, God is the Creator of all things, then God is also the author of the systems by which all things work. From gravity to psychology to nuclear physics, God would be behind it all. To seek the truth, then, through science, is a profoundly religious quest. And to test the validity of religious beliefs through the scientific method is neither blasphemously skeptical nor an expression of impermissible doubt. Instead, it is utilizing the faculties that God gave us.

Any religion that claims to have the truth should embrace science, not fear it. For to find truth is to find God. If the beliefs of a particular religion cannot withstand scientific scrutiny, then those beliefs will of necessity be discarded, or else the religion itself will eventually wither and die.

(Galileo's proof that the earth revolves around the sun - and not the other way around - comes to mind immediately. The Catholic Church excommunicated him for this. But it was proven to be true. And lo and behold, the Catholic Church survived this "revelation".)

Religions that depend upon their members remaining uneducated or ignorant cannot survive. Humans cannot remain deliberately ignorant indefinitely. It is against our nature. Our Created nature.

I can already hear the heated objections of the scientific skeptics and the believers. And I intend to argue my points against these objections, one by one.

Additionally, I intend to use this weblog as a place to find scientific evidence in support of positions taken by those of religious faith on social, moral, legal and political issues wherever possible.

I have a number of thoughts that I intend to post later tonight - or perhaps tomorrow. But this is enough for now. In closing my very first weblog posting, I welcome all persons of good cheer, benevolent intent, and sincere intellectual curiosity, whether you consider yourselves to be persons of faith or not.

More later!
/Prairy P.