Science as a Belief System and Religion as a Belief System

By RE CASTEL

Science is a belief system. Religion is a belief system.

But there is a significant difference between these belief systems. On the one hand, science is a belief system instituted only by men who do not have the knowledge of all things. And on the other hand, religion is a belief system instituted by a God who knows everything and has thusly revealed his will. Since the people who instituted science do not have the knowledge of all things while the one who instituted religion has the knowledge of all things, science is therefore merely a subset of religion.

Both science and religion are matters of faith.

What we have before us is either the faith in the scientists who say that all things came about by a chanced evolution or the faith in the religionists who say there is a God who by his will and grace brought everything into organized or cosmic existence.

Both the scientists and the religionists see a temporal existence with the imperfections and injustices.

But, on the one hand, the scientists say that everyone will die and everyone's consciousness will be snuffed out of existence. The scientists say that there is no hope for justice ever being meted out once one is dead. The scientists say that these imperfections and injustices are an unfortunate part of our fleeting and chanced existence.

On the other hand, the religionists say that death is merely the separation of the body and the spirit, with the spirit as the essence of everyone's character and consciousness going into a world of spirits. And the religionists say that God will in due time bring about justice for everyone and the restoration and perfection after a day of judgement.

So, science says that our existence is an ugly temporal existence without justice, wherein all of us will die and justice will never be meted out for us and wherein there is no hope of any recompense for all of us. Science says there will be no need for any of these because we will all be dead anyway. Thus, science says there is no justice in an eternal perspective, there is no joy and no purpose in the existence. Science says all things will be for naught. All the things that we do now are futile and vain.

But religion says that in an eternal perspective, and in spite of the ugly temporal existence that we experience now, it will ultimately be a beautiful existence wherein justice sometime in an eternal existence will be meted out for everyone without exception. Religion says that, notwithstanding our seeming temporal existence, everything will eventually be brought to justice and everlasting joy will come to all those who do good.

Thus, science says when you are dead, you are dead; and justice cannot possibly be meted out for you and there will be no recompense or any need for such. But religion says God will recompense and bring about justice even beyond the temporal death.

It is easy to see which one of the two offers hope and which one is more pleasing to believe in and to have faith in. I like beauty, justice, and joy. I prefer a religion that has science as its subset, rather than just the mere science of a limited scope. I cannot believe in evolutionists who say 'evolution' when they were never there when things evolved. I believe in prophets who seal their testimonies with their sacrifices, even with their lives, for the solemn witness of the divinely revealed knowledge that there is a God and that this is ultimately a purposeful and joyful existence in spite of our mortal travails.

And so, our belief system will either be religion with science as its subset or mere science without the religion. And, whether we choose one or not, it is certain that we will have one of these belief systems.