In this post, I would like present the opposing view of two theological claims made in class, suffering brings you closer to Jesus and science helps religion. I an enrolled in a course titled "Philosophy of Religion." The purpose of this course is to ponder the existence of God through several types of arguments. Taking Theo 100 and Philosophy of Religion in conjunction seem to give me an interesting outlook on some of the things we discuss in class.
Nonetheless, I would like to address the first claim I mentioned, suffering brings you closer to Jesus. The existence of suffering alone drives many people away from religion. While in a fragile state of suffering, I could easily see why an individual would stray away from faith. The existence of suffering is something we have talked about in my Philosophy of Religion course. Some people just don't understand why a merciful, omnipotent God would allow such suffering to happen.
The suffering of children, in specific, is a larger point of contention. When you consider children that have degenerative diseases and suffer unjustly at the hands of adults, it hardly seems fair that these children suffer in hopes that he/she would be brought closer to Jesus. The implication or effect of suffering seems to be amplified when it involves children. They are the purest of us all, having little opportunity to have sinned, and are subject to such cruelties that they world has to offer.
To further my point, children have very little sense of spirituality or religion. How can one who does not have the mental capacities to understand the religious gain that is derived from suffering be brought closer to Jesus through it?
Next, I want to address the claim that science helps religion. I believe that science hurts religion. This is another topic we've talked about in my Philosophy of Religion course. There are two concepts, in specific to science, that I believe hurt religion. The first concept of science I believe hurts religion is the proven evolution of humans, founded by Charles Darwin. The second concept of science I believe hurts religion is the creation of the universe.
I shall address the first concept first. The creation story in Genesis and the evolution of human beings conflict. The creation story implies that humans were put here, already bipedal and intelligent, but evolution begs to differ. While comparing the creation story and natural selection, it is not conducive to a psychologically consistent mind to believe both. The contradiction the stories provide to each other can only lead to one of the claims being false.
The next concept I am going to address is the creation of the universe, which was once again a topic of discussion in my Philosophy of Religion course. The Big Bang Theory conflicts with the story of creation. Physicists have found evidence that the world was created gradually through the transformation of particles, or something along those lines. One can only conclude that either God created the universe over a long period of time, the story of creation is an abbreviated version of creation or that God left trails of evidence that would allow physicists to develop theories about the creation of the universe.
The purpose of this post is to show that some theological claims can give way to uncertainty and destabilize one's belief system. Some of the aforementioned reasons are the reasons people are atheist. Sometimes, it's important to look at the opposing view of a claim because it can either reaffirm or destabilize one's faith.
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These are interesting arguments. In response to the argument that suffering doesn't bring you closer to Jesus, I've never necessarily interpreted this to mean that suffering, especially the kinds that you referenced in regards to suffering of children, is a good thing. I agree that I can definitely see how suffering could make someone lose their faith. On the other hand, sometimes suffering can bring people closer to God and help them to embrace their faith more. I don't think there can be blanket statements going in either direction that suffering is good and brings one closer to God or that suffering is bad and pulls one away from one's faith. Mostly what I think is that suffering for others is a good thing; doing something that you know makes your life harder but that you also know will alleviate the suffering of another person is the kind of suffering that is referred to in the claim that suffering brings you closer to Jesus.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the argument that science works against religion, I definitely think that this is not true. Science answers the question "How?" How did we get here? How was the universe formed? How is there such a diversity of life on Earth?
I think that religion, on the other hand, answers the question "Why?" Why are we here?
Both religion and science seek the truth, and truth can't contradict itself. Therefore, religion and science - while they may not directly "help" each other - cannot contradict each other.
The Bible does offer a creation story that gives an explanation of how God created all that we know in seven days. However, if this story is accepted as a metaphor instead of as a factual account of creation, there is no contradiction between the theory evolution and the Bible.
There are two creation stories in Genesis, and the accounts they offer are slightly different. This signifies that each must offer other important information about why God created us or what our place in the universe is meant to be. If we read the creation story with questions of "What?" and "Why?" we understand their metaphorical significance. If the creation accounts aren't meant to answer "How" then we can accept the answers science provides. The truth of science and the truth religion do not contradict each other.
Additionally, I don't think that theories of science, such as evolution or the big bang theory can disprove religion. Science isn't meant to prove or disprove religion or God; science can only prove or disprove something that is testable. God is not testable by science. Therefore, even if science can prove the universe was created by the Big Bang, science can never prove that God does not exist.
Personally, I don't believe that it is possible to know how God created the universe, but I think there are other beliefs that are more important to one's faith than one's stance on creationism vs. science.
Thank you for your comment!!! I really do appreciate your opinion on my blog post. I agree with your point that all suffering does not bring you away from God. However, I do believe that if one says "suffering brings you closer to God/Jesus" we can't discount instances like the case I mentioned.
ReplyDeleteIt should not be circumstantial. Suffering is suffering and we should not have criteria that discounts one type of suffering that is meant to bring you closer to God and another type that is meant to break you from your Religion. I feel, as humans, we make distinctions between the effects certain types of suffering can or should have on one's faith, which is not right to me.
In regards to your next point, I believe science can hurt religion. Consistently saying that biblical stories are to be taken metaphorically, with no additional argument to aid, can make a skeptic more skeptical. While your point that the creation story is to be taken metaphorically is convincing to me, because of my religious beliefs, it won't be valid to an atheist.
An atheist would probably think something along the lines of "why should I believe in something that is to be taken metaphorically and has no concrete evidence." I have heard an argument of the sort, I've just mentioned, time after time in my Phil. of Religion Course from atheist who are just not convinced by the "metaphorical" argument. It's appropriate when in a theological class such as our course, but I believe once you step out of the confines of the course, it will be hard to convince one to believe that science can't hurt religion on the argument that it's "metaphorical.
I don't believe that science is meant to prove or disprove religion, but I do think there are scientific elements that indeed hurt religion. While you say it is not possible to say how God created the universe, I say humans have determined or have at least theorized how the universe was created. There are most definitely things more important to one's faith than the argument of creationism vs. science, however, it is what I decided to write my blog post about.
I by no means meant to upset anyone by this post, I just like to stir the pot up sometimes.
Once again, thank you for your contribution.
I see what you are saying about the “sufferings” connection to religion and I think that it does bring us closer to God and helps build a stronger relationship with Him. That is why, I think, that God puts us through hard times. We just have to trust that He knows what He is doing and that He will never give us too much to bear at one given time. God says in Jeremiah 29:11, “’For I know the plains I have for you’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Also, I do not think that children have little sense of spirituality or religion. They can understand that Jesus saved them and th¬¬¬at He loves them. That is all they really need to know. They do not need to know about the controversies of different religions and they do not need to question why God does certain things throughout their lives. God says in Matthew 18:3-5 “And He said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Which means that we should believe in the basics and we will be saved. Children have trials and tribulations as well because the world is full of evil and is sinful. Everyone, even children are going to suffer. It is a way of life and we cannot do anything to stop it. But the sufferings will still have an effect on the child and will strengthen their faith because we all want to cling to the loving word of God. It is a part of our nature as human beings. Suffering does not have to mean contracting certain diseases and undergoing cruelties. Suffering could just be a broken arm or their dog could have died. Then there would be a learning experience for the child and they can discover that the dog went to heaven and that God will heal their arm.
ReplyDeleteThe question if science either hurts religion or helps it is a difficult one to answer. I think personally that science helps me in my religion because it helps me understand where other religions come from and how their ideas develop. It also shows me how amazing God is to have created the entire world out of nothing and how complex He has made it. It blows my mind to think about such things. I do think that science can hurt religion also, because it comes up with excuses for the story of creation and Jesus’ resurrection and miracles. It shuts down the very ideas and events Christianity is based on. I know of some people who have stopped believing because of what science has claimed and “discovered” about Christianity. At the same time, we cannot just sit back and complain about how science is destabilizing one’s faith. We should all go out and tell others about the beautiful story of Christianity and help the Holy Spirit spread the good news to others.