Science Versus Religion: Discussion About The Compatibility

For a long time, there has been a highly controversial discussion about the compatibility of science and religion. Many years ago, according to Christians, everything had to be explained by their religion. Nonetheless, as we move along the years, science has gained territory, reaching the point where many people think religious beliefs are not needed, as everything is explained by scientific studies. Here is where the compatibility of science and religion is questioned.

Both science and religion are two very complex terms. On the one hand, religion deals with a set of beliefs such as the meaning and purpose of the world and human life, the correct relationship between human beings and God and among themselves, and the moral codes that inspire and govern the conduct of humans.

On the other hand, science deals with more external factors such as the mechanisms that describe the natural world, galaxies, the movement of planets and other objects, the nature of atoms, the origin of species like human beings through experiments and observations.

Having said this, we could say science and religion resemble two different windows who are used to observe the world. Both windows face the same world but display various aspects of it. Nevertheless, contradiction is not needed between scientific and religious beliefs.

John Lennox, emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of Oxford, is both a Christian and a scientist. In his lecture, he does not only argue science and religion do not belong to a war zone but states that science 'points towards the existence of God'. He also points out that both studies must be mixed in order to have a larger understanding of the world around us and our existence.

Nowadays, our society is living, and has experienced for a while now, an enormous science revolution. This has led many people to believe that religious explanations of events are not necessary. Nevertheless, Lennox proves them wrong. Science gives answers using logic and evidence, while religion recognizes the existence of supernatural forces as a matter of course.

As Professor Lennox says, “men became scientific because they expected law in nature and they expected law in nature because they believed in the Lord giver. I´m not ashamed of being both a scientific and a Christian because arguably Christianity gave me my subject”. This proves that God does not compete with science, as anciency does not compete with mechanism and law but quite the opposite: they complement each other.

To sum up, we can say science and religion are two compatible fields. The explanation of one does not make the other less true or invalid and they are both different.