ITS NOT JUST ABOUT ID VS EVOLUTION

ITS NOT JUST ABOUT ID VS EVOLUTION







The debate over whether children should be taught "intelligent design" in the public schools has attracted many views from all over the world. Though the topic is much older but the recent controversy arose when some parents at Frazier Mountain High School, in Lebec, California filed suit in federal district court to force cancellation of a high school elective course. They contend that the course is essentially a religiously motivated course. They also claimed that it took a pro creationist and anti evolutionist stance.



The shouting is basically about two theories; first is of "evolution" and second is of "intelligent design". An evolutionist accepts the Darwinian argument of "survival of the fittest person" and believes in the theory of transformation over a period of time from one species into another. On the other hand a creationist rejects the theory of evolution and believes instead that each species on earth was put here by a Devine power. It claims that every thing we see today and will see tomorrow is not just the result of the chances exploited by the species at different times. In fact there must be an intelligent creator who has made the existence of this complex nature possible.



The conflict between science and religion is not a new thing. Recently there was a similar controversy over whether Dalai Lama should have been allowed to make presentation in an international conference of neuroscientists. One of the most famous early controversies was the trail of Galileo in 1633 for publishing his book 'Dialogue' which supported the Copernican theory that the earth revolved around the sun, rather than as the Bible suggests the other way around. Question is "why science and religion always collide?" To answer this question let's ask what science and religion are all about. Both are different ways in which we can use the human resources. Science is about facts and religion is about belief. It is in our nature to use both the techniques. In the beginning we trust the facts and when the results become consistent we start trusting our experience and instincts. These two later become our belief. Our trust in facts secures accuracy in our work whereas our instincts gives us acceleration. It enables us to make predictions and to see in future. We may even say that first is what we have and second is what we want to have. Good thing with science is that it relies on true facts and there is no place for gap and error. At the same time one shortcoming of science is that it fully depends on facts which are already there. It can't predict a change which is happening for the first time. Yes it can predict the second one provided it already have got the facts related to the sequel.



Second problem limitation of science is that it is very spontaneous. It counts on the resources available on a particular time. Since it comes from a person's mind whose life is about 100 years, it (science) it is bound to work within the constraints of a human life. On the other hand religion comes from the consciousness of a person who is beyond the constraints of a human life. We can easily understand this thing by an example. We established so many industrial factories for a better life. As a result we really got comfortable life. But in the long run we also increased the pollution level, we damaged the ozonosphere, we cut down forests to provide raw material to the industries, we blindly used the conventional energy sources like coal and petroleum, so many animal species were lost, the climate has changed dramatically, the average temperature has raised… the results are countless. On the whole we may even say that the early science has been more focused on short term results and has failed to visualize the long term effects.



On the other hand despite all the differences all the religions motivate us to leave a life which is based on sensible use of natural resources. Most of them support animal advocacy, vegetarianism, environmental movements etc. Religion also tells that a good life necessarily doesn't mean a comfortable one, full of leisure. Another fact is that science is often used to provide comfort and leisure.



Another side of the story is that every religion on this planet is suffering from superstitious customs. Every year so many people lose their lives in cast and community based riots. People still vote on the topic of 'communalism' in world's largest democracy. On the other hand science has given us everything. From "drinking water" to "newspaper reading" anything we wish or need can't be completed without this science thing. Then what's the need of religion in today's scientific world? Is religion really a useful thing or is it just a psychological support which is needed when a person becomes 50?



Thing is that science and religion both are complementary to each other. Science is a process which is all about making the best use of the resources. This may also be termed as "the best game plan" for survival. Hence as a creature we have to have a science if we have to survive. At the same time human culture is just not about survival. Its much more than that. And to have that extra we need a much broader, more visionary, more sensible, more natural, and more human science that is religion. Thing is neither science nor religion alone can lead the human society. Yes science with all its good qualities can help us achieve our goals. But what should be the goal of a human culture and society? Only religion can answer this question and not a physical science. Also only science can lead us to that very goal set by the religion and not the religion itself. Hence there must be sum sort of balance between these two. The best thing we can do about it is to make our religion more open towards new ideas. Otherwise it took over 200 years for Catholic Church to accept the scientific theory that the earth revolves around the sun. And as far as science is concerned we need to make our science more human and natural. One thing we must remember that the objective of a science is progress of human culture and not that of technology.







Ankit Kumar