by Austin Temple

Created on: July 06, 2009   Last Updated: July 08, 2009

Historically, science and religion are at odds. Since the beginning of scientific discoveries, the church has fought to slow science's progress. When Galileo Galilei substantiated Nicolaus Copernicus's heliocentric model of the solar system, proving the sun- not the earth, was the center of the solar system, the church not only forced him to provide equal proof for the opposite (their belief), but put him under house arrest for the remainder of his life anyway. The church killed scientists, branded them, and dumped their bodies in the streets.

Witch hunts originated because the church spread lies of women "in touch with nature," or in other words, with scientific knowledge, claiming them to be satanic. The church is not alone in this regard, as Dan Brown's famous novel "Angels & Demons" chronicles the secret society known as the "Illuminati," who were enlightened scientific men who fought against the church, occasionally murdering to accomplish their own goals.

The arguments the church has against science are numerous. They claim that science is taking the wonder out of the world, taking things that inspire faith and wonder and breaking them down into nothing more than math and wavelengths. They claim science is evolving faster than human's ability to comprehend and use it's inventions safely. They point to energy waste, accidents, and weapons of mass destruction. Science, by definition, is soulless, they claim, and therefore evil.

Science claims the church has held a monopoly on the truth for far too long. They point to the church's bloody history against science, when they were only trying to spread the truths they had uncovered. They say that church, and religion in general, is out of touch with the modern world, and that their constant workings against scientific advancements hurt the earth at large.
So historically, yes, science and religion are on opposite sides. But are they really?

I say no, and there's endless arguments for each side, but in my humble opinion, they are not. Religion's job is to inspire, and find truth. Science is on the same quest, finding enlightenment by discovering scientific truths. No matter what your beliefs may be: it's impossible to look at science and religion and not see that they are two sides of the same battle. They are searching, in layman's terms, for truth.

The creation vs. evolution argument has been ravelled and unravelled more times than a used party favor. Religion usually points to a God creating the entire

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>