Science & Faith

Science & Faith.

“Science does not know its debt to imagination. 
-Ralph Waldo Emerson ”

It’s the paradox of our times. Two completely contradictory ideas coexisting seamlessly and at times overlapping in a confusing fashion. The Oxford Dictionary has gone on to define Science as “the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment” further Faith is “complete trust or confidence in someone or something; strong belief in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual conviction rather than proof”
As the cliché goes it’s all easier said than done in theory. While in practice, how do you explain Faith, for that matter how do you explain Science? Where do we draw the line? How do we distinguish? Ions have passed as preachers and propagators of the two have debated and deliberated.
While Faith is belief, Science is conviction. Science is calculation, Faith is surrender. Science is cause & effect while Faith is prayer & blessing. Science is experiments, Faith is devotion. Science is in the formulae, Faith is in the trust. Science is concrete, Faith is abstract. Science is technology, Faith is evolution. Science is the desire for proof, Faith is awe. Science is equipment & investigation while Faith is simply stopping & staring.

People may have faith for various reasons. It maybe because Science pointed them in that direction for some, while for a majority it is something personal; a prayer here and there; a person who renews your beliefs; maybe it’s the rugged beauty of mountains and lakes; maybe it’s the raw power of the wilderness; an incident that has no logical explanation whatsoever; there’s plenty of possibilities.

A neurologist studying a particular sensory experience understands the neural mechanism but not how the individual perceives it, and he becomes interested in the workings of consciousness. Or a developmental biologist is expecting her first child, and suddenly embryology takes on a whole new meaning.

A scientist may keep trying to get an experiment right. Failing but still trying over and over until he gets it, but what keeps him motivated? Unerring faith. Faith that he will succeed. Faith that he can do it.

Day in and day out doctors see people defying Science. Living against all odds. The exceptions to the rule. The Miracles. Surviving on sheer will and determination. Ever wondered what kept them going? Prayer. People have faith even without knowing they do, they have Faith that there will be a tomorrow, they have faith that tomorrow will be a better day. Even the most empirical of minds have their own system of belief.

Those stars up in the sky, they might be luminous spheres of plasma held together by gravity but what about the awe they generate when one looks up at them. The mysterious and ethereal beauty of it all, how those heavenly bodies up there continue to be a source of inspiration for millions around the planet by just existing in all their astronomical glory never fails to amaze me.  It doesn’t stop at amazement though, there’s this sense of wonder and of connection with something unexplainable.

How about evolution? Evolution is the science of how we came to be. Although there exist many sound explanations for the most part of it, genetics, DNA, proteins, codes, so on and so forth, but how do we explain how man became what he is today when he started off as an ape.

Faith is when we come out of ourselves and experience something else that gives us perspective. It’s the humility we feel in the face of vastness and power of Nature; it’s gratitude that we are alive; it’s when we feel powerless and broken, yet undefeated; it’s the warm glow of love; it’s the glory of a victory well-deserved; it’s in the adoration of a mother; it’s when we recognize that there is a world beyond the one that we have created for ourselves.

If Science is the body, Faith is the soul.

If Science is the mind, Faith is the heart.

So coming back to where we started from, where do we draw the line?

The answer is simple.

We don’t.

Sometimes we just ought to ought to surrender. Completely. Absolutely. Wholeheartedly.

Sometimes we just ought to accept, that both Science and Faith are omnipresent, so different yet so beautifully intertwined.

At the end of the day we may be able to break everything down to chemicals but there are some things you just can not explain.

“Faith is a knowledge within the heart, beyond the reach of proof. 
-Khalil Gibran”