...the word “science”. There is no doubt that science plays a crucial role in our life. However, it seems that not everyone can distinguish science correctly from non-science and pseudo-science. The following essay will present the differences between science, pseudo-science and non-science first, and then discuss three possible responses to the question that what we should do when there is a clash between scientific explanation and non-scientific explanation. The brief discussion related to the correct non-scientific explanation will present finally. There are some differences between science, pseudo-science and non-science. The goal of science is to discover what there is in the world and explain why it is and how it is (Hammerton, 2010, p.1). Science is helpful to answer some of these questions by presenting what the cause and impacts of different actions (Hammerton, 2010, p. 3). One of the significant characters of science is the construction of theories. Scientists usually want to explain the results of observation and experiment in terms of general theory rather than simply recording the results (Okasha, 2002, p. 2). Physics, biology, geology and psychology are within the domain of science (Hammerton, 2010, p. 1). However, some questions would be better explained by philosophy rather than science, such as evaluative questions, non-empirical questions, normative questions and questions related to personal experiences (Hammerton, 2010, p. 2). Pseudo-science refers to a...
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...Throughout history, faith has played a vital role in literature. Many wrote of their love of God or, in some cases, their doubt. Although most of the early colonial writers wrote of their faith with upmost certainty, as science made bigger advances and became more sophisticated, many questioned their faith. The influence of science on faith is seen very clearly through the authors Winthrop, Edwards, Bradstreet, Emerson, Poe, and Dickinson. In 1630 John Winthrop wrote and delivered his sermon A Model of Christian Charity. In this sermon, Winthrop describe an ideal or model society in which all citizens give back and have complete faith in God. Edwards wrote Sinner in the Hands of an Angry God in which he invokes fear into the Christians in his parish. He makes them feel as though any faltering faith will lead to God dropping them into Hell. In Winthrop and Edward’s writings there were no signs of...
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...comes to their study. Religion is based on faiths and beliefs when it comes to the acceptance of superhuman powers in the form of God or gods. On the other hand theology is the study of God thought. This is especially true of Christianity. In short it can be said that theology works on religion. Theology is in fact based on religion. It is a system of studying about God especially Christian religion. Religion does not deal with any sort of rational analysis. On the other hand theology deals with the rational analysis of a religious faith. However there is no way we can separate the two. Theology is not science. Science is not theology. They are simply two different things. They are not even two similar kinds of things. Science is the pursuit of what you can know. Theology is the pursuit of what you, by definition, cannot know. Science can tell you how things in the world work and that can lead to technology: how to manipulate things to achieve a desired result. Theology cannot tell you how God works, nor can you ever manipulate God to achieve a desired result. Science deals with the study of nature, its forces, processes and development. It is based on the analysis of evidence. It assumes, as a working hypothesis, that processes and events happen due to natural causes, not through divine intervention. It rarely intrudes in matters of morality, the existence and nature of deity, spirituality, etc. Religion deal with matters of faith. Its main basis is often revelation from...
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...Faith vs. science. Is there a contradiction between faith in God and science? Faith in God and belief in science will never contradict if God, in fact, exists and is the Creator of the universe. If God is the Creator of the universe, and there is ample evidence that He is, then science is just knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths about His creation. If God doesn't exist, then faith and science will contradict since science is the search for facts about the cosmos. For those with faith, however, science can be one of our greatest forms of worship. Science is mankind's attempt to understand how the world works. The scientific method is one of the greatest tools to accomplish this. It starts with a question about the world. Then background research, a hypothesis or educated guess about the research, an experiment, analysis to determine if the hypothesis was correct, and the report of the results. If the hypothesis was correct, the cycle is finished. If not, another hypothesis is put forth, and testing begins again. The scientific method infers that a provable fact will be repeatable and verifiable—that other scientists will come up with the same answer if their experiment is performed in the same way. There is nothing unbiblical about the scientific method as such. God made light, matter, water, plants, animals, and humans. We honor Him when we endeavor to understand His amazing creation. We also learn more about Him, about His wisdom and power and...
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...Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity: First Draft Michelle L. Murphy GCU: Spirituality in Healthcare March 16, 2014 Rev. Rick Hudock Abstract As heath care providers we need to keep mindful of the care we provide to several different religious traditions. It is up to the health care professional to respect and understand the ideals that affect our patients and their family members. In this paper we will compare the philosophies of three diverse faiths. The faiths chosen are Islam, Christian Science and Buddhism, and how they compare to Christianity. We will learn about basic beliefs, spiritual perspectives on healing, and the components of healing such as meditation, prayer and other rituals they follow. Furthermore, addressing the importance and perceptive of how to care for a patient with a different faith and cultural view. In the field of nursing we are in constant contact with patients of several different faiths. This requires an abundance of knowledge and acceptance towards multiple beliefs and religions. The philosophies of Christian Science, Buddhism and Islam compared to Christianity have significantly diverse beliefs surrounding health, illness, death and healing. From a spiritual perspective we will learn about each of these faiths. We will place focus on their beliefs on healing, meditation, rituals, prayer and their views on afterlife. We as healthcare providers need to know what is viewed with importance in their faith in order to treat the patient...
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...Faith in the Life of Pi ¶When it comes to a battered subject such as faith, one could arguably say that faith is one of the most highly discussed and highly controversial subjects amongst humans all over the world. I, myself, have never really been much of a religious person during my life. My father was raised in a very Jewish household where he attended Hebrew school, celebrated Passover and Hanukkah every year and ate kosher meals. My mother was raised as a Christian, although I’m not too sure if she attended church on a regular basis because my grandmother was an immigrant from Japan so she wasn’t exactly the biggest Christian. So throughout my life we have celebrated Hanukkah and Christmas together as a family to keep in touch with both sides of our family, so as you can see my parents are the type of open minded people who do not force a religion upon me, they grant me my own religious freedom. ¶This freedom that my parents allowed me to grow up meant that I didn’t have to go to church every Sunday and I didn’t have to go to any type of Hebrew school if I didn’t want to. I went to some youth groups when I was younger and was not captured by anything I saw or heard and I’ve celebrated Passover with my father’s side of the family and I’ve heard both the stories from their religions and I still was not captured by anything I saw or heard. I have learned the major beliefs and morals of many religions around the world and none have made any sense to me yet. I agree with...
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...experience of and response to the holy or sacred. It is said the universal human activity expresses itself in three ways: 1) in thought, 2) in action, and 3) in fellowship. In contrast, science uses methods to gain knowledge by testing hypotheses to develop theories through interpretation of the facts or calculations by experiments and can only answer the infinite questions of the universe that can be observed and measured. The relationship between religion and science has been a subject of study for centuries. It has been addressed by philosophers, theologians, and scientists. There have been many diverse perspectives from different regions, cultures and historical periods. Some state there is a conflict between religion and science, others disagree and others offer there is little interaction. Science and religion generally pursue knowledge of the universe using different methodologies. Science acknowledge reason and evidence, while religions include revelation, faith and sacredness. Despite these differences, most scientific and technical innovations prior to the scientific revolution were achieve by societies organized by religious traditions. Much of the scientific method was pioneered by Islamic scholars and later Christians. Regarding religion and science, Albert Einstein states: “For science can only ascertain “what is”, but not what should be, and outside of its domain value judgments of all kinds remain necessary. Religion, on the other hand, deals only with evaluations...
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...Dialogue between Faith and science assignment: What is the kind of relation between faith, and reason or science ? General: The discoveries we make through science make the people think and ask questions about his identity, sometimes they even change ones ideas about himself. We see for example that by Copernicus revolution about astronomy the people got to know that they are not living in a world that is not found at the centre of the universe, to the contrary to what was thought before but we live in a planet amongst many others. The theory of revolution of Charles Darwin taught people that we are a member of many different species of animals. These discoveries challenge us to think about the world in general, life and humans in a different way. Nowadays faith cannot forget reason and psychology has to be taken with the importance it needs. During this assignment as indicated by the title we are going to see the relationship between faith and psychology (reason). First we start by showing the type of relationship that can take place between them then we explain how and why they go hand in hand with religion. In the second chapter we see how reason challenges our faith, then conclude by giving some suggestions how reason can contribute with faith. The relation between faith and reason: You cannot actually talk about the relation between faith and reason because there are many psychological reasons like there are religions. Faith cannot be separated from the...
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...Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of great faith and a strong Christian role model. He was a source of inspiration to those around him because he knew he had God by his side. However, in an excerpt from his book Strength to Love (Nicknamed Our God is Able), King’s analysis of evil, particularly in his description of science, raised some questions in my mind. Martin Luther King Jr. is correct in arguing that we need God and cannot blindly trust science. But is his depiction of “the god of science” really a proper way to think about science? In systematic theology early this year, we came to the conclusion that science is another tool just as given to us by God as the Bible is, and though they should play different roles in developing our faith, both reveal some truth about God. Science and Religion have often been unjustly put head to head in debates, but one who does this must not truly understand either one. While no one expects King to understand science to the degrees of Stephen Hawking, I do believe that it is not right to so blatantly deny some gift from God. Perhaps a similar comparison will help explain what I mean - when two people get married, they are expected to love their partner as a whole person. They cannot say, “I do… so long as you do something about your laugh. I don’t get it!”...
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...debate between Prof Richard Dawkins and Dr John Lennox, the strength that Dr John Lennox has is that he stands by firmly in his belief that he greatly challenged the remarks made by Prof Richard Dawkins, that science overlaps religion. Prof Dawkins stated that “Faith is blind, science is evidence-based”, and added that religion tells that there is no understanding in things but just be persuaded that God did it. However, Dr Lennox opposed by saying that science cannot tell what is morally right or wrong, and science also cannot explain the purpose of the existence of a child. Therefore, he believed that Prof Hawkins has contrasted the meaning between science and religion that religion is just being contemplated but science is unraveling the understanding of the universe. Another strength that Dr John Lennox has is that his reasoning was logical even though it was not fully based on evidence or facts, but instead with human intellectual and good sense. Although there were a few facts that Prof Hawkins could not explain based on science, for example, that what is the origin of life, or the origin of the universe; but Dr John Lennox managed his reasoning well and affirmed that faith is also evidence-based, which he based it from a scripture in the Bible. It might be clear that science is at most what you see upon sight, which is tangible, but Prof Hawkins did not managed to be convincing enough in that, whereas Dr Lennox has demonstrated his points well with persuasiveness. However,...
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...Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity: Peer Review Ryan J. Bartholomeo Grand Canyon University Spirituality and Christian Values in Health Care and Wellness April 25, 2013 Health Care Provider and Faith Diversity: First Draft Knowledge and acceptance are one of the two most important factors when discussing the diversity of faith expressions and belief systems of patients as a health care provider. For this assignment, I decided to research Christianity and one other diverse faith group; interviewing said friend about her faith, Naturalism. In the health care industry, health care providers whose spiritual beliefs differ from their own personal beliefs are a common issue. Learning how to appropriately and respectfully handle each individual’s diversity and faith or belief system is of the upmost importance within the health care industry. Interview Assessment Analysis When conducting my interview with my close friend, Asyia Aanandi, asking a wide range of questions on her faith was required for further assessment; furthermore, the best way to incorporate Asyia’s beliefs of a Naturalist toward her philosophy of providing care from the perspective of her faith. Asyia Aanandi’sAanandi spiritual beliefs are that of a Naturalist, believing in only one single notion; Homo-sapiens feel, think, and act on, due to “chemical reactions” inside ones brain and body. Naturalism is the belief that as humans, acting on...
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...Healing Spiritually Marcus Dalton Grand Canyon 7/1/14 University: HLT-305 With so many diverse faiths and denominations most religions teach healing and the art of helping others. Several individuals from different faiths were interviewed to see how their differences in beliefs affected how they viewed healing and health care. Those interviewed consisted of such faiths and denominations as Protestant, Mormon, and Lutheran. Each person was asked questions on the perspective of how faith was used in healing, the process, and how to handle others religious views that differ from theirs when being cared for. Each person came up with different views on how healing should be performed. Surprisingly with the third question the results were very unique per each religion. Many Christian doctors’ over the years have felt "called" into medicine, and have devoted their lives to developing cures. Many missionaries have been doctors, and have devoted themselves to helping the poor to be healthy. The view on spiritual healing from the protestant believer consisted of a very simple answer that states, “God has provided man with natural healing resources in the form of compounds and substances found in nature (i.e. willow bark, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2658564/) and with the intellect needed to develop healing treatments and develop synthetic pharmaceuticals.” (David Back Protestant) Protestant beliefs are showing that if mediations are used this form can assist...
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...APOLOGETICS APPLICATION PAPER: Examining the Atheist Belief and Defending the Christian Faith Rhonda Rigsby APOL 500 7/7/13 Target Audience The selected target audience for this paper is atheists. Atheists are defined as “a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of God or gods”, according to the Random House College dictionary. The first order of business within the atheist argument is that atheism is not a belief at all. Many Christians cringe when they hear the word atheism or that someone is an atheist, while some become angry, others consider it an opportunity to convert a lost soul. Statistics have shown an increase in atheism, which was predicted in the bible, and many tend to think that atheists all come from a scientific background and that as many as ninety-five percent of scientists are atheists. A study by Curry concludes differently reporting that seven percent of scientists are Christians and twenty-one percent are agnostic, while seventy-two percent report they do not believe they have a personal god.However, during this study it appears some skewness existed in the sense people were asked if they believed that God was affective and communicates with mankind. With this a part of the equation, most based their response on the fact they did not think God, if they believe He does exist, actually tried to communicate with mankind. At the end of the study, they concluded that thirty four participants actually were atheists...
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...God’s genius and beauty, his eternal power and divine qualities. As Psalms 19 states, “ The heaven declares the glory of God.” If anything, cosmology and science and the intricate sensibilities of physics and chemistry and biology are showcases of God’s love and mercy towards us— that is what Christianity is about, God so loving the world that he sent his one and only son, Jesus Christ, to save us wretched beings. Not the big bang, not the earth’s age, not the speed of light. After this unit, I still think cosmology is more of a novelty compared to, or at least a miniscule part of, God’s plan for our salvation. Christianity is an issue of the heart, and...
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...I believe that both approaches are valid in their own perspective. However, I believe that we cannot simply reject or disagree with the evolution theory without taking the time to examine it carefully because it is a powerful theory that seems to explain many phenomena that we see and can be observed in the world in which we live in (assuming that the world we live in is real), but as a true believer, do I believe in evolution? Before answering this question, we need to educate ourselves in science because most of the people who reject the evolution are dismally ignorant of the science of this theory. I believe that the evolution is a good science, and we need to educate ourselves and to be taught in schools along with religion. Both should...
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