What
would Jesus say about
scientific materialism?
Question for Jesus:
You earlier talked about the tendency for people to polarize towards
the two extremes of orthodox religion and scientific materialism. What
would you say to people who believe in scientific materialism and its
claim that science has proven that God does not exist?
Jesus: My first impulse is to say nothing because I
find it unlikely that a scientific materialist will ever read this book.
Nevertheless, I realize that many people are confused about the claims
made by science.
I would begin by pointing to history. I believe an open-minded study
of history will demonstrate that human beings have a tendency to create
belief systems and to elevate them to an absolute or infallible truth.
Let us just mention one example that all scientifically minded people
should be able to accept, namely the fact that medieval Catholics claimed
the Earth was the center of the universe. Obviously, this was an incorrect
belief, and it was unwise that the Catholic Church elevated it to an
infallible doctrine.
Scientifically minded people are very quick to see this tendency in
the field of religion, but they are often unwilling to see that the
same tendency is operating in the field of science. All human beings
have a psychological mechanism that gives them a need to find a solid
and unchangeable foundation in a world that is constantly changing.
People tend to look for a belief system which claims to be complete
and infallible and therefore offers them a stable foundation. Scientists
are no different than religious people. We are simply talking about
human nature, and although many scientists seem to believe they are
above and beyond religious people, I think history proves otherwise.
From time to time, groups of scientists have declared that we have now
reached the end of science. Science has discovered all of the basic
laws that led to the creation of the universe, and therefore we have
a complete and infallible scientific paradigm or belief system. Of course,
scientists do not see science as a belief system. They believe it represents
an infallible truth. But then again, orthodox religious people say the
same about their religion. In the late 1800s, scientists firmly believed
that matter and energy were two separate elements. Albert Einstein proved
that claim to be incorrect.
What I would like to see from scientifically minded people is a little
bit of humility. Science is one of the fastest moving human endeavors,
and new discoveries happen at an incredible pace. I cannot understand
how any scientist can seriously believe that science has currently discovered
everything there is to know about the universe. If you are open to the
fact that scientific discovery will continue, you should realize that
current scientific knowledge cannot give a complete understanding of
the universe or how the universe was formed.
I wish people would see and accept the fact that when scientific materialists
claim that God does not exist, they are simply making a claim. From
a purely logical viewpoint, you cannot prove that something does not
exist. If you are a true scientist, you can only say that current scientific
investigations have not proven the existence of God. If you say otherwise,
you are like medieval people who believed it was proven that the Earth
was flat.
The claim that God does not exist is a claim that does not belong in
the field of science which should be based on what has been proven through
repeated experiments. This claim belongs in the field of belief. Scientific
materialism is simply a belief system, and since it deals with the topic
of God, it is a religion. If scientists insist that the belief system
of scientific materialism is somehow superior to what they call religion,
they are no wiser than all of the religious people who claim that their
religion is the only true one.
Go back to my original statement that human beings have created an image
of the world that is out of alignment with reality. As long as people
are caught in the lower state of consciousness, they will never be able
to prove the existence of God. However, if people are willing to rise
above that limited state of consciousness, they will be able to find
such proof. Throughout history, many people have proven the existence
of God through a direct inner experience, often called a mystical or
spiritual experience.
I will prophesy that if more scientists will open their minds to the
spiritual side of life, it will, within the next few decades, be possible
to use scientific methods to produce real and valid evidence for the
existence of something beyond the material universe. This will not prove
the existence of God in an ultimate sense. However, once you have scientific
proof that there is something beyond the material universe, any open-minded
person must admit that scientific materialism is either incomplete or
incorrect.
I would also like to point out that the very essence of the scientific
method is that you must never stop asking questions. What scientists
most abhor about religion is that so many religious people tend to close
their minds and think that their religious doctrine is the ultimate
and infallible doctrine. I freely admit that I share this concern. I
too think religious people tend to be too close-minded. Nevertheless,
as I explained earlier, I see many scientists doing the exact same thing
without being willing to admit it.
I am gratified by the fact that there is already a number of scientists
who are beginning to realize that scientific materialism has put science
in a catch-22. The fact is that once you accept an “infallible”
paradigm, you automatically set up limitations for science by limiting
the type of questions you are willing to ask. This is what scientists
most abhor about the Catholic church. This is why the chasm between
religion and science developed. The Catholic church would not allow
people to ask questions that could not be answered by church doctrine.
Today, many scientists will not even consider questions that go beyond
a materialistic view of the world.
If you accept the idea that there cannot be anything beyond the material
universe, you have created some very restrictive limitations for scientific
research and speculation. You have essentially moved science into the
same dilemma that religion was forced into by the Catholic church and
so many other orthodox churches.
I will prophesy that in the long run this is not a sustainable situation.
The vitality of the scientific method will eventually pull the rug from
scientific materialism, and most scientists will come to see it as a
blind alley. I find it very likely that within just a couple of decades
a large number of scientists will look back at scientific materialism
and say, “How did we ever come to accept such a restrictive belief
system? How did we ever allow such an idea to limit our scientific exploration?”
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Copyright
© Kim Michaels, 2003 |
