RELIGION AND SCIENTIFIC REASONING

M ANY people are under the impression that religious truths cannot be proved scientifically. Religion infers truths from human experience, exactly as scientists deduce facts on the basis of logical reasoning. In ancient times water was considered to be nothing more than plain water. But when the microscope was invented in the 19th century, and water closely examined, a wealth of life in the form of countless bacteria, was discovered. In the same way, we used to think that there were only as many stars in the sky as could be seen with the naked eye. But modern-day telescopes have led to the discovery of far more stars than can be seen with unaided human vision. These two examples show the difference between ancient and modern times. Modern research has shown with certainty that there are many more realities beyond the world man could understand when he was limited to the sphere of simple observation. But these new discoveries so excited those who were making them that they made another claim — that reality is that which can be directly observed; that which we cannot experience or observe is mere hypothesis, and does not exist. In the nineteenth century this claim was made with great enthusiasm. It was most damaging to religion. Religious creeds are based on belief in the unseen; that which cannot be directly observed or experienced. For this reason many people came to think of religion as hypothetical and unreal. Modern research however, has completely changed this state of affairs. Advanced study has shown that there is more to life than meets the eye — many of the great realities of life lie beyond our comprehension at present. RELIGION AND SCIENTIFIC REASONING Religious creeds are based on belief in the unseen; that which cannot be directly observed or experienced, only inferred.