The Limits of Science
Animals: Tradition - Philosophy - Religion Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM

Stephen Kaufman, M.D., Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)

The Limits of Science

Many questions of religion, particularly those that deal with life’s meaning, are not amenable to scientific investigations. Many questions of science, such as the qualities of atoms, stars, and living things, probably don’t belong in the religious studies department. There are many questions, however, which seem to intersect both disciplines.
 
Where we came from and how we relate to the cosmos, for example, can have religious elements and be informed by science at the same time. Science can tell us about the origins of atoms, the structure of molecules, how cells grow and multiple, and how organs interact. Such information helps us understand what kind of beings we are and, through comparison to other humans and nonhumans, how we relate to other life forms.

Science has demonstrated that we are very similar to many other animals, and this accords with evolutionary theory (which itself is grounded in several disciplines, including cosmology, geology, paleontology, comparative anatomy, comparative physiology, and ethology). Yet, the question of how we, individually, came to exist remains a great mystery that, evidently, science has little to offer.

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Go on to: Meditation: "Be kind."
Return to: Reflection on the Lectionary, Table of Contents 

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