Science and Religion

WHY IS TRUTH IMPORTANT TO RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS?

Truth is important to all religious people because religion is a way of life.  People want to to know if what they are doing is right.  People following a religion want to know that what they believe is true.  They are living their lives as God wants them to.  To know their holy book is God's words means they are following his rules and living as He wants them to.

There are four types of truth - historical, scientific, spiritual and moral.

Historical truth is information supported by facts from historical evidence to prove something happened.  We can prove WWII happened because we have evidence such as statements from witnesses, photos, video footage and written documents.

Scientific truth is information supported by scientific evidence.  Scientific evidence is found through experiments, research and other testing.

Spiritual truth is beliefs supported by your own faith.  Spiritual truths are personal to you and based on what you believe in.  eg someone may  believe in God because they believe He communicates with them when they pray.

Moral truth is information supported by what your conscience tells you.  You may believe abortion is wrong because you are of the opinion that life starts at conception.

THE PROBLEMS WITH TRUTHS

Historical truths - historical sources are not always entirely accurate.  They often are biased, so they may distort the facts.  Lots of historical information is based on approximations and estimates.  It is not specific.

Scientific truth - scientific truth evolves over time.  What we believe now may be proved as wrong later.  People used to think the earth was flat, but we now know that it is spherical.

Spiritual truth - it is based on a person's opinion.  What may be spiritual truth for one person is not true for another person.

Moral truth - we all have different opinions.  What one person may see as right may be seen as wrong by another person.  Moral truths can change - your opinion on something may change if you are presented with new evidence.

Truths can be categorised into two sections - absolute and evolving truth.  Absolute truth cannot be wrong.  The facts are entirely correct, eg no triangle is round.  Evolving truth varies depending on the level of knowledge and understanding at the time the facts were determined.

SCIENCE AND RELIGION

Science and religion often disagree with one another and the way they approach the questions they are trying to answer. On the origins of the universe, science answers how it began, how life started and how it developed.  Religion tries to answer why all of these happened.

Science and religion can never agree because science requires facts that are proof.  The theory of evolution and the big bang is based on facts.  A scientist cannot believe God created the universe as it is based on belief, which is abstract information.

Science and…