Faith and Dogma in Science and Religion

A couple of weeks ago I attended the annual Grand Dialogue Conference in Grand Rapids, MI. The speaker was Allan Wallace and his topic was "Experience, Reason, and Faith in Science and Religion: A Buddhist Perspective". Today I want to bring just a few of his ideas to you. His entire talk will be available soon at the Grand Dialogue website. His PowerPoint presentation is available now.

Wallace began by talking about the role of faith in both science and religion. It’s not common for us to think of science as a “faith based” enterprise, but if you ask working scientists they will tell you this is true. Wallace is in the presentation using a particular definition of faith - by "faith" he means "trust".

Science is based on faith in the discoveries of others. Scientists trust the results of others. No scientist redoes every experiment to prove its correctness for themselves. Scientists simply must trust each other. Scientists also have faith in the reliability of the equipment and methods they use. Galileo may have made his own telescope but today, few scientists make their own equipment. They must have trust in the people who make the instruments and they must trust those who maintain and repair them. Scientists must also rely on the public's faith in them and their work. They must have faith that others have faith in them. As Wallace pointed out, doing science is very expensive and science will not be funded it people don't have faith in the scientists and their results.

Faith plays a remarkably similar role in religion. Religions have faith in the revelations of "saints and sages". Religion has faith in the practices and teachings of the tradition. Finally Wallace says out that religion has "faith that the insights and realizations of past adepts can be replecated in the present." Now for people of faith, this discussion of faith is incomplete, but isn't it interesting the ways science and religion are both deeply dependent on the trustworthiness of others?

Wallace also talked about dogma. His definition of dogma is:

"A coherent universally applied worldview consisting of a collection of beliefs
and attitudes that call for a person's intellectual and emotional allegiance. A
dogma, therefore, has a power over individuals and communities that is far
greater that the power of mere facts and fact- related theories. Indeed, a dogma
may prevail despite the most obvious contray evidence, and commitment to a dogma
may grow all the more zealous when obstacles are met. Thus, dogmatists often
appear to be incapable of learning from any kind of experience that is not
authorized by the dictates of their creed."

Based on this definition, he then discussed dogmatism in religion and science. Religious dogmatism holds that the source of its beliefs is infallible and therefore its beliefs are true. Because its beliefs are true, its religions practices are the only valid practices.

Materialism on the other hand, claims that there is no other world beyond the physical, natural world and this natural, physical world is the sole source of knowledge. The only way to know about the world is by physical evidence.

Notice that Wallace has changed from talking about "science" to talking about "materialism" because certainly not all scientists are materialists. As a method, science excludes all supernatural or nonphysical entities because they can't be quantified or measured. Science as a method cannot have an opinion about the non physical. If the non physical exists, it exists outside the area of expertize of science. Also notice that he does not talk at all about God in his discussion. I suspect his goal was to point out particular areas of similarity and not give an exhaustive discussion of faith and dogma.

Wallace in his talk has quiet a bit more to say about knowledge and truth and his proposal for a way forward. You are invited to listen to his presentation to learn the rest. His presentation of faith and dogma reveal some interesting similarities between religion and materialism/scientism. So I would like to know, what do you think? Does this juxtaposition work? Is it valid? Is it helpful? Does discovering this common ground help us understand each other better?

I will have limited or no Internet access for the next several days. I have asked several questions and I am interested in your response but I won't be able to actively participate for about 10 day. until I return. So please discuss among yourselves and I will check in on April 5th.

Sunday Devotion: Transfiguration - Just a Story?

Some people say that the Gospels are just mere stories. Peter, however, declared that they were eye witness accounts of what truly took place in Christ's lifetime. Our challenge today is this: do we accept Peter's testimony?

Podcast version here

I love making up stories, especially for the children of our church on Sunday mornings. I guess I started telling stories for my brothers late at night when we were kids. Three of us shared the same bedroom and each of us had to deal with my mother’s insanity in different ways. At night time, sleep never came easy for any of us, so I would tell stories to my younger brothers and eventually they would sleep peacefully. I can’t really remember what any of those stories were about – it all took place about forty years ago – but those storytelling skills have stayed with me, which is why I enjoy giving the kids sermon during worship.

Some people believe that the Gospels are just made up, and have become ecclesiastical stories that people must accept or they will experience the Church’s wrath. Eckhart Tolle in his book, “A New Earth” makes such a complaint. He writes about the Bible being a collection of stories with morals within them that are imposed upon the readers or hearers. What he is trying to do is to undermine the value of the Bible and diminish the faith of Christians.

2 Peter 1:16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

Peter, in his second letter, faced similar opposition, which is why he reminds his readers that the events he relates about Jesus were not just stories, but eye witness accounts of what actually happened. Peter insists that he was there when Christ was transfigured. It is not a magical story, which is meant to charm the listener; it is an actual reporting of what truly happened.

Tolle may wish that the Gospels were mere stories so that he can pursue his own misguided philosophy. Peter, however, was willing to die for what he knew to be true, so for me, his testimony has more authenticity than anything Tolle can make up.

The question for all of us today is this: are the Gospels mere morality tales to help us through life, or are they God’s truth to lead us to eternal life?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Your life is so different from all others and Your messages are meant to challenge our lives and change our ways. Some voices in the world would have us believe that Your teaching, Your existence, and Your purposes are just mere myths. Help us to hold fast to Your ways and keep us from falling into the temptations of unbelief. In Your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Sunday Devotion: Tuning Out

How a music teacher’s negative attitude in High School discouraged a lot of students. Why faith is a complete turn-off to the world if God is always presented as being judgmental.

When I was in High School, I used to enjoy music and looked forward to learning how to decode all of the notes and symbols on paper. Then one year a new principal of music took over the department and she turned out to be the most obnoxious teacher in the whole school. She had a sour attitude towards most of her students and even though we tried hard to please her with our efforts, it was never enough. Thus, instead of carrying on with music, most students like myself gave it up as soon as we could. If only her demeanor had been different, it may have produced a lot more musicians and singers in our school.

I remember one day that I was hurrying to get to my after school work. In order to save time, I changed out of my school uniform into my working clothes. Just before I left the school building, I met the music principal. She berated me for twenty minutes about not honoring the school by being out of uniform. I tried to explain, but she wouldn’t listen to me. All she was interested in was teaching me a lesson that had no relevance to my life. I was late for work and had some of my precious pay docked. To this day, I have been unable to remember a single music lesson that she ever gave; all that I recall is her ugly attitude.

Verse of the Day: Job 34::9 For he says, 'It profits a man nothing when he tries to please God.'

Sadly, for some people, God seems to be the same. Churches and preachers present a judgmental and vindictive God who wants to destroy sinners by their billions and wreak havoc in their lives. How can people be in love with a God that absolutely terrifies them? How can they cheerfully serve a deity who wants to eliminate them? If God is presented as being critical of people all of the time, then no wonder that the world is tuning out. Divine judgment is a serious issue, but there also has to be a generous helping of grace applied for the Gospel to be effective and attractive.

Christ came into the world to encourage, comfort, and unite us by His love. He gave up His life because God loves this world. And Jesus was raised from the dead because God wants that love to continue for ever. Isn’t that the message of the Gospel? Isn’t that the hope we all have faith in? Isn’t that the lesson we all yearn to learn?

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we can never applaud You sufficiently for the work of salvation that You wrought for our world. We are truly grateful for the wonder of Your Life, the power of Your Sacrifice, and the glory of Your Resurrection. We are attracted to You because You embrace, comfort, and guide us. Help us to encourage others around us to do the same, by presenting to them the grace of Your Gospel. In Your Precious Name, we pray. Amen.

Stushie is a Scottish Presbyterian Pastor in Knoxville, Tennessee. He writes the daily devotional "Heaven's Highway." He also illustrates a political cartoon blog called "Pushing the Envelope."