Article Religion, Science, and Rationality
by eminent scholars seems to reopen the already open door. Although differently motivated, irreligious scientists are often driven by the long-lasting belief that religion is outdated and does not match to do scientific job. No doubt the scientific outlook is a kind of faith too. Likewise, religious scholars maintain meaningful presumption that some kind of transcendent power or appears behind all phenomena of the natural world. Otherwise nothing is explainable.
There is no contradiction between being a scholar - even in science- and believing that God exists. In the 21st century the dialogue between Religion and Science is very active and productive.
Hello Pawel, pleased to meet you. I guess one can say that many movements begin because a person heard God speak or a theophany from God speak. So is the case with Muhammad and the Koran, so is the case with Joan of Arc, so is the case with Moses at Mt. Sinai, so is the case with Joseph Smith who in the Spring of 1820, in a wooded area in Manchester, New York, which his followers call the Sacred Grove, Smith described the vision he received there as a personal theophany in which he received instruction from God to start the Mormon religion, so is the case with Martin Luther who started the Great Reformation, so is the case with Constantine who along with his soldiers had a vision sent by the Christian God, it was interpreted as a promise of victory if the sign of Chi-Rho, the first two letters of Christ's name in Greek, was painted on the soldiers' shield, so is the case with the comedian Danny Thomas who believed that Saint Jude was the cause of his success so he built St. Jude Hospital for children. Need I go on? I myself personally could not be able to do all the things I am able to do without a supernatural hand in my life and destiny telling me you can make it, you can do it, step out by faith.
Serious scholars approach faith more rationally and do not fall prey to superstitions. This does not mean that scholars cannot be religious and pious. In fact, the quality of their religious faith is intellectually higher and open to verification. In contrast, it is possible for adherents of anti-faith scientism to be following seriously false superstitions that are closer to fiction than to fact. Scientists can be experts in fiction-writing.
Indonesia have 17 Islamic Universities that focus on developing scientific-religion based (Knowledge Integration). In the end of the year they will be invited scholars from around the word to conferences (Annual International Conference on Islamic Studies/AICIS) In Jakarta.
God is a matter of experience and faith; if you have no faith or have not experienced anything does not mean it does not exist. The onus to prove that God exists is same on the believer as it is on non believer that He does not exist. Scientist are exploring and creating and they have done well from antibiotics to Mars landing to nuclear bombs to IA controlling the humankind. Yet many dimensions and realities remain unexplored. Let us wait and see.
I have recently published an article on the religious faith discovered by philosophers. It may not be relevant for the discussion for those who identify by "scholars" those mainly interested in sciences, but nevertheless, maybe this would expand the discussion. I think the core aspect which might contribute to your inquiry is that those philosophers I discuss wrote autobiographies to illuminate their conversion experience. The title of my article is "Faith and understanding: late twentieth-century autobiographical conversion narratives by British and American philosophers", · European Journal of English Studies 23(1):56-72 DOI: 10.1080/13825577.2019.1594144. or follow this link Article Faith and understanding: late twentieth-century autobiograph...
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