Daily Times

All men traverse through different stages of their lives and those who embark on the journey in quest of knowledge often find themselves in a perplexing situation. When one delves deep into different subjects, more queries take birth in one’s mind. Resultantly, all the notions that were instilled in his mind start to get weak, he starts to challenge the validity of ideas he once held near to his heart, the beliefs he stood with unequivocally once, now all of a sudden they stop making sense.

While going through all this an average person starts to think about everything from an analytical perspective and his new romance with science compels him to see everything through the lens of science which means if it cannot be measured, felt and proven it may be dismissed altogether. Furthermore, as one reads books like “A brief history of time.” By Stephen Hawkings he thinks that science has answer to everything and slowly starts to adapt science as his new religion and believes every commandment of science as final verdict.

However, when he spends some more time in this state and reads more about the fickle nature of science only then it dawns upon him that even science is not able to answer all the questions. Likewise, Mr Stephen Hawking once gave an idea of some sort of super power behind all the laws of physics and creation of this universe but in his final book “Brief Answers to the Big Questions “which has been published posthumously on October 16,he states that “There is no God. No one directs the universe,”.

When the greatest mind present amongst humanity until recently can change so often how can an average folk rely on something which itself is in it incipient stages and changes direction every now and then.

Just like the game of Snakes and Ladders science has answers to every little detail on the process of formation of earth to solar systems, nebulas to galaxies but when it reaches the 99th box of Big Bang it falls back to square 1 by leaving an unanswered question of how Big Bang occurred in the first place out of nowhere. Consequently, in a face saving attempt we are told that all these phenomena are governed by the laws of physics at a larger scale, so calling God as laws of physics does not change much of the reality.

A hundred years back no one would have imagined that a pocket sized device would help humanity connect to each other but today we are not only doing that but we can also see each other on screen of that device.

Similarly, an observation by Patrick Boyle from Canada’s McGill University has found that the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME) discovered a fast radio burst, which are short bursts of radio waves coming from beyond the Milky Way and have travelled 3 billion light years to reach Earth.

So, how can science explain something which is not yet discovered by it or the proper paraphernalia has not been developed to detect it yet. The problem is that we cannot detect metaphysical energy with equipment designed to detect physical phenomenon.

This is the issue which a scientist refuses to pay heed to, the only thing we can hope for is that one day we shall be able to do so and until science also comes to terms with religion we should agree to Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words, “All I have seen teaches me to trust the creator for all I have not seen.”

How can science explain something which is not yet discovered by it or the proper paraphernalia has not been developed to detect it yet. The problem is that we cannot detect metaphysical energy with equipment designed to detect physical phenomenon. This is the issue which a scientist refuses to pay heed to

Another major aspect is that science has failed to cover the spiritual and emotional needs of man. Science can tell us how things happen but it is religion which tells us that why things happen. The detrimental impacts of moving away from religion can be seen today, those who have lost faith in religion have made this world their one and only abode and to make life better here they are going to any limit without fear of any punishment hereafter. Moreover, dying with a feeling that one is entering an endless void of unconsciousness is itself a murky feeling.

Although all of the above discourse does not mean that science is against religion or we should turn a blind eye to it. Science has helped man achieve things that have helped us move forward into ever new realms, today there is not a sphere of life in which science has not brought revolutionary benefits. However, taking initial findings of science and drawing conclusions that there is no God or day of judgement is something which is concerning and those with prima facie knowledge often fall for this point of view.

Similarly, scientists and astronomers who present such views should also not be blamed as their sole purpose is to seek knowledge on base of what so little instruments can read.

Their splendid work for which they dedicated whole lives in their respective fields cannot be rejected altogether but it may also be remembered that questions like presence of God and his control on universe cannot be trusted with preliminary state of knowledge. Now it is up to us to actually filter and screen out the notions which are fit and which are not and strike a balance between the two. This will ensure a progressive mindset of overall society while preserving our faith at the same time.

The writer can be reached on twitter: @murtazakazi1

Published in Daily Times, October 29^th 2018.