Science and God

[Guest guest]

Arun Reddy < A Physicist's Faith In Science And God

http://spirituality.indiatimes.com/articleshow/13372.cmsA Physicist's Faith In

Science And GodNo one can deny that the universe is the outcome of intelligent

placing. It is unusual. We, too, are unusual. To make it possible for life to

exist, special physical laws are required. So I would say that this is a very

special universe. It has been intelligently planned. How can anyone confute

that? So there is indeed a spiritual world; a Creator. Most people do not

realise that science, like religion, requires faith. We make so many

assumptions. We believe that the laws of physics are reliable - that's a kind

of faith. We create experiments that can test and verify these laws. God

initiated the universe, He created it. But we change the world too. Therefore,

we have a responsibility; we have to ensure that we change it for the better.

Take cloning, for instance. We humans are co-creators. How we go about cloning

depends on whether we're doing it for the common good. It raises many complex

and difficult questions. We are changing all the time. So instead of imposing a

total ban on creative research, it is better to regulate it carefully. What does

technology do? It enhances our ability to do newer and bigger things - for good

or bad. Then again, we can harm one another even without the help of

technology. So the potential to hurt each other predates any technology.

Science and technology merely enlarge the scope, the possibilities. The choice

remains with us as it did even before we invented technology. Science attempts

to understand how the universe works. Religion attempts to understand the

purpose and meaning of the universe. If there is purpose and meaning, it will

affect the nature of the universe. Once we understand the meaning, we can get

to know the purpose. Science is said to be objective while religion is

subjective. Science has its inconsistencies. Religion has its puzzles, too.

Science doesn't allow free will; yet, we think we have free will. We have to

learn to accept inconsistencies in both science and religion. The more we

understand about the two, the greater the possibility of bringing the two

streams of thought closer together. To make this possible, science and religion

will have to change in many ways. True, science has many inconsistencies. Even

general relativity and quantum mechanics are not consistent with each other.

Yet, we think each one of them is correct. So too in religion. Now take the

subject of revelations. It is part of the history of religion. But revelations

happen in science, too, except that a revelation is not called a revelation -

it's an idea, a flash of genius, a new creation. When the idea for the laser

came to me, I was sitting on a park bench, thinking... why haven't I been able

to do this? Suddenly, I got this new idea. Who gave me this idea? God? Who

knows? In science, we don't usually talk about it. You could say I had an idea.

I do believe there is a spiritual presence in the universe. It is difficult to

define God, but I can feel an omnipresence everywhere. People ask, if God

created the universe, who created God? So there's always a problem with a

beginning. Many of us create a spiritual universe that is not visible. This

will evidently not be included in the domain of science. So too, free will. It

is said that because we don't know, it can't be. I would say that because we

don't know, we don't know. Charles H Townes(The author, a Nobel laureate,

invented the maser and co-invented the laser. He spoke to Narayani Ganesh when

he visited India recently.)