In a message dated 1/10/2004 10:52:15 AM Central Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
> >Along with these welcome promises, science left to itself has the >power to wipe humanity from the face of the earth. > So does religion. In fact, all major world religions, and all the so- called "spiritual" cults that they have spawned are awestruck by apocalyptic visions. > >It is in this context, religion and moral principles become >significant for science. > Religion does not hold any monopoly over moral principles. Indeed, the need of the hour is to strip morality of its religious trappings. > >Traditionally science in our country was largely married to >religion. It was religion that provided the necessary condition and >impetus that led to its growth. > Actually, it can be argued that Indian as well as western science predated religion. If anything, religious indoctrination aborted or stunted the growth of science, both in India and the west. > >But today many of our highly talented and successful scientists are >forced to live in a state of tension between revolutionary new ideas >in science and their traditional views of religion. > The best way to relieve this tension is to abandon all traditional views of religion that have flunked the tests of reason and have become obsolete. > >Many have a positivistic tendency to emphasize science and reduce >religion to a superstition. > This is by and large a good strategy, as long as you exhibit tolerance and congeniality towards people who disagree with you, and respect their right to believe. > >All these approaches have left most scientists and believers >confused. > Some scientists are believers themselves. It is not surprising that they are confused. > >SRS has already held several meetings wherein the participants >reflected on the religious implications of various developments in >science. > I wonder what the religious implication of the recent scientific finding that we do not have a soul, is. How can religion survive the realization that the body is all there is? > >SRS is a science and religion discussion group, which is comprised >of persons of goodwill and open mind. > I think this discussion group is a fantastic idea. Open-mindedness is old hat for science. For religion, it would be something new. The success of this group would therefore depend on the extent to which religious exponents would be willing to be open-minded. > >It seeks to collaborate with man and women who have expertise in >various scientific and religious fields and share a deep concern and >interest towards a thoughtful and dynamic integration of science and >religion for a well-being of humanity, the survival of life, the >deeper appreciation of the marvels of creation and the mystery of >God. > Science cannot appreciate the mystery of God, nor should it, because it has progressively and successfully demystified all that was once thought to be divine. There are also several religions that do not appreciate any kind of God. > >Some religious leaders have taken contemporary science seriously and >have appealed to their followers to keep abreast with the advances >in science. > I have tremendous respect for such leaders. I was fortunate to meet one such person on my recent visit to Goa. Unfortunately, such great minds do not have many followers because they do not pander to people's baser instincts, and their intellectual honesty leads them to question their religious beliefs. Cheers, Santosh ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################