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| Sunday, 25 December 2005 |
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| News Business Features Editorial
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Different Outlook Bible and Science by Arefa Tehsin "All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree. All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man's life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom." - Albert Einstien The oft repeated 'Ashes to ashes, dust to dust', is it not scientific? Religion and Science are always at loggerheads. Science does not look beyond its defined parameters and neither does religion. Generally speaking, scientists completely rule out religion, as the religious people rule out science. Faith, be it in Almighty or in scientific laws, is an integral part of both science and religion. What we fail to understand is that both are linked. One leads to the other. The great souls and prophets who started religions and movements were all seeking for the truth and the mysteries of the universe as the scientists are doing today. Now just the orientation has changed. From spiritual, it has become material. Religion is a way of life, and so teach the books like Bible and Koran, Vedas and Mahavamsa. What we practise as rituals today, were brought into practice for people to lead a healthy and honest life. Celebrating the birth of the great soul Jesus Christ is also a time to remember the pertinent (or should I say scientific) prophesies Bible professes and to which science agrees today. One may not find them written in the same scientific terms used by us, but it is how one interprets the essence of it. Talking of biology, Bible talks of the significance of sanitation and health (Numbers 19, Deuteronomy 23:12-13, Leviticus 7-9), the chemical nature of human life (Genesis 3:19), the nature of infectious diseases (Leviticus 13:46) and that life of creatures is contained in blood (Leviticus 17:11). Astronomical and cosmological references are to be found at many places in the Bible and are suggestive of the current theories on the formation of Universe, Time and so on. As illustrated by Rich Deem in his article 'Accurate Biblical Descriptions of Scientific Principles', many scientific principles find their reflection in Bible. Time had a beginning (2 Timothy 1:9, Titus 1:2, 1 Corinthians 2:7), Universe is expanding (Job 9:8, Psalms 104:2, Isaiah 40:22 and many more references), Number of stars exceeds a billion (Genesis 22:17, Jeremiah 33:22), Every star is different (1 Corinthians 15:41), Earth is a sphere (Isaiah 40:22, Job 26:10), At any time, there is day and night on the Earth (Luke 17:34-35), The dimensions of the universe were created (Romans 8:38-39) are some of the numerous examples. Earth sciences, as described in Bible, do not appear to be at odds with our current scientific beliefs when seen analytically. There are indications in Bible that our planet began as a water world and even the tectonic activity is hinted at (Genesis 1:2-9, Psalms 104:6-9, Proverbs 3:19, Proverbs 8:27-29, Job 38:4-8, 2 Peter 3:5). That air has weight might have seen ridiculous even 100 years ago to many, but it finds its place in Bible (Job 28:25). It has been mentioned that winds blow in circular paths (Ecclesiastes 1:6) and that vents and valleys exist on the bottom of the sea (Job 38:16 and Samuel 22:16). Water cycle has been described as well (Ecclesiastes 1:7; Isaiah 55:10, Job 36:27-28). The human race is nearing Dooms Day, should not be very difficult to believe for the scientifically inclined like me looking at where the human race is heading by rummaging Nature and by becoming the biggest enemy of its own kind. Koran and Bible find similarities in their description of Dooms Day prophecy like excessive heat on earth and many more, the signs of which are evident today. Read through and read between the lines and you'll find the great books like Bible far more closer to life and nature and far ahead of their time.
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