Science is not a philosophy of life

The term “science” is sometimes used as if it were a philosophy of life, superior to other philosophies and religions. Some believe in God, while others, more enlightened, believe in Science. This way of viewing science is ill-conceived.

Science is a set of methods and tools that researchers use to seek knowledge about the universe we live in. These methods have proven to benefit humanity in many areas. We now have better conditions for producing food, providing healthcare, etc. We can travel in ways we couldn’t before and communicate in increasingly sophisticated ways. Scientific research also has its downsides. Perhaps not because of the research itself, but because of how it is used. Scientific research has, for example, led to us now, for the first time in human history, being more or less capable of destroying ourselves in a nuclear war.

Scientific methods are adapted to investigate our physical universe. Metaphysical and spiritual matters lie outside the realm of science.

Atheism is a belief that everything has come into being by itself. There is no higher power that created the universe, and therefore all belief in God is seen as delusion. Some atheists try to use science to prove that their belief is true, but of course this is not possible. Scientific methods are limited to investigating the physical universe; they cannot comment on metaphysical and spiritual matters.

There is no conflict between science and belief in God. A person who has a spiritual relationship with God can also be a dedicated scientist and conduct research based on scientific methods. An atheist can also be a dedicated researcher. What distinguishes these two is that atheists are limited to the physical world when it comes to questions of life, while believers also have access to the spiritual world.

According to the Bible, the physical universe was created from the spiritual world. This means that the physical, material world reflects the spiritual world in many ways. Therefore, we can find references to spiritual things in the physical world. Jesus, for example, often used things and relationships in the physical world in his parables to explain spiritual realities.

Another concept that is sometimes misunderstood is “faith.” Unscrupulous debaters try to place faith in God in the same category as belief in elves and trolls. Christian faith (if I may limit myself to that) is a worldview that, among other things, gives us knowledge about why we exist and what the meaning of life is. This is something that neither science nor belief in elves and trolls deals with. Christian faith is available to all people, but not everyone has come as far in their spiritual development. Faith is like Jesus’ parable of the kingdom of God, like a small mustard seed planted in the ground. When it lands in good soil, it takes root and begins to grow until it eventually fills the whole of existence. But growing is a process that takes time. That is why it is difficult to immediately understand the depth of faith in God. You must have a certain humility and become like a child to enter the kingdom of God, said Jesus. You cannot have the whole mystery of the Christian faith explained to you over a cup of coffee, but you can start there.

Tommy Lindén

(This text is translated from Swedish to English using DeepL. If you find any serious errors, please let me know and I will correct them. Thank you. tommylindensweden@gmail.com)