Religion incompatible with truth, science

20 Nov, 2016 - 00:11 0 Views
Religion incompatible with truth, science

The Sunday Mail

Shingai Rukwata Ndoro #Chiseling the Debris —
LAST week we had a discussion to show that Christianity is based on assumptions rather than truth. Using the Oxford Dictionary, “truth” is “that which is in accordance with fact or reality.”

“True” is a 12th century word derived from the Old English “triewe” (trustworthy), itself from the German “treu” (trusty), based on the Sanskrit “dru” on the notion of “steadfast as an oak”.

In Greek and Latin, truth is “aletheia” and “veritas” respectively.

“Aletheia” is defined as “manifest, unconcealed, being in reality what it appears to be, what has certainty and validity” (Strong’s Greek Concordance #225).

In Hebrew, truth is “emet”, meaning “firmness, faithful, fidelity, reliability, stability, faithfulness”. “Truly” is also the meaning of the ancient Egyptian “Amen”, meaning “firm, reliable and stable”.

“The Sanskrit word translated ‘truth’, sat, more commonly means reality, how things actually are, rather than a statement of doctrine.” (Sally Dougherty)

In ancient Egypt, “truth” was called “ma’at,” meaning “anything that is true, ordered and balanced”. “Ma’at” was the female counterpart of Thoth (named Hermes by Greeks), the cosmic power of learning, measurement and great wisdom.

Fact is “a truth verifiable from actual experience or observation” or “something whose truth can be proved”, while reality is “the state of things as they actually exist, as opposed to an idealistic or notional idea of them”.

A fact is “distinct from opinions, falsehoods, or matters of taste”.

For anything to be factual, it has to be in accordance with admissible empirical evidence and experience. When we don’t have facts, we cannot verify and therefore things are assumed. An assumption or supposition is a “thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof”.

Related to this, there is what is called a hypothesis, which is “a supposition or proposed explanation made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation”.

Since it’s now clear that truth is that which is in accordance with verifiable facts and empirical evidence. The facts that are held about something at a particular time are impersonal.

We should consistently seek to improve the facts we hold about something so that the truth we know about something is nearer to what that something is. This would then mean that truth is the closest knowledge one holds to what something is at any one time.

That which we know at any one time is subject to change due to improvement of circumstances and knowledge. This is through science, a discipline that is constantly searching for what we know about anything.

Etymologically, “science” is “knowledge through a detailed investigation and analysis of a subject or situation”. It comes from the Late Latin “scientia” for “knowledge”, from sciens (scientis), “to know”.

Literally, science means “knowledge” or “way of pursuing knowledge”. Knowledge is acquired by experimenting and a rational method of inquiry. Science factually and evidentially answers questions like what, why, when and how? According to Plato, “science’’ is the discovery of the truth (or knowledge) through logic.

There are five essential elements of a scientific method which are as follows:
1. Characterisation — curious observations, definitions and measurements of natural phenomenon as the subject of inquiry;
2. Hypotheses — make some formulations, suppositions and assumptions based on the observation;
3. Experimentation — testing of hypothesis by experimentation observations and assumptions;
4. Theory — the hypothesis is proved to be a formulation that explains the observation; and
5. Scientific law or principle — where a hypothesis is proven independently.

Therefore, truth improves and develops with ceaseless and unlimited investigation, scrutiny, testing and examination. This made possible by the “growth mindset”.

In comparison, when an unproved “truth” becomes a basis of a statement of beliefs and articles of faith, a religious or political dogma is born. A religious or political belief is “an acceptance that something exists or is true, especially one without proof or evidence”.

Assumptions, suppositions or beliefs are not based on verifiable claims or scientific facts but on paradigm, perspectives and opinions based on tradition or authority.

When assumptions, suppositions or beliefs are not subjected to review against changed or new circumstances, experiences and observations, they are called doctrine, that is “a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as undeniably and undisputed true”.

This is the “fixed mindset”!
From this, it can be noticed that all religions are products of human construction as they are products of imagination, innovation and institutional effort.

Based on the theosophical saying, “There is no religion higher than Truth,” then truth cannot be a hostage or limited to unquestioned “single story” narrative, a dominant doctrine and authority.

To those of a “fixed mindset,” Scriptures are considered as literal and historical events, while to those of “growth mindset”, they are allegory, metaphor and symbolism both to conceal and protect truth. (Matthew 7:6, Mark 4:11)

Feedback: [email protected] and Twitter @shingaiRndoro. A gallery of previous articles is found at www.sundaymail.co.zw/author/shingairukwata

Share This:

Survey


We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds