The Positive Relationship Between Science and Religion Essay

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Pages: 28

The Positive Relationship Between Science and Religion

Introduction:

Throughout history we can find many instances where religion was strongly opposed to scientific research. For example, the Catholic Church’s objection to Galileo’s defense of Copernicus’ heliocentric model where he offered his observations that he felt furthered the theory that the planets revolved around the Sun. At that time, the belief that the Holy Scriptures were perhaps inaccurate was one thing, but attempting to confirm it as Galileo tried to do was a completely different issue and resulted in Galileo being forbidden by the Church to write or teach his findings. Another example is the opposition to Darwin’s theory of evolution by the majority of the
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He studied the Moon in his study of optics and discovered what he referred to as the Moon illusion where he pointed out the Moon appeared smaller when it was overhead in the sky as opposed to when it was rising and one could compare the moon to the objects on the earth. Ibn al-Haytham also theorized in his Book of Optics that the planets were subject to the laws of physics and offered his scientific method to be one of simplicity or the minimal use of variables. His study of these areas suggest that they are directly linked to the Qur’an 41:53 where it is stated “We (Allah) will show you (mankind) Our signs/patterns in the horizons/universe and in yourselves until you are convinced that the revelation is the truth." when he states "Therefore, the seeker after the truth is not one who studies the writings of the ancients and, following his natural disposition, puts his trust in them, but rather the one who suspects his faith in them and questions what he gathers from them, the one who submits to argument and demonstration, and not to the sayings of a human being whose nature is fraught with all kinds of imperfection and deficiency. Thus the duty of the man, who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself an enemy of all that he reads, and, applying his mind to the