Science

A recent interview with a biochemist at Duke University in ‘Science News‘ inspired this post. Publisher Maya Ajmera asked Paul Modrich this question.

You’ve described yourself as an experimentalist. What do you mean by this and how does it characterize your approach to research?

Here is part of Professor Modrich’s answer:

“The physicist Richard Feynman wrote, ‘The ultimate test of knowledge is experiment. Experiment is the sole judge of scientific ‘truth’.'”

This quote of Feynman, who is a favorite thinker of mine, struck home as a succinct expression of what the scientific enterprise is all about. Science, which is knowledge of the cosmos and any of its content, has to be verified by peer-reviewed testing. Without scientific method, what is said remains just opinion or speculation and might be true or false.

Religion

Wouldn’t it be great to have experiment in religion research, so that people could have definite knowledge of spiritual matters? Religious studies go on around the world on college campuses, in seminaries, church libraries and religious writing occurs in journals, books, blogs, etcetera. Scientific method indeed has made an impact on religion in form, for example, of textual criticism of Bible or historical criticism of sacred texts and traditions for establishment of facts. Also, sociological studies of churches and religious groups are based on empirical methods. Psychology and neurology examine mental matters and behavior in religious adherents. Yet deeper matters, such as questions about miracles, efficacy of prayer, existence of God, seem impenetrable to methods of science. Things of faith, incapable of scientific confirmation, become more irrelevant with advancement of science and technology in our world. Yet faith persists in many, many people. That religious faith is or is becoming passe does not make it invalid. It means people don’t understand God or have little connection to the sacred or numinous.

Personal Foundation of Western Religion

Though scientific method requires research conclusions to be verified or at least subject to falsification through further study, this isn’t a principle of belief in the three major monotheisms, Judaism, Christianity, Islam. These religions accept testimony to God on an informal, person to person basis. This is seen in traditions and Scriptures concerning Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. These individuals experienced private revelations, Moses at the burning bush, Jesus in the Jordan River and in the desert, Muhammad in mountain caves in the desert vicinity of Mecca. Then, missions of preaching, teaching, begin in a quest for followers. Gathering disciples by the founders is largely a matter of personal persuasion and charisma is a factor.

Charisma is a graceful feature of personality that attracts others. A charismatic person is seen to have a pleasing order in their self-presentation which merits authority. It is a rare gift in persons. Moses for instance, was given miracles to impress fellow Hebrews and Pharaoh as well, and also assistance with speaking. The mission and message of Muhammad, Jesus, Moses has been authenticated by the conversion of followers and the spread of their message to new believers in generation upon generation.

Ritual and Prayer

So experiment is vital in religion too, only the original experiment, the charismatic missions of the founders – Muhammad was a man of “outstanding character” – took place in the past. When scientists invent time-travel, they may go back to these men and return to the present with reports as to their fraudulence or sincerity along with visual evidence of their doings.

In the meantime, religious rituals essentially reenact activities of the prophetic founders and sacred texts are read. These are to remind present-day believers of the basis of their faith. Prayer and other actions of faith are available to provide experiential data of the truth or falsity of religious tenets. With God, each individual is decision-maker, an author of faith. Every person is an experiment.