According to Galileo Galilei, science and faith are tools for understanding the truth, which comes from God. The vast scientific territory is therefore not a positivist area insensitive to mystery. And in fact, Pope John Paul II, in the Encyclical Letter: "Fides et Ratio" addressed to the bishops of the Catholic Church, wrote that scientists were bringing great knowledge to humanity and that they should be encouraged to continue their efforts, combining them with the values ethical and philosophical principles aimed at respecting human nature.
Science is based on reason, on the intellect understood as rational thought, on empiricism, which is reached through the senses, as Locke, Hume and Berkeley remind us well. Religion, on the other hand, is made of revelation. Many of the scientific discoveries were achieved, over the centuries, thanks to the contributions of pioneers of the Christian religion, such as the Franciscan friar Roger Bacon, who is credited with having formalized the scientific method. The concept of science is a recent invention that dates back to the 19th century, while that of religion dates back to the 17th century. Until then, ancient texts such as the Bible, the Koran and other sacred texts did not possess any concept of religion, at least in the expression of the original languages.
The term "scientist" was coined, however, for the first time by the naturalist theologian, William Whewell in 1834, and was aimed at those who investigated and sought knowledge and understanding of nature. The first approach between Christian faith and Platonism occurs with Saint Augustine, in the creation of a relationship between religious faith and the critical reason of philosophy. Thomas Aquinas also highlights how the difference between philosophy, theology and science is eliminated by the fact that they all speak of God, man and the world.
The intellectual position of those who believe that the only valid knowledge is that of the physical and experimental sciences and consequently reject any other form of knowledge, ignoring "spaces of spirituality and mystery" such as those of inexplicable healings, is that of those who deny the relationship between neuroscience and faith, the subject of a study by Nobel Prize winner William Daniel Phillips, professor at the University of Maryland, member of the Nist - National Institute of Standards and Technology and member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences which shows us the non-existence of the conflict between science and a book like the Bible also in consideration of the fact that the lyricism and metaphors contained therein are the best vehicle to pass on the evolution and creation of the world.
This study, together with the Encyclical Fides et Ratio, goes to refute Scientism, i.e. the intellectual position of those who believe that the only valid knowledge is that of the physical and experimental sciences. Pope Wojtyla, in fact, warned those who, devoid of any ethical and epistemological reference, gave in to market logic, to the dangerous demiurgic power over nature and the human being. The possible "bridge" between science and faith, both expressions of God, find their barrier and their limit in not going beyond the laws of Nature and Ethics. As Einstein told us, the link between science and faith is indissoluble, because one is missing without the other. It is no coincidence that he wrote: "religion without science is blind, while science without religion is lame".
Professor Antonio Giordano, M.D., Ph.D., is the creator and head of the Sbarro Health Research Organization, located at Temple University's College of Science and Technology in Philadelphia. Stay connected with him through his various social media platforms, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram, to receive the latest updates.
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