“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” the Apostle Paul, The Epistle to the Hebrews 11:1 KJV.“... Faith is not to have a perfect knowledge of things; therefore if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true.” Alma the Younger, The Book of Alma 32: 21, The Book of Mormon.
“For as the body without the spirit is dead, so is faith without works is dead also.” The Apostle James, The Epistle of James 2:26 KJV.
For months I have been searching for a way to reconcile science and religion. It has been a daunting task. There seems to be no way to bring the geological strata and the six days of creation or the Theory of Evolution and the Garden of Eden together. It is as if the Bible and the “Book of Nature” directly oppose each other. But I have found at least one small intersection, one thing that is shared by both religion and science: Faith.
First, when I talk about faith, I must acknowledge that I don’t know as much as I think I do. Knowledge is based on evidence, and grows with every new experience I have; but it is never absolute. One new piece of evidence can destroy everything I think I know about someone or something. This is why most scientists will say that their theories, models, and hypotheses are only as good as the latest evidence. I get the feeling in church that some religionists do not, or will not, admit this very human condition. They seem to believe that they are in possession of absolute, eternal knowledge. I restate my own personal belief, I do not know very much at all.
But not know things for certain does not cripple me as a human being. I think I actually live by faith every day of my life. Faith is an integral part the nature of human life. I define faith as Paul and Alma do: Faith is the hope that bridges the gap from what I do know to what I do not yet know. I believe that hope motivates me to experiment, check things out, or to begin any task. Faith is believing and then acting to discover new evidence, and to have new experiences. With every new experience my confidence grows, I have more evidence to back my beliefs and thus can claim that my faith is stronger.
I believe I manifest three levels of faith.
The first is a Level 0 Faith: Unbelief, or No Faith. At this level I do not believe the claims made by others as anything more than imagination, fantasy, or lies. I will not waste any time trying to verify these claims and often it is clear there is no need to. I recognize fiction presented as fiction to me, and do not go in search of the places, characters, and events recounted in novels, movies, or plays. Fiction may be entertaining and even have some truth to it, but I do not go looking to verify a work of fiction. At this level I believe that both religionists and scientists agree, especially if they both agree that a statement is, in fact, fiction.
Next there is a Level 1 Faith: a Tentative, Experimental Faith. This is the kind of faith I have when I see or hear something and may not completely believe it, but I am willing to try, or to experiment. This is the kind of faith that Doubting Thomas had, refusing to believe the other disciples until he had the same experience as his peers. It is the faith the shepherds had after seeing the angels proclaim the birth of the Messiah. They said, “Let’s go and see this thing…” It is the faith that Peter had seeing Jesus walking on water. He got out tried it himself. It is also the faith scientists have as they research theories, do the math, form a hypothesis and perform an experiment to obtain evidence to support (or refute) their hypothesis. It is also the faith I have as I get in my car and begin a trip to the store. I don’t actually know if I will get there as planned. I certainly think I will, based on all my past experiences, but something can still happen that will surprise me. This Level 1 Faith motivates me to plant a garden, learn new knowledge and skills, to start a new job, or to get married and raise children. I use this level of “Let’s go see” faith all the time in my ordinary secular live and in my spiritual life as well. I pray, I go to church, and I follow the teachings in my religion to see if they will work in my life.
Then there is a Level 2 Faith: A Patient, Waiting Faith. In science there are those who have developed theories, done the math, and even made the predictive hypotheses, but do not yet have the technology or the right circumstances to conduct the experiment. The person who predicted the Higgs Boson had to wait decades to test his theory. There are theories that I may never be able to test. The more honest religionists will agree that we must have faith in God, because that there is not enough evidence to prove that He exists. I must wait for a revelation from God to know that He exists. I exercise this kind of faith believing in God’s creation of the earth, the garden of Eden, the life and mission of Jesus Christ, and His Second Coming. This is probably what I most commonly think of as faith. It is an honest Pascal’s Wager. It is being honest about not knowing, but believing anyway without enough evidence to actually know yet. It believing that I will know one day.
Finally, I may step over faith completely and display a counterfeit knowledge, stating that I have progressed beyond faith to that knowledge. I would hope that my faith will grow into knowledge. But until I am accepted into the Kingdom of God, or more secularly, until every question I can possibly ask has been answered, I will not have absolute knowledge. Not knowing, I have to continue the application of faith, experimenting when I can, and waiting patiently when I have to. This can be a problem. I want so much to know for sure the answers to life’s big questions. I want to know there is a God. I want to see into Heaven. I also want to know exactly how the Big Bang occurred, and how life began on Earth. Like others, maybe I cannot accept the tensions and anxieties of not knowing and so I throw out all my rules for evidence and accept the scant clues I have as conclusive to settle my very human angst, because now I “know beyond a shadow of a doubt.” My mind is made up, and I am not looking at any more evidence. I know. Whether it is the Bible, the geological strata, or DNA, I have all the evidence I need. I am convinced.
I think this counterfeit knowledge actually short circuits faith, where I pretend to know what I cannot know. My faith cannot grow because I “already know.” Unfortunately, in this false state of knowing, I really can offer no evidence for my knowledge claims. Here, at this level, I see scientists and religionists debating most often. One side demanding evidence, the other stating their claims are self-evident.
Science and religion diverge quickly in the methodologies they use to answer questions, and in the conclusions they reach. I still have not reconciled the two, but I have found, in my humble opinion, a trait they both share. Science and religion both depend on faith, as do we all.
"For we know in part, and we prophesy in part..." the Apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 13: 9
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