Knocking on Heaven's Door - Lisa Randall [36]
Luther himself did not accept Copernicus’s theory. But neither did most anyone else until Galileo’s advanced observations and ultimately Newton’s theory of gravity validated it later on. Luther did, however, accept other advances made in astronomy and medicine, which he found consistent with an open-minded appreciation of nature. He wasn’t necessarily a great scientific advocate, but the Reformation created a way of thinking—an atmosphere where new ideas were discussed and accepted—that encouraged modern scientific methods. Thanks also in part to the development of printing, scientific as well as religious ideas could rapidly spread and diminish the authority of the Catholic Church.
Luther held that secular scientific pursuits were potentially as valuable as religious ones. Scientists such as the great astronomer Johannes Kepler felt similarly. Kepler wrote to Michael Maestlin, his former professor at Tubingen, “I wanted to become a theologian, and for a long time I was restless. Now, however, observe how through my effort God is being celebrated in astronomy.” 23
In this view, science was a way of acknowledging the spectacular nature of God and what he created and the fact that explanations for how things worked were rich and varied. Science became a means of better understanding God’s rational and orderly universe, and furthermore helping humankind. Notably, early modern scientists, far from rejecting religion, construed their inquiry as a form of praise for God’s creation. They viewed both the Book of Nature and the Book of God as paths to edification and revelation. The study of nature in this view was a form of gratitude and acknowledgment to their creator.
We occasionally hear this viewpoint in more recent times as well. The Pakistani physicist Abdus Salam, during the speech he gave when receiving the 1979 Nobel Prize for his role in creating the Standard Model of particle physics, asserted, “The Holy Prophet of Islam emphasized that the quest for knowledge and sciences is obligatory upon every Muslim, man and woman. He enjoined his followers to seek knowledge even if they had to travel to China in its search. Here clearly he had scientific rather than religious knowledge in mind, as well as an emphasis on the internationalism of the scientific quest.”
WHY DO PEOPLE CARE?
Despite the essential differences the last chapter described, some religious believers are happy to apply the scientific and religious parts of their brains separately and continue to view understanding nature as a way of understanding God. Many who don’t actively pursue science too are happy to allow scientific progress to proceed unfettered. Still, the rift between science and religion nonetheless persists for many in the United States and other parts of the world. It occasionally expands to the point where it causes violence or at the very least interferes with education.
From the point of view of religious authority, challenges to religion such as science can be suspect for many reasons, including some that have nothing to do with truth or logic. For those in charge, God can always be invoked as the trump card that justifies their point of view. Independent inquiry of any kind is clearly a potential threat. Prying into God’s secrets might furthermore undermine the moral power of the church and the secular authority of the rulers on Earth. Such questioning could also interfere with humility and community loyalty, and might even lead one to forget God’s importance. No wonder religious authorities are sometimes worried.
But why do individuals align themselves with this point of view? The real question for me is not what the differences are between science and religion. Those can be reasonably well delineated as we argued in the previous chapter. The important