God, science should learn to get along

Wednesday, April 22, 1998

God, science should learn to get along

RELIGION: Consider other views because no side has monopoly on
truth

By Lev Lvovsky

There have been a number of articles stemming from the Daily
Bruin’s editorial Forum topic (April 10) of religion and faith –
some pro, and some con.

It seems, though, that both sides are missing a crucial point.
It is this very point, that if looked upon and considered, could
bring a lot of understanding to both sides of the argument.

First, no religion, in and of itself, can teach hate. At the
same time, an individual who does not believe in God shouldn’t be
automatically branded as a wrong-doer (sinner).

That being said, think about your own beliefs, regardless of
what they are. You will realize – if you are certain in what you
believe – that you require faith to follow this path.

If you’re a religious person who believes in one all-powerful
being, it is this God who created everything around us. If you are
an atheist (as I am), you rely on science and experiment to show
the way to the answers of where everything came from.

When considering your own viewpoint, realize that there are so
many answers, yet untold by both sides of the story, that no
argument can win the other over.

It is true that wars have been fought in the name of religion.
Wars have been fought in the name of many things, and one needs to
realize that individuals fight these wars, and individuals start
them. No religion on its own orders violence.

Organizations, or people of power, may have some influence on
the people below them – but in the end, it is up to a single person
to decide whether they want to cause hurt or harm to another. Nazi
Germany was not a big blob of hate and overwhelming power, but
instead was a collection of smaller blobs that came together to be
large. In that collection, however, not all followed the rules
decreed to them by the people in charge.

I’ve become tired of arguing endlessly with religious people
about why I shouldn’t believe in a God, and I’m sure the same goes
for a lot of religious people who have ended arguments with
atheists, having gotten nowhere.

Atheists and those who are religious could stand to learn a
little from each other, and the most important thing is to keep an
open mind. No one camp has all the answers on how to live a
"perfect" life, but both have valid arguments nonetheless.