Religion+and+Science

Prompt #8 12-06-2010 BIG PICTURE: MAIN RULES AND CONSEQUENCES. Describe the main teachings of **The Chinese Philosophies: Confucianism and Taoism** pertinent to your issue. What are the consequences (legal, social, spiritual) when the teachings are not followed? In other words, I'm asking you to investigate whether your ethical issue is considered a public matter, with public, legal, and social consequences, or is it considered a spiritual or personal matter, with more private consequences affecting personal relationships and spiritual matters.

Taoism seems very accepting of science. Possibly using the theories that science finds to solidify the beliefs of Taoism. Many people separate Taoism and science into their own sides. It is more common when reading about science and Taoism that the author talks about them not as a whole but as separate entities. Confucianism and science are definitely treated as two different things. Confucianism deals with ethics and morality rather than with science and what science is concerned with.

http://www.suite101.com/content/comparing-belief-systems-taoism-and-science-a275521 http://www.enotes.com/science-religion-encyclopedia/chinese-religions-confucianism-science-china

Prompt #7 11-15-2010 BIG PICTURE: MAIN RULES AND CONSEQUENCES. Describe the main teachings of **Hinduism** pertinent to your issue. What are the consequences (legal, social, spiritual) when the teachings are not followed? In other words, I'm asking you to investigate whether your ethical issue is considered a public matter, with public, legal, and social consequences, or is it considered a spiritual or personal matter, with more private consequences affecting personal relationships and spiritual matters.

To get an exact view that Hinduism has on science is very hard to do. Since they have no set hierarchy or levels of authority there is no "head person" to go to for answers. Generalizing how the Hinduism religion views science we can come to the assumption that they don't believe that it is bad so to speak but it forces people to have a very limited view on life. Most Hindu people agree that science must be accepted into their lifestyles.

http://www.sanskrit.org/www/Hindu%20Primer/hinduismandscience.html

Prompt #6 10-08-10 BIG PICTURE: MAIN RULES AND CONSEQUENCES. Describe the main teachings of **Islam** pertinent to your issue. What are the consequences (legal, social, spiritual) when the teachings are not followed? In other words, I'm asking you to investigate whether your ethical issue is considered a public matter, with public, legal, and social consequences, or is it considered a spiritual or personal matter, with more private consequences affecting personal relationships and spiritual matters.

Islam is accepting of science and some practices they use. For instance Islam is pro cloning. As long as it does not involve humans. They also do not argue that the earth is only 6,000 years. They believe that Koran has references to science. They believe that God actually helped mankind pursue science. They also say science is okay as long as it used to help people and not for harm. Islam is very cautious with what they study and how the study. There is a very tin line that must not be crossed when studying medicine or preforming scientific research.

http://discovermagazine.com/2007/jul/science-and-islam/article_view?b_start:int=1&-C=

Prompt #2 9-13-2010 Define and describe your topic as an ethical issue and identify the controversies and dilemmas within the issue. Seek to do general background reading to understand the main issues inherent in your topic.Identify at least two opposing positions often taken on your ethical issue, and explain two to three main arguments for each side.

The main argument concerning science and Judaism is the the obvious one. Where do humans come from? Science says we were "made" by evolution and we originated from apes. Judaism says that we were created by God. Science has facts that back up what their theory is but what sort of fact can change someones faith? This is why the conflict has existed since Darwin introduced the theory of evolution and rocked the world of religion. The other main argument is the one between stem cell research. This argument takes place within the different sects of Judaism. Orthodox Jews are against the condoning of stem cell research. On the other hand the conservative and reform Jews are more open to the practice of stem cell research. Going back to the "ancient" days the argument was between dogma and enlightenment. Jewish religion was conservative and believed in reactionary authority. And the sciences were free, had liberalism, and empiricism.

http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/25464/

http://www.aish.com/ci/sam/48969936.html

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2827/jewish/The-Torah-Science-Debates.htm

Prompt #2 9-20-10 BIG PICTURE: MAIN RULES AND CONSEQUENCES. Describe the main teachings of **Judaism** pertinent to your issue. What are the consequences (legal, social, spiritual) when the teachings are not followed? In other words, I'm asking you to investigate whether your ethical issue is considered a public matter, with public, legal, and social consequences, or is it considered a spiritual or personal matter, with more private consequences affecting personal relationships and spiritual matters.

Science does not effect Judaism like science effects Christianity. Judaism is pro-science and a lot of the Jewish scientists support many studies that seem unorthodox to some people. Jewish bioethicists endorse stem cell research believing that they have the value of saving lives (Pickuach nefesh). They also say that if the embryo is less than 40 days old then it is "like water". Another research that is condoned and endorsed is genetic engineering. If it is used for therapeutic purposes that is. Back through the years Jewish people used science for their benefit. Talmud rabbis used astronomical calculations while creating the Jewish calendar. Switching gears we go into the Creation aspect of things. Scientists have stated that the universe was created billions of years ago. The Torah states that the world was created in 6 days. Scientists noted that 6 cosmic years adds up to billions of years. the reason for this is that the further you go out in the universe the heavier the gravity gets and thus slows down time noticeably. If this theory is correct, then science can actually help prove that the Jewish view on Creation is correct or at least close to the right answer. What does this all mean in a social standpoint or even a personal viewpoint? It means that scientists can help prove things in the Torah and even have some people come to realize that religion is not all about acts of "miracles" and things that seem improbable. Science is growing at an alarming rate and many theories are being proven correct or even fact. On a personal note, Jewish scientists that believe in stem cell research can help future families by helping cure things like Parkinson's disease and diabetes. Also cloning can be used to help give hopeful parents who can't conceive a way to bring into the world one of their own.

http://www.simpletoremember.com/faqs/Science_and_Judaism.htm

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Issues/Science/History.shtml

http://www.myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Issues/Bioethics/Genetic_Issues.shtml

http://www.newswise.com/articles/scholars-from-around-the-world-organize-bridge-judaism-with-science?page=1&search[status]=3&search[sort]=date+desc&search[has_multimedia]

Prompt #3 9-27-2010 FINE PRINT: DIVERSITY AND NUANCE. Are there different rules for different people/sects within **Judaism** regarding your ethical issue? What about differences in the way consequences are applied?

The differences in the orthodox, conservative, and reform Jewish views on science vary. For the sake of simplicity we will bind together the conservative views an reform views together because on the subject of science these two sub-groups of population in the Jewish community share the same views. The orthodox side of things concerning whether science is beneficial or not says that they can vary from outright disagreeing or accepting the fact that science can help and "may selectively enhance understanding of the Torah. Conservative view on this subject seem to be very open to agreeing that science will help. Many orthodox views on evolution disagree that there ever was evolution. Although conservatives believe the same thing, there are a growing number of people that accept evolution. "Modern orthodoxy's" believe that they should keep there old traditions even though science is opposed to that. Conservatives believe they should do away with some old traditions while "embracing" some or most of what science teaches.

http://www.adath-shalom.ca/OCR.htm

http://www.christianity-revealed.com/cr/files/noahide_fiction/attitudesofeducatedorthodoxjewstowardscience.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/judaism/subdivisions/modernorthodoxy_1.shtml

Prompt #4 10-4-2010 BIG PICTURE: MAIN RULES AND CONSEQUENCES. Describe the main teachings of **Christianity** pertinent to your issue. What are the consequences (legal, social, spiritual) when the teachings are not followed? In other words, I'm asking you to investigate whether your ethical issue is considered a public matter, with public, legal, and social consequences, or is it considered a spiritual or personal matter, with more private consequences affecting personal relationships and spiritual matters.

The way that Christianity and science interact is very strained. The most simple way to describe the conflict of science and Christianity is its either one or the other. most of science has "disproved" many of the "facts". Christianity has believed about the miracles

Prompt #5 10-18-2010 FINE PRINT: DIVERSITY AND NUANCE. Are there different rules for different people/sects within **Christianity** regarding your ethical issue? What about differences in the way consequences are applied? **This week, concentrate on the similarities and differences between Catholics and Protestants on your topic.**

So its a given that Christianity and science have never gotten along. It stems from when the Roman Catholic Church was the big contender in world religions. Christianity has much of the same views on how they look at science and the explanations that science gives. One major example that everyone is familiar with is the creation theory. Science believes that the "Big Bang" theory is the most believable theory while on the other hand, religion,in this case Christianity, believes that God made man and everything on the earth. In this prompt we will explore the differences inside Christianity and Protestant views on this subject rather than the bigger picture. Christianity and Protestant views on science are extremely similar in many views. Again we go back to the most well known argument, creation. they both believe that God had created the world and everything in it. Another thing they both have in common is how they view scientists. In this modern age there are no more killing scientists like in the old days. Still, there are hesitations of accepting scientific facts. Although there are many Christian scientists that try to blend science and religion into one many orthodox Christians have a hard time accepting there findings. Maybe one day science could actually help prove many of the events that took place in the Bible and maybe even religion can help science find out more things.

http://www.allaboutworldview.org/christianity-vs-science.htm http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/viewscie.html http://www.inpropriapersona.com/2010/04/science-and-protestantism-why-is-evolution-a-target/