The 'F' Word - and Why We All Use It.
Some people use it profusely and swear that it helps. Others abhor it, cursing it as a crutch for weak minds. Those who use it are accused of thinking they are better than those who don't. Those who claim not to use it believe they are on a higher plane of intellect than those who do. In fact, there are few words in society that cause a deeper, more contemptuous rift than this word. But oddly, despite the polarizing effect it has on us, "faith" is a thing that we all use.
And I don't mean that we all use the word faith, or even that we all use faith when we trust someone to follow through on something or when we plant a seed and hope it will grow. No, my allegation against everyone - be they Creationist or Scientist, Theist or Atheist - is that they rely on faith for their deepest, religious convictions. Anyone that has taken the time to form an opinion or belief on the origin of life or the powers that govern the universe is basing their entire system of belief on FAITH.
Before I go farther, let me just say that I am in both camps. I have been religious my whole life, and I have devoted my adult life to learning and teaching science. I have been fascinated by the contempt, loathing, and even hatred that I have seen exhibited between the followers of religion and the followers of science. Being a devoted follower of each, I have been baffled by how two groups of people could be so angry with each other for being guilty of a behavior that they themselves exhibit.
For example, when I was a kid I would go to church, and someone older and more experienced would tell me about a book that contained truth, and that I should accept those truths and apply them for a better life. When I went to school, someone older and more experienced than me would tell me to read a book and memorize its facts, and that if I applied those concepts, I could make the world better. How are the Bible and a science book different? I can read about Moses, and how he saw God, and God told him not to lie or kill people. I didn't see God. I didn't even see Moses. I don't know if Moses saw God, or if God exists, or if Moses exists. I can read about Kepler, how he observed celestial bodies through a telescope, and that he derived the laws of planetary motion. I have not spent a lifetime looking through a telescope, nor have I derived laws of planetary motion based on my own observations. I have not seen the planets orbit the sun, nor have I seen Kepler. How is my belief that murder and lying is wrong any different than my belief that planets travel around the sun in an elliptical orbit with the sun at one of the focal points? I am honest enough with myself to admit that there is no difference.
Sure, there is a ton of scientific evidence for Kepler. But it is not evidence that I have gathered. It is only evidence that others have shared with me. As much as it pains me to admit it, I am no different than prehistoric man - I see the sun rise and set, and that is all that I truly know. I have not been to space. I've never even personally seen the space shuttle launch into space. People tell me there are satellites, and I know that GPS and Dish TV work, but I have not been to space and seen a satellite. I have FAITH that all of this is true because it explains the world I live in. I have FAITH that this is true because people I trust tell me that they have seen it. I have FAITH because within the small portion of science that I have gathered my own evidence and applied the laws to my own sphere of influence, it has been in accordance with the books that I have read. I have FAITH because my only other option is to try and repeat thousands of years of experimentation, observation, and calculation with the limited time and intellect that has been afforded me. If I am to move forward, I must take their work on faith.
Likewise, I haven't seen God, nor has anyone with whom I am acquainted. I haven't even seen angels, or heard a voice from heaven. I haven't even seen the original transcripts of the Bible to ensure that they were translated correctly. I don't know Hebrew or Greek, so I couldn't check the translation even if I had the time and opportunity. I have FAITH because it helps explain the world I live in. I have FAITH because people I trust tell me it is true. I have FAITH because when I apply the principles of honesty and not murdering other people, I see that things turn out for the better. I have FAITH because my only other option is to try and repeat thousands of years of prayer, study, and meditation with the limited time and spirituality that has been afforded me. If I am to move forward, I must take their word on faith.
Most people are not honest enough with themselves to admit that science and religion require the same faith. They are too prideful to admit that they are the same as those they despise. So far, we have only discussed very superficial beliefs - laws of morality and planetary motion. Things that are rarely disputed by either side. Most scientists believe in honesty and not murdering, and most churchgoers believe the planets orbit the sun. But the parallels run much deeper - all the way to the very foundation of belief. Fundamentally, we all rely on faith to explain the origin of life.
The creationist believes in an almighty power - God - who has existed since eternity without beginning or end. There is no explanation for how God came to exist, He just does. There is no complete comprehension, description, or explanation of God. He is a mystery. And He created life. The exact versions of how He did this vary between religions, but they are all essentially the same - God used his miraculous power to create life. Everything around us is part of a grand design. Incredible? Preposterous? Irrational? Indubitably. Improbable? Certainly. Impossible? Before we answer that, consider the scientific explanation.
Before the Universe existed, there was matter and energy. There is no explanation for how matter and energy came to exist, it just does. Nor do we completely comprehend what it all is - there is dark matter and anti-matter and all sorts of mysterious things that we don't yet understand, and we only believe they exist because they have to in order for the math to be correct. And all of this matter coalesced and went BANG! Galaxies spewed forth, billions of years passed, and Earth formed. Atoms joined to form molecules, and some of those molecules joined together to form RNA and DNA. These random pieces of molecular code contained instructions to replicate themselves - and the proteins and chemicals needed to perform this process were conveniently close at hand. Over time, cell membranes formed, and the code on the DNA evolved to include instructions for putting together amino acids into proteins, and somehow had the proteins and organelles available to transcribe and translate the DNA so that the proteins and organelles for transcribing and translating DNA could be made. Eventually, a series of random processes and coincidences lead to the creation of modern human DNA, which is 3 billion base pairs long.(Comparing a base pair to a letter, this is the equivalent of almost a thousand Bibles or a thousand Complete Works of Shakespeare.) This strand, which is six feet long, figured out how to coil itself until is was .0002 inches long and could fit inside a microscopic nucleus of a cell. Also, it can copy itself in a matter of hours.
(If you want some good visualizations on how DNA works, try these videos on youtube. The first one is the most accurate, but the second one may be more clear for some people, and it has a dramatic soundtrack to go with it. As you watch these, it is important to remember that DNA is not alive, and that all of what you see happening is the result of random chemical processes, not some grand design.)
So here is my question: Whose origin story is more unlikely? Whose is more improbable? In an infinite universe, could DNA randomly, naturally, occur? In an infinite universe, could there be a God? I haven't done the mathematical calculations of probability for either of these scenarios, but I personally feel they are equally incredible. It takes a gigantic amount of faith to believe in either one of these explanations. Not only because they are so fantastic, but because for most of us, we have done none of the research or observation that has led to an understanding of either of these explanations. We have heard an outrageous claim from someone we deem to be more knowledgeable than us, and we have had faith that it is true.
With that being the case, who are we to mock another person's faith? I do not fault the creationist for believing in God, and I do not fault the scientist for believing in evolution. I do fault them for the virulent anger with which they attack each other while being completely ignorant of the others' experiences. How can I attack another person's faith when I don't know what they have seen, felt, and experienced? One's faith is based on a lifetime of experiences, and it is ridiculous that a person that has known another for mere months, weeks, or minutes would think that they had a place to question and criticize their faith.
So there it is: Faith No matter how much you love or hate it, all of us possess it. If you want to share yours with me, I would love to hear about it - peacefully, respectfully. If you have questions about mine, I would love to talk to you about it. I'm even open for debate - but debate that is premised on mutual respect for the fact that we both have faith, we both hold it dear, and neither of us is better than the other because of the faith that we have adopted.
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