After all, the contribution of these scientists to science is an important point in the debate about religion and science. Therefore, the article will describe in detail their scientific achievements. Of course, in one article it is impossible to tell about all scientists who associate their faith in God with scientific activity. Therefore, let us recall the most famous of them and see what each of them gave to science. The article uses materials from various sources.
Most often, opponents of the compatibility of science and faith argue their point of view with achievements in astronautics, astronomy and aircraft construction. But all the arguments they cite are essentially an echo of the statement, popular in Khrushchev's times, "Here Gagarin flew into space, but did not see God there." How can such evidence be taken seriously, knowing that the founder of Soviet cosmonautics Sergey Pavlovich Korolev constantly donated for the maintenance of Orthodox monasteries? By the way, among the scientists who worked in the Design Bureau of Sergei Pavlovich, there were many believers. For example, the Queen's deputy for flights, the son of a priest, colonel general Leonid Alexandrovich Voskresensky, even in Stalin's times, he did not interrupt his friendship with Orthodox priests and attended services in Orthodox churches.
He was a deeply religious person and Boris Viktorovich Rauschenbach(Korolev's right hand), academician, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences, an outstanding scientist in the field of mechanics and control processes, one of the founders of Russian cosmonautics. He wrote: “I will note that more and more people are wondering whether the synthesis of two systems of cognition, religious and scientific, is ripe? ... I have already said that mathematics is beautiful, but, on the other hand, religion is logic ... logically strict theology, along with a deeply intimate religious experience and the beauty of dry mathematical proofs, indicate that in fact there is no gap (note - between science and religion), there is a holistic perception of the world. "
Boris Viktorovich's works in Theology are known. In his work on the icon, the law of reverse perspective was clearly formulated. According to this law, a person gradually entering the content of the icon, began to look at his life through the eyes of those depicted in the icon. His work on the Trinity was no less significant. In it, he brought the doctrine of the Trinity closer to the understanding of modern man. The content of this work is very important for people who are just entering the Church.
There are known priests who combine work in research institutes and services in a church.
The fate of the employees of the design bureau of the Queen of Major is also interesting Natalia Malysheva(in the monasticism of Mother Adriana). She was the only woman on the missile testing commission. Natalya Vladimirovna went to the front as a 3rd year student. Two weeks later, her fiancé, a military pilot, Mikhail, was killed in one of the battles. She went through the entire Great Patriotic War as a scout. She served in the headquarters of K. Rokossovsky, reached Berlin. She was awarded military orders and medals. Natalya Vladimirovna always recalled an incident from her front-line life, which led her to God: “It seems to me that I still feel the excitement when our comrades left for reconnaissance. Shooting was suddenly heard. Then it became quiet again. Suddenly, through a blizzard, we made out a waddling comrade - Sasha, one of those who had gone on reconnaissance, was walking towards us. He looked terrible: without a hat, with a face distorted from pain. He said that they ran into the Germans, and Yura, the second scout, was seriously wounded in the leg. Sasha's injury was easier, he still could not bear his comrade. Having dragged him to a sheltered place, he himself barely hobbled over to us for a message. We were numb: how to save Yura? After all, it was necessary to get to it through the snow without disguise. I myself do not know how it happened, but I quickly began to take off my outer clothing, remaining only in white warm underwear. Grabbed the bag that contained the emergency kit. She put a grenade in her bosom (to avoid captivity), pulled herself over with a belt and rushed along the trail left by Sasha in the snow. They did not have time to stop me, although they tried. When I found Yura, he opened his eyes and whispered: “Oh, she came! And I thought you left me! " And so he looked at me, he had such eyes that I realized - if this happens again - I will go again and again, just to see such gratitude and happiness in my eyes again. We had to crawl through the place, which was shot by the Germans. I crawled it quickly alone, but what about the two of us? The wounded man had one leg broken, the other leg and his hands were intact. I tied his leg with a tourniquet, connected our straps and asked to help me with my hands. We crawled on our way back. And suddenly, suddenly, thick snow began to fall, as if by order, as if in a theater! The snowflakes stuck together, fell with their "paws", and under this snow cover we crawled the most dangerous place ... Then I shared this story with close friends. The son of one of them, who later became a monk, uttered the words that became a revelation for me: "Do you still not understand that the Lord kept you all the time, and someone prayed strongly for you and your salvation?"
From that moment, Natalya Vladimirovna began to think about her life. I remembered the amazing cases of my salvation in situations in which it seemed that there could not be salvation. She constantly risked her life. When she went on reconnaissance to the village where the betrayal happened, and they were waiting for her to be tortured and killed. When, in the enemy rear, during the transmission of intelligence by radio, a German officer discovered her and unexpectedly released her. When, during the most difficult battles in Stalingrad, she openly walked the streets of the city with a white flag and urged the Nazis in German to cease fire and surrender. And she was never wounded. She crossed the front line 18 times and was always successful. I remembered other events that were inexplicable from a human point of view. This made Natalya Vladimirovna reconsider a lot in her life and come to God. After the war, she successfully graduated from the Moscow Aviation Institute and was hired by the design bureau of S.P. Queen. She enjoyed a well-deserved prestige among the employees of the Design Bureau as a specialist and scientist. She has worked in space rocketry for many years. But in order to take the most active part in the restoration of the Orthodox Pukhtitsa metochion in Moscow, Natalya Vladimirovna in 2000 took monastic vows with the name of Adrian. She passed away on February 4, 2012.
People who talk about her life admire how she helped those in need until the last days, answered calls, gave advice, solved difficult problems, helped those in need, even with money put off from her pension.
There are many believing scientists in astronomy. For example, the doctor of physical and mathematical sciences was Orthodox Elena Ivanovna Kazimirchak-Polonskaya, an outstanding scientist-astronomer. For many years Elena Ivanovna was the chairman of the scientific group on the dynamics of small bodies at the Astronomical Council of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. For her developments in the field of astronomy, she became a laureate of the USSR Academy of Sciences Prize. F. Bredikhin. As a recognition of the enormous merits in the development of astronomy, one of the minor planets of the solar system was named after her. In addition to astronomy, Elena Ivanovna was fond of philosophy and was a doctor of philosophy at the University of Warsaw. Since 1980 she has been actively working in the field of biblical studies (translating theological works, since she was fluent in Polish, French and German). In 1987 she took monastic vows with the name Elena.
Here you can also recall the discoveries of an outstanding scientist of our time Najip Khatmullovich Valitova(1939 - 2008), Professor of the Department of General Chemical Technology and Analytical Chemistry, Bashkir State University, Doctor of Chemical Sciences, Academician of the New York Academy of Sciences. As a physicist and chemist, he made a number of discoveries recognized by the world community of scientists in various fields of science, including those related to space.
Najip Khatmullovich constantly repeated: “First, I proved the existence of God with formulas. And then he opened Him in his heart. " In the strict language of formulas Valitov proved that any objects in the Universe interact with each other instantly, regardless of the distance between them. And this confirms the existence of a single Upper Force in the Universe. After the scientist made this discovery, he reread the Holy Scriptures and expressed admiration for how accurately the essence of his scientific discovery is indicated in the texts of Divine Revelation: “Yes. There is a Power to which everything is subordinated. We can call her Lord ... ”.
He also proved that "in equilibrium reversible processes, time can be converted into mass and energy, and then undergo a reverse process." This means the resurrection of the dead, as indicated by the Holy Scriptures, is possible. The professor suggested that atheist scientific opponents test their findings. And they could not refute anything in his writings.
We see believers among aircraft designers as well. Of these, we are most familiar with Andrei Nikolaevich Tupolev, Robert Bartini, Mikhail Leontievich Mil, Pavel Vladimirovich Sukhoi, Nikolai Nikolaevich Polikarpov. They never hid their faith in God.
One of the confirmations of this is the life of N.N. Polikarpov. The future aircraft designer was born in the family of a rural priest. He studied at the seminary, later entered the "Polytech" of St. Petersburg. He began design work in 1916, working at the RBVZ, where, together with Sikorsky, he created the Ilya Muromets aircraft. I always went to Church and wore a cross all the time. Polikarpov's grandson said: "The family, of course, remembered that my grandfather was a believer. They told how he went to the image of the Iberian Mother of God, which, after the destruction of the chapel near the Resurrection Gate of the Kremlin, was transferred to the Church of the Resurrection in Sokolniki. distance from the church and walked there. The driver then said with a smile: "As if I did not know where Nikolai Nikolaevich was going."
Here you can also remember the Theological works Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, a scientist aircraft designer and inventor. In 1918, Sikorsky was forced to emigrate from Russia to the United States. In the early 40s of the twentieth century, he became a pioneer in helicopter construction. In America, his Theological Writings became widely known. For example, his work "Our Father. Reflections on the Lord's Prayer" enjoys well-deserved authority among Orthodox Christians in America. Igor Ivanovich took an active part in the construction of the Orthodox Church of the Jordanville Monastery in Connecticut. He, the only one, was entrusted to deliver a speech to other emigrants from Russia in honor of the 950th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus.
Perhaps it will be interesting that there are many doctors and candidates of sciences among modern Orthodox priests. I will name some of the most famous ones. Thanks to the M.D. hieromonk Anatoly (Berestov) and Doctor of Medical Sciences, Honored Doctor of the Russian Federation, Priest Grigory (Grigoriev) thousands of people were saved from drug and alcohol addiction. And the priest Sergiy (Vogulkin)- Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, at the same time is the Vice-Rector for Science and Development of the Ural Humanitarian Institute.
He also continues to combine his ministry in the Church with the work of a senior researcher at the Institute of Psychology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, candidate of psychological sciences, priest Vladimir (Eliseev).
Many psychologists today use developments in the adolescent and youth psychology of a nun. Nina (Krygina), which d on the adoption of monasticism she was a professor at Magnitogorsk University.
Modern experts highly appreciate the scientific work of the priest Alexandra (Polovinkina)- Honored Scientist of Russia, Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences. Along with them is a remarkable scientist Sergey Krivochev... At twenty-five he defended his Ph.D. thesis, at twenty-nine - his doctoral dissertation. He worked at the Department of Crystallography of St. Petersburg State University as a professor and head. For his outstanding contribution to the development of science, he was awarded medals for young scientists of the Russian Mineralogical Society, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the European Mineralogical Union. Consisted of a Fellow of the National Science Foundation of the United States and a Fellow of the Foundation. Alexander von Humboldt. Co-author of the discovery of 25 new mineral species at the deposits of Russia (a new mineral, krivovichevite, is named after him). In 2004 Sergei Krivochev was ordained a deacon. The list of Orthodox priests-scientists can be continued for a long time.
The article tells about scientists of the Orthodox faith. But, it is also necessary to remember that more than half of the Nobel Prize winners do not hide their faith in God. Among them are Orthodox, Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Lutherans and representatives of other world religions. The example of the life of believing scientists is the best proof that science and faith can successfully complement each other. Well, what else can be added to the dispute about the compatibility of science and faith in God?
Behind each door of scientific discovery, there are ten other doors on the other side. Forgetting this, convinced atheists continue to argue that one scientific discovery should free mankind from an unfounded faith in God.
Although our rocket experiments are limited only by our solar system, one of the smallest of billions of galaxies, there are optimists who say that they have already explored space and have not found God. They call this the "scientific conclusion" that there is no supernatural power and that belief in God and the Creator is unscientific.
Many ordinary people have been deceived by such propaganda and are now convinced that there are no believers in God among modern scientists. Nothing could be further from the truth like this statement.
In contrast to such statements, in those countries where scientists are not afraid of losing their jobs and positions due to religious beliefs, we know many world-famous scientists who boldly declare that the universe is so complex and highly organized that its explanation is unthinkable without belief in God the Creator. Most of the great scientists today profess faith in God wherever they can.
On the pages of this brochure, the reader will find clear and bold statements by many famous scientists who were asked to express their opinion on the "contradictions" between science and religion. Does modern science reject the God in Whom such scientists as Newton, Galileo, Copernicus, Bacon and many others believed?
Let's see what people of world renown have to tell us today on this serious topic, many of whom are Nobel laureates.
First of all, we give a list of scientists with a description of their qualifications, as well as on the following pages - their statements.
List of scientists mentioned in the book.
Alaya Hubert N., Ph.D. is professor of chemistry at Princeton University. One of the foremost scientists in the United States in the field of chemistry.
Alberti Robert A., Dr. - Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (one of the best institutes in the United States).
Anderson Arthur G., Doctor - Director of the Research Center of the International Corporation of Computing Machines. (The world famous, largest corporation for the manufacture of calculating machines).
Anderson Elving W., Doctor - Professor of Genetics and Deputy Director of the Institute of Genetics, University of Minnesota, USA.
Ault Wayne Y., Doctor - Senior Researcher, Isotope Research Laboratory. (The world's first commercial laboratory to perform radiocarbon dating and radioactive hydrogen isotope dating.)
Outrum Haniochem, Doctor - Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Munich, one of the outstanding German scientists.
Byron Ralph L., Doctor - Head of the Department of General Surgery and Oncological Surgery (Tumors). Director of the Hospital for Cancer and Cancer-Related Diseases. (The world famous City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles, USA.)
George W. Beadle, MD, Director of the American Medical Association's Biological Medicine Research Institute, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology.
Born Max, Doctor - Professor Emeritus of Physics (retired) at the University of Göttingen and the University of Edinburgh. Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics.
Von Braun Werner, Doctor - Often referred to as the man above all responsible for the successful launch of astronauts to the moon, USA.
Brooks Harvey, Ph.D. Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Physics, Harvard University (the most influential university in the United States).
Burke Walter F., director of the missile and spacecraft division of the Mc Donnel Aviation Corporation. Head of the design, construction and launch of space capsules "Mercury" and "Gemini". Distinguished expert in space travel.
Bjerke Alf X. - President of the Bjerke Paint Corporation in Oslo, Norway. One of the prominent Norwegian experts in the field of chemistry.
Bube Richard H., Ph.D. is professor of materials science and electrical engineering at Stanford University. Author of over one hundred scientific books and articles.
Wallenfels Kurt, Doctor - Director of the Institute of Chemistry, University of Freiburg, Germany.
Waldman Bernard, Ph.D. Dean of the Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA.
Van Yersel Jan Y., Doctor - Professor of Experimental Zoology, Leiden University, Holland.
Westphal Wilhelm H., Doctor - Professor Emeritus (retired), Technical University in Berlin, Germany.
Wilphong Robert E., Ph.D. - Technical Manager of the Nylon Factory of the Du Pont Corporation, the world's greatest chemical company. The first chemist to work in the field of production of "Orlon", "Kentris" and many other fabrics for space travel.
Vinand Leon J. F., Doctor - Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the University of Liège in Belgium.
Wolf-Heidegger Gergard, Doctor - Professor of Anatomy at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
G. Worcester Willis, Ph.D., Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, USA.
Gjoterud Ole Christopher, Doctor - Professor of Physics at the University of Oslo (Norway), one of the most prominent physicists in Norway.
Dana James Dwight, Ph.D. Dean of the Department of Geology at Princeton University, one of the greatest geologists in the United States.
Jonesy James H., Ph.D. Head, Department of Science and Mathematics, King's College, Australia. He received 10 degrees from world renowned universities. Author of 2 books on guided missiles and 500 scientific articles. Technical advisor to the Australian government during World War II.
Jaiken M., Ph.D. is professor of theoretical biology at Leiden University in Holland.
Jelinek Ulrich is President of Severn Industrial Company in New Jersey, USA. World renowned inventor and designer of instruments and systems for space exploration.
Davis Stefan S., Ph.D. Dean of the Department of Architecture and Engineering, Howard University in Washington, DC.
Duchesne Jules S., Doctor - Chairman of the Department of Atomic Molecular Physics, University of Liege in Belgium.
Inglis David R., Doctor - Senior Physicist, Argonne National Laboratory, Illinois, USA.
Komar Arthur B., Doctor - Dean of the Belfer Faculty of Natural Sciences; Yeshiva University in New York City, USA.
Coop Evert, Doctor - Chief Surgeon at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia, USA. One of the most famous surgeons in America.
Kush Polycarp, Doctor - Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics.
Lombard Augustine, Doctor - Professor of Geology. Former Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Lonsjo Ole M., Doctor - Professor of Physics at the University of Oslo. Norway.
Mandel Michel, Doctor - Professor of Physical Chemistry, Leiden University, Holland.
Millikan Robert A., Doctor - Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics.
Pickard Jacques E., Doctor - Oceanographic Engineer and Consultant, Grumman Aviation Corporation, Florida, USA.
Peel Magnus, Doctor - Professor of Physics. Former Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Science at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Rydberg Jan X., Doctor - Dean of the Department of Nuclear Chemistry, Chalmers Institute of Technology; Gothenburg, Sweden.
Smart VM, Doctor - Professor of Astronomy, Department, established by the English king; University in Glasgow, Scotland. One of the greatest British astronomers.
Tangen Roald, Doctor - Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Science; University in Oslo, Norway.
Forsman Werner, Doctor - Head of the Department of Surgery at a large hospital in Dusseldorf (Germany), Nobel Prize Laureate in Medicine.
Friedrich John P., Ph.D. Chief Chemist, US Department of Agriculture (Northern District Research Laboratory).
Hynek Allen J., Doctor - Director of the Lindheimer Astronomical Research Center (Northwestern University, Illinois, USA).
Hansen Arthur G., Ph.D. President of Purdue University. Former Dean of the Faculty of Engineering Sciences and President of the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA.
Hearn Walter, Dr. - Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Iowa. Member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His research papers were discussed at international scientific congresses.
Ziegler Karl, Doctor - Director of the Max Planck Institute (for research work in the field of the coal industry). City of Mülheim, Germany (Ruhr Region), Nobel Prize Laureate in Chemistry.
Shaw James, Ph.D. - Professor of Biochemistry at Harvard University (for 23 years); director of the research laboratory at Harvard University.
Einstein Albert, Doctor - one of the greatest scientists of all time. World renowned scientist, creator of the theory of relativity, father of the atomic age, Nobel Prize laureate in physics.
Engstrom Elmer W., Doctor - Chief Administrator of the US Radio Corporation; world renowned leading scientist, pioneer in the field of color television (1930). He has been awarded an honorary doctorate degree from fourteen universities.
Ehrenberger Friedrich, Doctor of Analytical Chemistry, Chemical Dyes Company; Kelheim, Germany.
Jung Karl, Doctor, is one of the greatest psychologists of all time with an internationally renowned authority. Switzerland.
Chapter 1. Are modern scientists really atheists?
Yuri Gagarin said after returning from space flight: "I was in interplanetary space and did not see God. So there is no God." Some ordinary people took this statement as true that modern science supposedly denies the existence of God. Others, seeing that Gagarin did not even reach the moon, concluded that he could hardly have the right to declare that he had already explored the entire space. Indeed, in order to fly through our galaxy at the speed of light (300,000 km per second), it would take 1 million years and one and a half million years to reach the next galaxy. And there are billions of such galaxies.
Concluding this very naive reasoning of the late Gagarin, it must be said that only people who deliberately reject God can accept him for truth.
In contrast, the first group of American astronauts to fly to the moon and land on the moon read the first verse of the first chapter of the Bible in orbit of the moon and broadcast the reading over the television network to the entire world. This bore witness to their belief that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
The conclusion made by Gagarin was in no way accepted by other astronauts and even less by other scientists.
These are the words with which many scientists of world importance expressed their opinion on this issue:
Alberti Robert
"You cannot be a real scientist if you do not believe that the universe is real! If God wanted to play a trick on a scientist, then the latter could not study the laws of nature and rely on the ever-changing data of science. The whole life of a scientist is based on confidence, that things or phenomena, although they may be mysterious and incomprehensible, but nevertheless they are connected and coordinated with each other. "
Alaya Hubert
"It's wonderful how active the members of our chemistry department are in church affairs. It's a big lie that scientists are mostly atheists."
Outrum Haniochem
"I do not believe that the percentage of believers in God among scientists is less than among other professions."
Bjerke Alf
"Modern science has not killed the fundamental truths of the Bible. I believe in God, I believe in Jesus, and I believe in the Bible."
Burke Walter
"Spiritual revival has recently penetrated into the environment of scientists engaged in space exploration. It is rare that I do not hear conversations on spiritual topics at my work. Some engineers and teachings profess their Christian faith, which I would never have believed. if I had not heard myself. I stood near the rocket and prayed for Allen Shepperd before his flight, and I did not see a single dry eye around me. "
Bourne Max
"Many scientists believe in God. Those who say that studying the sciences makes a person an atheist are probably some funny people."
"Most scientists, if ... you look closely at them, are religious people. I believe in God in His three hypostases. All the power that surrounds us was embodied in Jesus Christ. He always acted and will act, answering the needs and prayers of people. ".
Duchesne Jules
"The connection between science and religion has never been as close and intimate as in our time. Scientists studying outer space have discovered so many beautiful and unexpected things that now it is more difficult to tell a scientist that God does not exist. There can be no two opinions on this issue. ".
Ehrenberger Friedrich
"I don't think a real scientist can be an atheist."
Einstein Albert
"I will never believe that God" plays dice "with the world."
Engstrom Elmer
“I don’t think the Creator had the intention of destroying us all. Christian ministry ... to do what is good for your neighbor. My wife and I are members of one small independent church. The first responsibility of this church is to bring people to Christ and educate them in faith. "
Forsman Werner
"God created the world and gave the world laws. These laws remain unchanged. The spiritual designs and powers of this world are also unchanged."
Frederick John
"Sincere scientists are thinking people. They understand that the number of questions grows faster than the answers to them. This leads them to believe in God. I believe that God is the Creator of the whole world. He holds the entire universe and looks after everything that is in her. He is more than the first cause, and only He can answer prayers. "
Hynek Allen
“I know very few scientists who have told me that they are atheists. I know many astronomers who are definitely believers. They have a lot of respect for the universe and for the One who created it. Religion does not matter if it does not manifest in a person's daily life ".
Inglis David
“We have seen the handiwork of the Creator in this world, which is unknown to other people. Look into biology, look at any organ of the human body, or even the smallest insect. You will find so many amazing things there that you will not have enough life to study. many of my co-workers feel that there is something great and beautiful. This Someone is the cause of the creation of the universe, and this Reason cannot be understood by us. "
Jonesy James
"There is no good reason why a scientist cannot believe in God and the Bible, or why a religious person should reject scientific discoveries."
Jelinek Ulrich
"Almost every American satellite that orbits the earth has our parts. I am interested in new discoveries. Who is not interested in this? But I also have a habit of reading the Bible once a year and always find amazing new things in it."
Jakeen M.
"Most scientists are religious people."
Komar Arthur
"A dangerous thing ... to give science complete control. If you give a computer (computer) the problem of how to achieve world peace, then the computer will answer:" Destroy all people. "
Lombard Augustine
"My religious philosophy opens up a joyful way of life for me. This system works well. It gives me real freedom of thought and freedom to see things and people. I think of this as positive experiential evidence."
Lonsjo Ole
"We have as large a percentage of physicists involved in church work as can be found among the rest of the population in the area where I live."
Mandel Michel
"I have friends who are good scientists and at the same time - religious people. And this is not by chance, but truly religious people."
Millican Robert
"I can't imagine how a real atheist can be a scientist."
Smart V.M.
"In space, we have now learned about many things, but faith in the Creator is needed now, as it has always been."
Van Yersel Yang
“It is very important that ordinary people know that modern scientists are not atheists as they once were. It is possible that those scientists who were not atheists did not say anything about their faith. Among European scientists, it is quite appropriate to talk about religion. I believe in God, who is directly related to this world. Creation is not tied to time. The process of creation is still in action today. God cares about this.
I love to talk about religion with my colleagues and I don’t feel uncomfortable. The gospel has become good news for me, and I believe in it. "
Von Braun Werner
"The flight of man into space is the greatest discovery, but at the same time it is only a small hole into the ineffable wealth of interplanetary space. Our look through this small keyhole at the great mysteries of the universe only confirms our belief in the existence of a Creator."
Waldman Bernard,
"Most of our students are quite active in church affairs. Young scholars are much more interested in religious issues than in their personal affairs."
Worcester Willis
"Among the rank and file members and ministers of the church I attend, there are a large number of people from the scientific and technical world. We have many engineers who are members of church committees in different churches. We even have several active evangelists from our midst. Some of them have had special training as ministers of the church. I had to work with many scientists, and only a few did not believe in God. "
Chapter 2. Freedom to Believe
Of course, not all scientists are Christians, but even those who do not provide the meaning of religion should be free to believe or not believe, as their conscience dictates. Otherwise, it was a hindrance for a person to be effective for society.
One of the basic rules of scientific research is that every scientist should be free from the constraints of government control, as well as from social pressure to make the independent conclusions that his research leads to. The scientist must be able to seek the truth without any fear that an opposing ideology dominates him.
Regardless of faith, there must be freedom to see things as they are, there must be absolute freedom to believe, or not to believe.
Anderson Arthur
“I do not know a single colleague among the scientists of my direction who would have had more than 25 years and did not think about anything except science, who in their thoughts would not test the conclusions of science and religion. explanations ".
Frederick John
"I love talking with other scientists about God and about religion in general."
Wolf-Heidegger Gergard
"I consider it an absolute duty of every independent scientist, regardless of his field of research, to analyze questions of religion, God, peace, etc. If he does not do this, his conclusions will only confirm his preconceived opinions."
Komar Arthur
“If the phenomena that you are researching lead you in a certain direction and at the same time - opposite to your intuition and philosophy, you, as a scientist, must go in this direction. A good scientist must have open thoughts on all the phenomena of the world. Morality and judgments of individual scientists should be guided by ethical principles. The scientist should think about the problem that occupies him, and not just be a cog in the wheel. Where religion comes into contact, the scientist should reckon with it. "
Gyotherud Ole Christopher
"It is very important to remember that God gave man freedom. If God intended science to force a man to believe in Him, then man would no longer have freedom."
Ehrenberger Friedrich
"If people do not speak openly about religion, perhaps this is due to the legacy of a totalitarian regime, where a person must reckon with ideas with which he does not agree. The reason why we have a misunderstanding in religious issues is that many discuss issues of religion without proper knowledge of the subject. They have partial knowledge that they were taught in childhood, and they stopped at this level of thinking. Religion should be part of the curriculum at the university level. It should be part of the basic education of students. Christianity should be reflected in everyday life. "
Outrum Haniochem
"A person needs incomparably more than what science gives him. A person turns to religion or philosophy - this is his business. Science, in its attempts to find universal laws, meets its limits. This is the freedom of each individual, which does not contradict science. and religion begins. "
Beadle Georg
"Religion is an essential part of human culture. Religion is necessary. It has lasting value. I believe that for this reason all cultures have and have religion. Religion contains something that science cannot give to man."
Bjerke Alf
"You need religion to face the problems of our time. If we look a little under our noses, we will see all sorts of conflicts. How can we resolve them without religion?"
Jung Karl
"Among my patients in the second half of life - let's say, over 35 years old - there is not a single one whose problems can be solved by bypassing religion. We can definitely say that they all feel sick, because they have lost eternal values - what a living religion can give to his followers. None of these patients can be completely healed unless they return to their religious beliefs. "
Worcester Willis
"I am very pleased to see a huge number of students in church almost every Sunday. They have a real, healthy attitude towards religion. I believe that someday all students will be interested in religion."
"Our students bring religious issues to the classroom for discussion."
Lombard Augustine
"Students get caught up in religious problems."
Alaya Hubert
"I have deep faith in young people. Our young people are in a much better position in terms of a correct understanding of religion than we were in our time. They are active in church life and are more involved in the Christian ministry than we once were." ...
Peel Magnus
"I have no interest in fighting the church. People should have the right to be a kind of missionary among us, but no one has the right to force us or impose their faith on us. That would be a terrible act to the detriment of the church in general."
Waldman Bernard,
"I discovered that religion is more and more included in the personal lives of students ... an idea that has eternal meaning."
Hynek Allen
"Astronomers are increasingly being approached by students with religious questions because they think astronomers are a little more exploring the heavens than other people."
The James Show
“I feel like God brought me to Harvard University for significant ministry. There are many Christian professors here on campus, but far from enough. Personally, I feel like a stronger Christian as a result of competing with philosophical teachings. It forced me to delve deeper into Scripture. and led me to a deeper knowledge of Jesus Christ, made me more dependent on Him. "
Wilphong Robert
"Raising children is not easy. We try to have family prayers and live a Christian life in front of our children."
Bube Richard
“Many scientists involved in psychoanalysis believe that God is an unknown name, a crutch for the undiscovered, and that the more we know the world, the less room remains for God. This is an outdated idea that man is the captain of his destiny ... Atheists reject the spiritual healing ... I believe that the devil is a person, that the human heart is a battlefield between God and Satan. Spiritually sick people need a clear preaching of the intact gospel. "
Pickard Jacques
"The purpose of religion is to show a person how to live, how to help him. The Bible is his constitution."
Jelinek Ulrich
“I have never had a conversation with people without telling them about my faith in Jesus Christ. (Jelinek Ulrich often lectured at special seminars at universities and in meetings of professional scientists.) As a forgiven sinner, I have eternal fellowship with God who created the universe. My desire is to tell others about the Good News at every opportunity. "
Hansen Arthur
“The difference between humanism and Christianity (although both have to do with man) is quite definite: Christianity speaks of what fascinates me ... The real joy of a Christian comes from a happy duty. I know what I do ... and why I do it. who acts with love, acts in God and God in him. Humanism in this respect has no ground. "
Jakeen M.
"In our concept, we have several platforms for knowledge: science, philosophy, religion. Each branch has its own forms of thinking and a kind of achievement of confidence. In religion, you start by listening to revelations. After that, you can say" yes "or" no. " It is, of course, more than knowledge. It is total surrender. "
Wallenfels Kurt
"Every person is religious in some sense. There is no person on earth who does not have his own religion, unless he is absolutely stupid or mentally ill. If I do not see such a reaction in a person, I will be very careful with him, having such a person If he gives good results only in theory and not in experiments, if he changes experimental data in order to get the best result ordered by the scientific community, then I would say that such a person is dangerous, and I would not want to cooperate with him. "
Chapter 3. Faith Based on Evidence
Scientists cannot scientifically confirm or scientifically prove the existence of God, but a huge number of scientists base their faith on the creation visible in the universe. We know that not all phenomena in the universe can be understood by us. For example, scientists still do not know what is energy, what is an electron, what is attraction. The essence of these phenomena has not been disclosed ... but we believe in all this, based on the evidence we have discovered, although we do not fully understand these and many other phenomena.
In the same way, we cannot intellectually understand what God is, but many scientists believe in God, "because they have found more evidence of His existence than evidence of the existence of energy, gravity ... love, memory, etc.
Faith must go beyond the capabilities of our mental analysis. At the same time, faith is logical, it does not blind us if we weigh all the ideas correctly. Faith goes in the direction where we have evidence, but it goes further - into the realm of the spirit.
The creation of the universe in itself speaks of the Creator. Just as a dictionary could not have formed from an explosion in a printing house, so the universe could not have arisen by itself or from an accidental collision of molecules. Mathematically, according to the law of probability, this is absolutely impossible. This alone exceeds all evidence and leads us to faith in God, although we cannot fully understand His essence.
Many questions remain unanswered - and perhaps this will always be the case, because they are beyond our understanding. For example, where did God come from? God has always existed, but this "always" exceeds our understanding. However, if we reject the ever-existing God, we must ask ourselves: where did the universe come from? We must, in this case, say: the universe has always existed (which science rejects) or we must say that there was a time when nothing existed, and suddenly, for no reason, out of nothing, the universe was formed. But science also rejects this version.
All these questions are above any science, but they give more reason to believe in God than to believe in the formation of the universe from nothing.
When faith moves in the direction of causality and evidence, we enter the realm of personal experience, where the presence of God, His peace, love and joy is manifested in the personal lives of people. You cannot find it illogical to feel joy at the beauty of a sunset, although science cannot prove why the sunset is so beautiful.
Many scientists testify that they have opened their hearts to God's love and have a personal relationship with God through faith, and this is more satisfying for them than the experimental and statistical evidence of science.
Von Braun Werner
"Nothing is as well organized and arranged as our earth. The Universe must have a Creator, Master, Creator. There can be no other conclusion here."
Alberti Robert
“Many people, exploring the universe, find more and more beauty ... and feel that God must be here. This point of view of science reveals to us the living God as well as the fact that He manifests Himself in the personal lives of those people who believe in Him. This, of course, is not proof, it is an intuitive feeling that the universe and life in general must have a special meaning, otherwise there will be no beauty in it.
This physical manifestation of the universe is much more wonderful for scientists than for ordinary people, because a scientist sees the details, he sees the interaction between molecules, he sees how a person created from molecules lives, thinks and feels and how this action is mutually conditioned. He sees how stars are born and die ... The beauty and mystery of the universe makes an honest scientist think about God and believe in Him. "
Alaya Hubert
"Science reinforces my religion. The more contact I have with the physical world, the more I believe in the existence of God."
Anderson Arthur
"As a scientist, I came to the conclusion that this wonderful universe reveals to us a fantastic order and meaning. Here you have a choice: is it the handiwork of God - or the handiwork of the god of evolution? If the idea is effective, it will live, and the idea of order and beauty that came out from the hands of the Creator, definitely vital. "
Anderson Elving
“If you know the property of the DNA molecule (Deoxyribo-nucleic acid) - the basic mechanism of life - you will soon discover a strange phenomenon that surpasses all fantasy. It has the ability to copy itself and act as a source of information for the formation of proteins.
I believe that man is more than this ... Man is created in the image and likeness of God. "
Byron Ralph
"Look at the structure of your body. You have 30 trillion cells. Each cell has 10,000 chemical reactions at any time. It takes much more faith that this body happened by chance than that it was created by an intelligent God. Millions of monkeys can hit the keys of a million typewriters over a billion years, but they will never create a single printed page of a book.
I am amazed what God has done for me in Jesus Christ. He came to earth to be my Savior, to die for my sins. Then the day came when I hesitantly, but quite definitely, accepted Christ into my heart. The greatest thing in life is to know God from personal experience. "
Davis Stefan
"Science has led us to the conclusion that we cannot find answers to all questions. Therefore, we must turn to the Unknown, have faith in Him and come to Him for an answer."
Ehrenberger Friedrich
"If we could explain mathematically what God is, it would be very simple. But we cannot do it. Faith goes beyond knowledge. Many people only recognize what can be touched and seen. On the other hand, they do not mind that the universe has its continuation beyond the Milky Way, even if they do not see it, but they believe in it. Where is the logic?
You cannot see God, but you can feel Him. You feel that the person is very, very small, and at the same time there is Something big. It all depends on whether a person wants to find God or not. "
Engstrom Elmer
"I see a well thought out and elaborated plan for the creation. And today I see God's hand over His creation, I see how the prophetic utterances of Scripture are being fulfilled. The Bible is the supreme authority for our life. We must accept all this by faith and ask God Then we need Christ in our personal lives. In our time, the return of Christ is announced in such a measure as never before. "
Forsman Werner
"The fact that scientific laws pervade the entire universe definitely indicates that the material world has a common spiritual foundation. This foundation is the creation of the universe."
Hynek Allen
"I have a deep respect for the universe. It is the most interesting and complex creation. I do not look at the universe as a result of chance."
Inglis David
"There is something grandiose in the origin and nature of all things, in the elegance of the laws that we formulate, but do not understand. This, of course, cannot be the basis for testing the existence of God. But you just feel that nothing could happen by itself. yourself and be so beautiful. "
Coop Evert
"I know that God never makes mistakes. God gave natural laws for the development of a child before his birth. But there are other laws that disturb the order in the development of a child. It will not shake my faith when I see a person walking down the street. , falls and breaks his arm. I see no reason to blame God for the fact that sometimes a child is born with a birth defect, just as I will not blame God for the fact that there was a hole on the sidewalk where the man fell. "
Waldman Bernard,
"The most interesting thing for a scientist is that he sees an amazing order in nature. It is more than a coincidence of circumstances and chance. With the development of science, we see more and more organization of order in nature. Therefore, the more you study nature, the more you you have reason to believe in the perfection of the Master's plan, and not in a coincidence. "
Worcester Willis
“A large number of thinking scientists and engineers believe that everything can be tested scientifically and that in reality you and I need God to explain everything that exists. But there is always something important that is overlooked. We say that everything in the world acts on based on certain physical laws and forget that no law is possible without the Legislator, that Someone has established these laws. "
Wilphong Robert
“Dilettante natural scientists can look at the Planner who founded the universe. But as soon as they begin to enter deeper information, most of these scientists begin to believe in the Creator. Moreover, conflicts between science and the Bible are smoothed out with a closer study of Scripture. Scientific evidence for the existence of God, at least for me, they are not basic. I can feel God through prayer. I know Him from personal experience. "
Chapter 4. Is there a conflict?
It is sometimes said that science and religion are incompatible, that one contradicts the other, that there is a conflict between them. In the past, religious leaders on this basis had a struggle with scientists, but it was a conflict between people, and not between science and religion. In this conflict, there was a misunderstanding between science and religion.
Some scientific journals published in the United States write about the difficulties in recognizing God. There were such skeptics in the past, but with the development of scientific discoveries, their religious conviction deepened.
Here is what world-famous scientists have to say on this important topic:
Pickard Jacques
"In the 19th century, science and religion were in conflict for the reason that scientists argued that the future of science has its own predetermination, that science will come to the final knowledge of the world. However, now scientists, studying the atom, have come to the conclusion that the future of science generally problematic. This recognition opens the door to faith in God. Today there can be and should not be a conflict between science and religion. "
Millican Robert
"Most of the leading scientists are close to religious organizations, which in itself speaks of the absence of a conflict between science and religion."
Alberti Robert
"Faith is part of the everyday life of every scientist. If he does not have faith that his experience will be successful, that the human mind can teach us to rationalize, such a scientist has nothing to do in the laboratory."
Bube Richard
"Science does not destroy the traditional value of the Christian religion. It rather destroys religious forgeries, wooden and stone idols, with which man tried to replace Truth."
Alaya Hubert
"Faith gives rise to so-called internal questions. The inner composure that faith gives you can very well be transferred to science."
V. Anderson
“We geneticists are very interested in controlling life, but we are not trying to replace God. We have the right and responsibility to discover new possibilities, but at the same time we immediately remember Hitler and his“ scientific ”way of mass murder and reproduction "perfect race." Of course, we must not abuse the control that gives us genetics. This should be the necessary authority. We all want to look into the future ... and use God-given freedom to make a fair choice. "
Ault Wayne
"God gave us two revelations - spiritual, or supernatural, and revelation through the knowledge of nature. I believe that the universe is the work of God's hands and everything that is supernatural, as Scripture reveals to us, does not contradict nature, but is higher than it."
Outrum Haniochem
"Science does not cancel religion. On the contrary, an accurate understanding of science gives freedom for religion. A person can be a good Christian and at the same time can be a good scientist. I have deep respect for the person of Jesus Christ. His simplicity and greatness are impeccable. The same is possible. to speak of His teaching as well. "
Burke Walter
"I did not find any instructions in the Bible that would prohibit the exploration of outer space. God gave man an advantage and superiority over creation, gave him creative abilities. If we use these abilities with the recognition of God's greatness, then there is and cannot be anything wrong with flying on The moon, Mars and other planets. Christians with the right motives can have a great influence on the glorification of God with the discoveries of outer space, as well as discoveries in other fields of science. "
Bourne Max
"Science makes a scientist many moral and ethical requirements. If a scientist believes in God, this will ease his problem. The scientist must have great patience and humility, and these qualities can be given to him by religion."
Brooks Harvey,
"Science does not have an all-encompassing view of the world. In other words, it cannot force individual scientists to have the same point of view. We have increasing contacts with the Christian faith. Perhaps these links between science and religion are not direct, but important. The advantage of Christianity. in the fact that an increasing number of believers are taking part in the scientific revolution. "
Dana James
"I do not know more accurate data on the origin of the world than those found in the Bible."
Duchesne Jules
"Science, like religion, comes from inspiration."
Ehrenberger Friedrich
"Today in Christian churches we meet many young people. It is a fairy tale that now people do not go to church. Those who saw the church only outside and sleep every Sunday morning speak of this."
Engstrom Elmer
“I don’t know why some people think that the Bible limits experiments in science and engineering. On the contrary, everything that a person does, that he discovers, he only copies the laws established by God. God ... In the world ... it seems to me that everything moves according to God's plans, but not according to ours, not according to human ones. Yes, I believe that the power of God is perfect and the last word belongs to Divine authority. God is not only our Creator, but also The Redeemer ... He controls His creation and man's affairs through Jesus Christ. "
Frederick John
"Many scientists believe that one cannot think scientifically and at the same time believe, for example, in resurrection and eternal life. But I think that resurrection and eternal life have nothing to do with science. Science is only a part of my being, as and religion. "
Inglis David
"Christianity gives impetus to the scientific method in the sense of recognizing the value of the individual. It is not a mere coincidence that modern science has its origins in Western Europe, where Christianity has deep roots, and not in countries dominated by Confucianism and Buddhism. The main feature of Christianity in recognition of human individuality, which is the opposite of Eastern fatalism.
A sense of personal freedom breeds respect for personal ideas. It is against any form of compulsion, against dogma. This gave rise to the reformation, which in turn laid the foundation for a more effective development of science, which later spread throughout the world. "
Jelinek Ulrich
"The prophet Jeremiah says that it is impossible to count the stars of the universe. The scientist Hipparchus, who lived several centuries after Jeremiah, dogmatically reported that the universe has 1026 stars. Ptolemy, who lived several hundred years after the birth of Christ, made an amendment. He said that the universe has 1056 And only in 1610, Galileo, looking through a telescope, exclaimed: “There are many more stars!” Today astronomers have about 100 billion stars in our galaxy, and there are millions of such galaxies! Thus, we must agree with the ancient prophet that the number of stars in the universe - innumerable. "
Lonsjo Ole
"My experience tells me that you can be a Christian and a scientist, as well as a scientist and an atheist. In the opening pages of the Bible, God said to man" subdue it (the earth) "- Genesis 1, 28. This is exactly what science does today. "
Van Yersel Yang
"The fact that a scientist is a Christian does not make him as a scientist any better or worse. If the study of science destroys religious faith, then you can safely make an amendment - it destroys false faith, or more precisely, false religion."
Wolf-Heidegger Gergard
"A scientist with religious convictions can be as good a scientist as others. This belongs to the freedom of the spirit. The limitations of science can be seen by both a believer and an unbeliever. One will explain it in one way, the other in another. The limitations in these explanations are the same." ...
Ziegler Karl
"My scientific experience does not make me any more or less religious. If I had a different profession, my ministry in the church would not change in the least."
Wallenfels Kurt
"Some say that when a swallow builds a certain type of nest for its chicks, it does so by instinct given to it by the Creator. I do not think that this truth is less than scientific assumptions about the past of our world. Other people say that protein is according to a certain recipe. the number of genes in the chromosomes of a bird produces certain signals to certain parts of the bird's brain and that, depending on this, the bird chooses the direction in flight, builds nests, etc. I do not think that this explanation is better than the first one (that instinct was given to the bird by the Creator) , because it, too, cannot be verified by experience, but must be taken on faith. "
Worcester Willis
"As a percentage, I believe we have as many believers in science as in other professions. Many ministers of the Gospel have worked in various fields of science in the past. I know many of them."
Wilphong Robert
"The purpose of science is to discover what God gave us, to understand God's creation and thereby serve for the benefit of man. Personally, I do not see a conflict in my branch of science with what God revealed to us through His Scripture. In the fact that I became a scientist, I see God's will. "
Chapter 5. Results of scientific discoveries
At the beginning of this century, there were many atheists caught up in the idea that the increase in scientific discoveries would put an end to the belief in God, that science would reveal all the secrets of the universe and there would be nothing left to explain through religion.
This conclusion did not come true.
Of course, we now know more than we knew, but the unknown and undiscovered continues to multiply faster than our knowledge. Each new discovery, instead of answering the last question, gives rise to many other questions to which science has no answer. This inability of science to give complete answers to human questions instead of a departure from faith has generated a departure from materialism for many scientists and aroused an interest in the spiritual.
Recently, membership in churches in the United States has increased, although at the same time the level of education has increased and the number of scientific discoveries has increased. One of the reasons for this interesting phenomenon was noted in America by one of the popular magazines in an article by the renowned scholar Lincoln Barnett. He said this: "The discovery of this or that mystery by science gives rise to an even greater mystery. All the evidence that science can gather indicates that the creation of the universe took place at a certain time."
Below we give the opinions of scientists who just confirm this point of view.
Einstein Albert
"The more science makes discoveries in the physical world, the more we come to conclusions that can only be resolved by faith."
Alberti Robert
"The more we learn about the universe, the more the unknown is revealed. We are faced with a multiplication of secrets regarding the nature of things. Every time a scientist makes a discovery, he is convinced that there are 10 things there that he does not know. Science has the property of infinite deepening of knowledge You cannot make a final decision, as several other possibilities will always be open.
Outer space programs have created a range of questions about the Moon and other planets and even about the Earth itself, and questions that people have not thought about before. "
Duchesne Jules
"The state of science today is the same as Newton said at the time:" We are like little children playing on the beach in front of the endless ocean of Truth. Science has become more humble in the face of modern discoveries. "
Outrum Haniochem
"In the last century, science has become more modest. It was once believed that science will discover everything that is infinite, that is unknown. Modern science began to think more modestly about this when it learned that man cannot give final and perfect conclusions. In knowledge, man himself is The scientist has much more reason to believe in God today than it was 50 years ago, because now science has seen its
When adherents of a religion run out of arguments in favor of yet another “most peaceful religion,” they always use dubious arguments. In particular, "famous scientists were believers." Believers believe that this is indeed a serious argument for the truth of religion.
But is this proof? Here is a respected man, he believes in Hebrew or, for example, in ancient Indian legends. What's next? For some believers, this means that everything - the dominance of religion is undeniable.
In fact, this means absolutely nothing. But since the "argument" is nevertheless given constantly, it is necessary to clarify the question. And in this case we are talking about a Christian cult.
Religion and Science in the Past
In the Middle Ages, science was truly the servant of religion. Religion was considered something unshakable, that is, rejection of religion was punishable by death, people were obliged to worship from an early age.
Therefore, when Christians remember the scientists of this period, one can ask the question: did these people have a choice? More likely no than yes, since rejection of the "only true religion" is death.
Scientists, like everyone else during this period, probably did not particularly doubt the existence of God. In such a society, almost everything was explained as "God's will." And the scientists were appropriate.
By the way, theology was then considered a full-fledged science, even more so - the main scientific direction. All the most important things were studied there:
Triadology is the doctrine of the Holy Trinity.
Angelology is the teaching about angels.
Anthropology is the doctrine of man.
Hamarthology is the doctrine of sin.
Ponerology is the doctrine of evil.
Christology is a teaching about the nature and person of Jesus Christ.
Soteriology is the doctrine of salvation.
Ecclesiology is a teaching about the Church.
Iconology is the doctrine of the icon.
Sacramentology is a teaching about the sacraments.
Eschatology is a teaching about the last destinies of the world.
Since this was considered a "science of sciences," the priests influenced all other disciplines. That is, one contradiction to biblical tales is heresy. Probably, even for believers (modern) it is obvious that there is no particular benefit in studying angels, but more than one hundred years have been spent on this.
In general, religion actually hindered the development of scientific knowledge, since it created blinders, because it was impossible to go beyond theological constructions about society or even about nature. This situation changed only over time, when it became necessary to seize new territories, change the mode of production, when technology became an urgent task and when the state could no longer restrict the mind of creators by religious obscurantism, at least partially. After all, you cannot win a war with the help of prayers, you cannot transport goods with the help of icons.
When it came to the study of nature, the holy fathers always recalled the words of Blessed Augustine:
“People are trying to unravel the secret power of nature, which does not bring them wealth. Their only desire is to multiply their knowledge. With the same perverse purpose, they study the art of magic ... As for me, I do not want to know the path along which the stars move, and I hate all the sacred secrets. "
But even in the dark ages, there were scientists who protested. For example, Adelard of Battsky wrote:
“Guided by logic and reason, I learned from my Arab teachers, while you, reveling in your power, persist in delusions that impede progress; How else, except as a bridle, can the power of authorities be called? Just as wild animals run wherever they are driven with a stick, so you, under the authority of the writers of the past, strive for the danger associated with your animal credulity. "
Of course, this was more rare than commonplace. But the fact that science was influenced by the discoveries of the East, and then the second edition of the texts of the ancient Greeks, but by no means all, is not disputed.
At that time, nature was judged on the basis of the encyclopedia "On the Nature of Things" by theologian Raban Mavr. In short, natural phenomena were described there as "divine wisdom", that is, there is not even an attempt to understand the questions that might have arisen among the learned men of that time.
Indeed, everything is quite simple. There is a natural phenomenon that interests. It is difficult to understand, but it is very easy to say that it is just "God wanted it so" Such an answer at that time was more valuable than: "we do not know, but we will find out."
Cardinal Peter Damiani spoke about science in the 11th century:
“Why do Christians need science? Do you light a lantern to see the sun? ... Plato explores the secrets of a mysterious nature, determines the orbits of the planets and calculates the movement of the stars - I reject all this with contempt. Pythagoras singles out parallels on the Earth's sphere - I have no respect for this ... Euclid struggles with intricate problems about his geometric figures - I also reject him.
This is the position of the church in this period. Of course, it’s just to reject anything, but not justify your position when the army is behind you, but this could hardly destroy the craving for knowledge. Moreover, even such figures, although they hated the learned Greeks, read their works.
Belief in the Immaculate Conception, speaking snakes, etc. savagery, of course, influenced public consciousness, which is why the study of reality included religious forms. Travelers, for example, talked about the islands where people with dog heads live. All sorts of "saints" constantly appeared to people. Often burned "witches" who were considered the source of many problems. And this is not to mention the “end of the world”, which was predicted regularly and prepared in the most spiritual times almost every ten years (except for the fact that in the villages local madmen could “predict” it all the time).
Age of Mechanism
"Nature is not a temple, but a workshop, and man is a worker in it"
(I. S. Turgenev. Fathers and children)
The development of a new mode of production changed social relations. Great geographical discoveries, the emergence of new technologies, wars, urbanization and commercial capitalism - pushed to the development of scientific knowledge, competition began between countries in this area.
And in terms of religiosity, everything has changed radically, because allowing priests to shackle scientists is an unaffordable luxury for the state. It was at this time that religious repression was slowly fading into the background. No, no one cancels them completely, just the relationship is changing.
For example, if a peasant blasphemes, he can be burned or imprisoned (depending on which country we are talking about), but a scientist whose conclusions contradict biblical tales may well create. But naturally, not every scientist. If we are talking about a science that will help the state win in the competition, create a new invention that can bring a lot of benefits, then yes, but some philosophers, historians, etc., were still servants of theology.
However, the framework was tight. For example, Copernicus, who outlined the heliocentric system of the world, was afraid to publish his work during his lifetime. The work was published by a student, and it was negatively perceived not only in the church environment, but also among some scientists, but, what pleases, not everyone.
It was important for the Church to “prove” that the earth is the center of the universe. It is noteworthy that the teachings of Copernicus were condemned not only by Catholics, but also by Protestants and Orthodox.
First, the position of the Protestants. Luther's quote:
“They talk about some new astrologer who proves that the Earth moves, but the sky, the Sun and the Moon are motionless; as if the same thing happens here as when moving in a carriage or on a ship, when it seems to the rider that he is sitting motionless, and the earth and trees are running past him. Well, why, now everyone who wants to be known as a smart guy tries to invent something special. This fool also intends to turn all astronomy upside down. ".
Conclusion of the Theological Commission of Experts (Catholics):
“Assumption I: The sun is the center of the universe and, therefore, is motionless. Everyone believes that this statement is absurd and absurd from a philosophical point of view, and besides, it is formally heretical, since its expressions in many respects contradict Holy Scripture, according to the literal meaning of the words, as well as the usual interpretation and understanding of the Fathers of the Church and teachers of theology.
Assumption II: The Earth is not the center of the universe, it is not motionless and moves as an integral (body) and, moreover, makes a daily circulation. Everyone thinks that this position deserves the same philosophical condemnation; from the point of view of theological truth, it is at least erroneous in faith. "
Well, the verdict of the Orthodox Church of the times of the Russian Empire:
"Copernicus's malignant ideas about many worlds, contrary to Scripture."
As you can see, in this sense, the churches took one position. And the main thing is that they do not even try to give any evidence at all. The theory is "heretical", nothing can be done about it.
The sun revolves around the earth because the Bible said: in the book of Joshua (chapter 10) the sun stops:
12Jesus cried to the Lord on the day that the Lord delivered the Amorites into the hands of Israel, when he killed them in Gibeon, and they were beaten before the face of the children of Israel, and said before the Israelites: Stand, the sun, over Gibeon, and the moon, over the valley of Aialon. !
13And the sun stopped and the moon stood while the people took revenge on their enemies. Isn't this written in the book of the Righteous: "The sun stood in the sky and did not hurry to the west for almost the whole day"?
14And there was no such day, neither before nor after that, on which the Lord would listen to the voice of a man. For the Lord fought for Israel.
It also shows how wonderful biblical commandments like “Thou shalt not kill” work. It is clear that scientists had to ponder each conclusion precisely in terms of so that religious fanatics would not condemn. And the danger is that they never had any arguments at all, only remarks like "this is heresy" or "this condemns the church."
A reflection of this process was the famous Pascal's wager (scientists from different countries interacted). The famous scientist Blaise Pascal in the 17th century put forward the thesis according to which it is beneficial to believe in God. He asks the question:
“God exists or not. Which side do we lean on? Reason cannot decide anything here. Endless chaos separates us. On the edge of this infinity, a game is being played, the outcome of which is unknown. What will you bet on? "
Many people think that this is just religious propaganda. However, it is worth considering. Indeed, the very formulation of such a question suggests that the refusal of faith in God in the scientific community (and then all people could not read this text, since there was no mass education) is quite a common thing. Earlier, even reasoning on this topic was considered heresy, but then there is still free communication.
Pascal encourages his colleagues to be pragmatic. He even tells unbelievers that they can believe if they simply follow the cult rites. If they regularly visit the temple, act in accordance with religious principles, then over time, Pascal believes, they will believe.
In fact, this bet is evidence of free thinking in the scientific community of those years. Later, Newton outlined the basic laws of physics, without resorting to biblical dogmas in his work.
Undoubtedly, Newton was a believer, but his faith was radically different from the religiosity of the masses. He did not accept many dogmas, considering God not the creator of the world in the biblical sense, but a kind of "first impulse". That is, in general, Newton's theory (classical physics) is a materialistic doctrine, where God is already in the background.
Laplace continued the work of Newton, who, as you know, threw God out of his system altogether. His conversation with Napoleon is known:
- You wrote such a huge book about the system of the world and never once mentioned its Creator!
“Sire, I didn't need this hypothesis.
It cannot be said that all scientists abandoned belief in God, but we can say that all natural scientists abandoned the hypothesis of God in the scientific sense, that is, while engaged in their activities, they could no longer use religious dogmas as an argument. This is a big plus, since from now on dogmas did not fetter the consciousness of scientists, they began to separate science from religion, which, unfortunately, did not exist earlier.
The priests opposed such scientists, but they were protected by the state. It should also be noted that the religiosity of such scientists has always differed from the "standard set." It is not surprising that in the scientific environment of the times of mechanism deism was widespread, that is, the concept according to which God created the world, but no longer intervened in events, since objective physical laws were acting, independent of anyone's will.
The biblical picture of the creation of the world caused the grin of any physicist of that time, who took as a basis the teachings of Newton. Paul Holbach, a French encyclopedist, wrote about this in the 18th century:
“As for the exalted knowledge of Moses, then, with the exception of magical
tricks that he could learn from the Egyptian priests, famous in
antiquity with our charlatanism, in the writings of the Jewish legislator we are not
we find nothing that would testify to true knowledge. Lots of
scholars rightly note the mistakes by which this inspired writer
filled his cosmogony, or the history of the creation of the world. Only came out of his hands
a fairy tale that would blush the most humble physicist these days ".
Not everyone admitted it so bluntly, but in fact it was. This is easy to see if you study almost any work in physics of that time, where there is no question of any divine laws.
The contradiction here is understandable. The task of scientists is to understand and explain, to discover the objective laws of nature, and the task of the priests is to maintain their dominance and make everyone simply believe in some crazy stories.
It will hardly surprise anyone that as soon as the legislative norms securing the dominant position of religion disappeared, the number of believers immediately began to decline, especially among the intelligentsia. This can only be partially said about society as a whole. Formally, the religion has survived, but they began to visit churches not when the churchmen "needed", but on holidays, occasionally (on average). Undoubtedly, the transition from traditional to modern society is a blow to the religious worldview.
In Russia, modern priests often declare that allegedly "there was no inquisition", so everything was just fine with science in the Russian Empire. In fact, everything was worse than in the West, because even popular science books in Russia were simply destroyed. For example, even in 1916 Haeckel's book "World Mysteries" was destroyed, since the book contains:
"Daring antics against the highest objects of Christian veneration."
The same thing happened with almost any publication where it was written about evolution or about the heliocentric system of the world. So it cannot be said that "there were no contradictions." These books were published at the beginning of the 20th century in the most developed Western countries.
Believing scholars
If the number of believing scientists has become less than in the 19th century in percentage terms, this does not mean that there are none at all. Moreover, the number of scientists as a whole has become much more, today the concept itself is sharply different from what it was 200 years ago.
Not all people understand who a scientist is. Sometimes some ideal images are formed in the imagination that in no way correspond to reality. For example, a person monitors how certain foods affect the health of mice all their lives. He has been doing this for 10-40 years. And why can't he believe in God? How his work will interfere with believing in a deity, given that his work is often just a routine. We shouldn't also forget about professional deformation.
Religion is a social institution whose purpose is to preserve the state and society without changing anything. If everything suits you in this regard, then a person may well support religion as a "scrap", which sometimes happens.
Today we see that a state that provides “stability” supports a religious cult, therefore, by supporting religion, even if you don’t believe in God, you support the social order. It is not surprising that so-called Orthodox atheists have appeared in the post-Soviet republics. They are all ardent supporters of the current regime.
You have to understand that there are a lot of scientists, whatever you like, among them there is no "like-mindedness" in the world outlook sense. Scientists not only can believe in God, but they also do various things. They have different interests, hobbies, political views, etc., etc.
If, for example, a scientist is a Nazi / Voodoo cult follower / admirer of Fomenko's historical concepts, does this mean that this is something true?
Nobody would say that. So why, if a scientist believes in God, then he automatically “proves” the truth of this or that religious cult? With such success, we can talk about the benefits of McDonald's hamburgers based on the fact that some scientist eats there regularly. Or about the benefits of smoking, because there are scientists who smoke.
And what does it mean - a believing scientist in the minds of religious leaders who share quotes? Do these people prove the existence of God? Not. This is how it goes. From the interview Artem Oganov - Russian theoretical crystallographer, chemist, physicist and materials scientist:
“Since 1993 you have been a parishioner of the Catholic Church of St. Louis in Moscow. Is it possible to combine science and faith in God?
- Science and faith do not contradict each other in any way, because they are about different things - just like medicine and astrophysics cannot contradict each other in any way. Faith is about the meaning of life, and not, for example, about the electronic structure of crystals or the evolution of plants. Science, on the contrary, is about the material world and cannot say anything about the meaning of life. The great scientist and also a believer, Louis Pasteur, said: "A small knowledge moves away from God, and a large one brings closer to Him." He said this when it was very unfashionable to be a believer in his native France. My faith gave me a system of coordinates in life, a person cannot exist without knowing the meaning of his existence. And science allows me to develop my abilities, and do what I love, and be useful. "
The conclusion is simple. Being engaged in science, a person does not in any way use religious dogmas in his work. In his field, he is a competent and respected person, but outside these frameworks he can share any ideas at all: even about a perpetual motion machine, even about God, about anything.
But one should not think that obscurantism somehow helps a scientist. As a rule, in modern society it does not particularly interfere, since the faith is "moderate". Here is an example from history of how the Orthodox Church treated education and enlightenment at a time when it was possible to talk about it freely (in the Russian Empire):
“It has been noticed that as our“ enlightenment and education ”develops, the number of people lovingly devoted to the holy faith and the church decreases in inverse proportion. If such a phenomenon is recognized as characteristic and typical even for the Russian peasantry, then, consequently, our enlightenment and education, being in irreconcilable contradiction with the principles of religious life, should be considered abnormal, and therefore unhelpful ".
In fact, the text above is not obscurantism, but a completely logical conclusion. The fact is that the church needs a devoted flock, and among scientists there are indeed full of doubters, "heretics", agnostics and atheists.
Sometimes the situation is such that visiting temples for a scientist is just a formality, as it is "accepted in the family." A typical example from the book by Richard Dawkins:
“The current Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Society, Martin Rees, told me that he goes to church as 'a non-believer Anglican ... to stay connected to society.' He does not believe in God ".
Actually, this is normal for the so-called folk religion. Many people consider themselves to be a dominant cult, but they may not believe in God and do not know any dogmas at all.
But even if a person is a believer, knows the basic dogmas, then what the Nobel laureate Vitaly Ginzburg spoke about is always relevant:
“In all cases known to me, believing physicists and astronomers in their scientific works do not mention a word about God. They live simultaneously, as it were, in two worlds - one material, and the other some kind of transcendental, divine. They have a kind of splitting of the psyche. Engaging in specific scientific activities, a believer, in fact, forgets about God, acts the same way as an atheist. Thus, the compatibility of doing science with faith in God is by no means identical with the compatibility of faith in God with scientific thinking. "
There are many examples of sincerely believing scientists. Let's say theoretical physicist James Clerk Maxwell. But these people, who had at least some weight in science, never even thought of pushing biblical tales into the scientific sphere.
But, unfortunately, there are clinical cases when scientists still go to the camp of religious propagandists. An example is the physicist Richard Smalley:
"The burden of proof lies with those who do not believe that Genesis is true, that the universe was created, and that the Creator still supports His creation."
Despite fanaticism, there is no attempt to prove the truth of the biblical story. As always, the dubious argument is used: "prove it not." You can just as well prove the "truth" of everything. For example, in general, all the myths of different peoples of the world.
Another example is the famous Orthodox surgeon Voino-Yasenetsky. Orthodox obscurantism has brought a truly respected person in the past to pseudoscientific constructions. In particular, he held the view that "It is the heart, not the mind (as psychologists try to prove) that thinks, reflects, learns."
This is how religion “did not contradict” scientific knowledge. After all, it is obvious that the surgeon accepted this madness after reading Orthodox books "about the soul and body." When a person is already completely devoting himself to religious obscurantism, then, as a rule, he is lost to science.
What are the reasons for the scientist's religiosity? The same as everyone else:
Objective:
“The social foundations are formed by the totality of social factors (economic, technological) and relations derived from them in the spiritual sphere (political, legal, state, moral, etc.), those objective relations that dominate people in everyday life, are alien to them, produce lack of freedom and people's dependence on external conditions. The main aspects of these relations are: spontaneity of natural and social processes; development of alienated forms of ownership, non-economic and economic coercion of the employee; unfavorable moments of the conditions of existence in the city and the countryside, the division and separation of intellectual and physical labor, the employee's attachment to one or the other; constraint by belonging to a class, estate, guild, workshop, caste, ethnos, within which the individual acts only as an instance of a set (aggregate); the partial development of individuals under conditions of a limiting division of labor; power-authoritarian relations, political oppression of the state; interethnic conflicts, oppression of one ethnic group by another; exploitation of colonies by metropolises; wars; dependence on natural disasters and eco-crisis processes ”.
Psychological:
“The psychological basis of religion is created by a stable, constant feeling of fear of the destructive forces of nature and society. "Fear created the gods," said the ancient Roman poet Statius (c. 40 - c. 96). Fear is a natural reaction to a real danger, an alarm signal, but this painful, unpleasant feeling, in comparison with other emotions, it most depresses a person. Strong, constant, stagnant fear has destructive forces: it weakens the living connection with reality, distorts sensation and perception, arouses painful imagination, fetters thinking, scatters attention. "
“The relationship of powerlessness, dependence, which in these conditions is insurmountable, unavoidable, give rise to a psychological complex, including fear, despair, and at the same time the expectation of the best, the hope of getting rid of the oppression of alien forces. The impossibility of actual liberation leads to the search for liberation
spiritual. Visions and prophecies appear, in which apocalyptic moods are replaced by solemn fulfillment. "
Lies of the churchmen
Often, when speaking about believing scientists, religious leaders lie, that is, they classify unbelieving scientists as believers. There are many such cases in history, then there are three main examples.
1. Charles Darwin
They began to talk about Darwin's religiosity right after his death. There were myths according to which he "renounced" his own theory on his deathbed. On the other hand, there were myths that were aimed at affirming the thesis "evolution does not contradict religion," and such preachers claimed that Darwin was always a believer.
What happened in reality? In his youth, Darwin really was a believer, hardly anyone would deny this fact. But in the future, the more he learned the facts, traveling on the ship "Beagle", the less he believed in religious dogma.
Since in this case one cannot rely on religious preachers who claim that supposedly famous people were believers, you can give the floor to Darwin himself, since he left a great legacy, and in the writings you can find passages where the scientist shared his opinion on religion ...
And in his "autobiography" he describes how unbelief was born:
“During these two years I had to think a lot about religion. While sailing in the Beagle, I was completely orthodox; I remember how some officers (although they themselves were orthodox people) laughed at me heartily when, on some moral issue, I referred to the Bible as an immutable authority. I suppose they were amused by the novelty of my argument. However, during this period [i.e. that is, from October 1836 to January 1839] I gradually came to the realization that the Old Testament with its obviously false history of the world, with its tower of Babel, a rainbow as a sign of the covenant, etc., etc. his attribution to the god of the feelings of a vengeful tyrant is no more credible than the sacred books of the Hindus or the beliefs of some savage. At that time, one question arose in my mind every now and then, from which I could not get rid of: if God wanted to send down a revelation to the Hindus now, then would he really allow it to be connected with belief in Vishnu, Siwa, etc., similar to how is Christianity related to belief in the Old Testament? It seemed to me absolutely incredible. "
And in the same place Darwin points out:
“There is nothing more remarkable than the spread of religious disbelief, or rationalism, throughout the second half of my life. Before my pre-wedding engagement, my father advised me to carefully hide my doubts [about religion], for, he said, he had to see what an exceptional misfortune this kind of frankness brought to those who got married. Things went well until the wife or husband fell ill, but then some women experienced severe suffering, as they doubted the possibility of the spiritual salvation of their husbands, and this in turn caused suffering to their husbands. The father added that during his long life he had known only three unbelieving women, and it should be remembered that he was well acquainted with a huge number of people and was distinguished by an exceptional ability to gain confidence in himself. When I asked him who these three women were, he, speaking respectfully of one of them, his sister-in-law Kitty Wedgwood, admitted that he had no definitive evidence, but only vague assumptions supported by the belief that such a deep and intelligent a woman could not be a believer. At the present time - with my small circle of acquaintances - I know (or have known before) several married women whose faith was not much stronger than the faith of their husbands. "
Darwin was a compromise person, he even offered his wife to burn his work if she considered it completely heretical (his wife was indeed a devout Christian). But this shortcoming does not in any way negate the fact that Darwin personally was not a supporter of religion.
2. Ivan Pavlov
It is not known why often believers claim that Pavlov allegedly believed in God. For an example (similar is complete):
“It is known that the great Russian scientist-physiologist, Academician I.P. Pavlov was a believing Christian, a parishioner of the Church of the Sign in Leningrad, and this is the explanation he gives about the immortality of the soul:“ I study higher nervous activity and I know that all human feelings: joy , grief, sadness, anger, hatred, human thoughts, the very ability to think and reason - are connected, each of them, with a special cell of the human brain and its nerves. And when the body ceases to live, then all these feelings and thoughts of a person, as if breaking away from the brain cells that have already died, by virtue of the general law that nothing - neither energy nor matter - disappear without a trace and make up that soul, the immortal soul professed by the Christian faith ””.
It is easy to find this quote unchanged on the Internet. The only problem is that you can't really find Pavlov's work with such a quote. Myths about his religiosity have been around for a long time, back in the 60s of the last century, his daughter-in-law wrote that she saw:
“The double of Ivan Petrovich, descending from the choir with a large church book. The resemblance was striking, especially since this man's gray beard was trimmed exactly like Ivan Petrovich's. Then I understood where the legend came from ".
However, everything can be much simpler here, especially since falsification in such cases is a common thing.
Pavlov was not only not a believer, but he had a hostile attitude towards religion even in the days of the Russian Empire. Here is what L.A. Orbeli wrote:
“Suddenly Ivan Petrovich, in the presence of all laboratory workers, says:
- The devil only knows what kind of manner we started to serve the requiem for no reason at all? We, scientists, are going to honor the memory of the scientist, and then suddenly, for some reason, a requiem. I think this order needs to be changed.
Everyone is silent. Then he says:
- So that's what you will order - I will not arrange any requiem, for what reason? I will come to a meeting of the Society and have to smell incense! It is completely incomprehensible!
The next day Ivan Petrovich comes to the laboratory, - Orbeli recalled. - He just took off his coat ... and immediately says:
- What a fool I played yesterday! As I did not think! I didn't want to smell incense, and I didn't think about how the family members were feeling. After all, they did not come to listen to our reports, they are used to the fact that we devote a meeting to the memory of Botkin, we serve a requiem, they are believers. I am not a believer, but I still have to reckon with believers. I will never forgive myself for this! I realized that as soon as I saw the expressions on the faces of the widow and the rest of the family. "
It was back in 1906. And here is what Pavlov then said about faith in God:
"I ... I myself am a rationalist to the marrow of my bones and finished with religion ... I am the son of a priest, I grew up in a religious environment, however, when at the age of 15-16 I began to read different books and faced this question, I changed my mind too. it was easy ... Man himself must throw away the thought of God ".
He also refuted the myth of his religiosity:
"As for my religiosity, faith in God, attending church, all this is not true, inventions. I am a seminarian and, like most seminarians, already from school, I have become an atheist, an afheist. I do not need God ...
Why do many people think that I am a believer, a believer in a religious sense? Because I am against the persecution of the church, of religion. "
3. Albert Einstein
Religious fanatics often refer to Einstein, they say, such a genius and believed in God. Most often, a false story about a dispute between a student and a professor is used, where the professor “proves” that there is no God, and the student parries him and eventually wins. Here's the ending of this story:
"Student: Now tell me, is there anyone in this class who saw
the professor's brain? Heard it, smelled it, touched it?
(Students continued to laugh)
Student: Apparently, nobody. Then, based on scientific facts, you can
conclude that the professor has no brain. Saving your presence,
Professor, how can we trust what you said in the lectures?
(There was silence in the audience)
Professor: I think you should just trust me.
Student: Exactly! There is one connection between God and man - this is FAITH!
The professor sat down. "
And at the very end it says: "This student's name was Albert Einstein"... It is worth noting that this bike is widespread on the Internet and, with minor changes, is often attributed to other famous people. Similar stories are often written about Einstein as well. As a rule, we are talking about the fantasies of religious fanatics, but sometimes it is a mixture of truth and lies.
Again, here you do not need to believe either believers or unbelievers, but look at what Einstein himself writes. First, it is worth paying attention to how he describes his own religious views:
“I - although I was the child of non-religious parents - was deeply religious until I was 12 when my faith came to an abrupt end. Soon, through reading popular science books, I became convinced that much in biblical stories cannot be true. The consequence of this was downright fanatical free-thinking, combined with the impression that the state was deceiving the youth; it was a devastating conclusion. Such experiences gave rise to distrust of all kinds of authorities and a skeptical attitude towards the beliefs and convictions that lived in the social environment that surrounded me at that time. "
What speculations are possible after that, especially when a person himself has refuted all these ridiculous myths in advance? It is interesting that even during his lifetime he was often ranked among the adherents of religion and he had to refute this:
“It is certainly a lie that you have read about my religious convictions, a lie that is systematically repeated. I do not believe in a personified God and have never denied it, but I have expressed it clearly. If there is something in me that can be called religious, then this is undoubtedly an endless admiration for the structure of the universe to the extent that science reveals it. "
Well, about the biblical stories:
“The word 'God' for me is just a manifestation and product of human weakness, and the Bible is a collection of venerable, but still primitive legends, which, nevertheless, are rather childish. No, even the most sophisticated, interpretation will not be able to change this (for me). "
I would like to note that the last quote is an excerpt from a 1954 letter, that is, shortly before Einstein's death.
In general, I must say that there are a lot of such fakes. Believers, in order to add to the list of "religious scholars", often resort to falsifications, in particular, invent quotes and "stories from life." Fortunately, they always do it clumsily and use one story too often.
On the religiosity of scientists
You can see how the churchmen diligently find the imaginary believing scientists. And, interestingly, they no longer care what these same scientists believed. That is, supporters of the Orthodox cult can easily name a Catholic, a Protestant, and even a deist as an example, if only they believe in God.
And what will happen if you look at the picture as a whole, that is, still find out how religious scientists are in general. But first it is worth repeating that there is no place for religion in scientific activity. Oxford University professor Peter Atkins emphasizes:
“You, of course, can be a scientist and profess any religion. But I do not think that in this case you can be a real researcher in the full sense of this concept, since the scientific style of thinking is completely incompatible with religious ideas. "
Believers often refer to the fact that many of the Nobel laureates are believers. Is it really? In 2013, T. Dimitrov's book "They Believed in God" was published, where the author accurately calculated the number of believers. The result is like this:
physics: 17 (8.7%)
chemistry: 4 (2.4%)
in physiology or medicine: 6 (3%)
by literature: 11 (10%)
Peace Prize: 12 (11.5%)
in economics: 0
TOTAL: 50 (6%).
I would like to note that, despite such a small percentage, religious leaders are clearly speculating on "believing scientists." The fact is that for some reason the author of the book himself classifies Einstein as a believer, and if he is removed from the list, then there are already 16, not 17 physicists.
But let us assume that Einstein is a believer because of “ admiration for the structure of the Universe to the extent that science reveals it. "The important thing here is what exactly these “believing scientists” believed, that is, 6%. If we take the natural sciences (it is unlikely that the prize for literature and the prize for peace, which was received by figures like Obama or Gorbachev in this case, is of interest), then of all scientists he believed in Jesus Christ only 1 laureate in physiology and medicine and 3 laureates in physics. But all the rest will still be used by believers as proof of "the truth of the only true religion."
Richard Dawkins correctly observed:
"The attempts of unwavering adherents of religion to find truly outstanding modern, believing in God scientists border on despair and their futility resemble the booming sounds that come when scraping the remains from the bottom of a barrel."
Scientists often talk about this topic in interviews. Russian physicist Zhores Alferov on whether there are many believers among Russian scientists:
"Of course, there are more atheists among scientific workers. The basis of religion is faith, the basis of science is knowledge. There is no scientific basis for religion."
But how things were in the scientific community of the United States and Europe. The table shows data from different years. Scientists were asked questions like "do you believe in God" and others. Here about belief in a theistic god:
|
1914 |
1933 |
1998 |
|
|
Believers |
27.7 |
15 |
7.0 |
|
Unbelievers |
52.7 |
68 |
72.2 |
|
Doubters and agnostics |
20.9 |
17 |
20.8 |
And here about the belief in the immortality of the soul:
|
1914 |
1933 |
1998 |
|
|
Believe |
35.2 |
18 |
7.9 |
|
Do not believe |
25.4 |
53 |
76.7 |
|
Doubt |
43.7 |
29 |
23.3 |
Believers have no reason to claim that most scientists in the developed world believe in God. Although such statements are encountered, especially if some pop is addressing an ignorant crowd.
Knowledge and opinion
Unfortunately, when it comes to scientists, people do not understand when it comes to opinion and when it comes to knowledge. Here you need to decide on the concepts. Opinion:
"Knowledge is insufficiently substantiated, which is the result of uncritical assimilation of experience, obtained by sensory means or with the help of" authorities. " Opinion is knowledge influenced by incorrect initial attitudes, illusions generated by sensory or emotional life experience ".
“The result of cognition of reality, tested by practice, its correct reflection in the consciousness of a person; a set of information that makes up any science, its branch ".
Well, at the same time, faith (several definitions suitable for this case):
“A deep conviction in the existence, truth or inevitability of something, which does not require proof or justification; conviction in the existence of God; belonging to any religion, absolute recognition of the dogmas of religion, religious traditions and rituals, religious worldview of a certain sense; religion, confession ".
It follows from this that when a scientist believes in God, then we are not talking about knowledge, the scientist is not trying to prove the existence of God. The fact is that proving the existence of God is about as stupid as proving the existence of a fairy, baba yaga, koshcheya, etc.
A person has no real reason to believe in God, since his existence is basically impossible to prove, like any fictional character in history. But there are no grounds, but there is faith, there are many "white spots", there are gaps in knowledge.
And it's not a bad thing to use a deity then. If you do not know something, then everything can be explained with the help of God's will. Take traditional society. The peasants explain almost everything through divine intervention. It started raining when needed - God is generous, when not needed - angry. A man fell ill and died - God punished; recovered - God saved. The same can be said about a good or bad dream, about harvesting, about anything. Imagine if scientists approached any problem in the same way. Then there would be no sense in science.
However, there are situations in which a scientist can become like a peasant, that is, not rely on objective data, but believe in something, not necessarily in a religious dogma.
The truth or falsity of this or that view should be verified by practice, and not simply accepted as something true on the basis that a person authoritative in a certain field believes in it.
First of all, you should always remember that science and religion fundamentally disagree on key issues. In particular, on questions about the origin of the world and life. Today we can say that the Bible contains continuous "metaphors" in order to protect religion, but earlier it was a serious conflict, since religious leaders defended the biblical picture of the world to the last, believing that everyone should accept it as the ultimate truth. If you pay attention to old textbooks on world history, you will notice that often the story begins with Adami and Eve. Any scientist is influenced by the environment, the social foundations of the state, the traditions of society. This is how contradictory concepts can get along.
Someone is satisfied that “science does not know everything yet,” that is, the god of white spots. Certain religious scholars just refer to this. However, such a position is hardly reasonable, since if a person does not know something, then he should try to find out, and not stop and believe that it is a question of divine will.
Indeed, in any case, all modern discoveries were once unknown, but over time, the "divinity" of the mysteries of nature comes to naught. It is more logical to assume that the problem can be solved over time than to rely on the fact that it is insoluble in principle and the whole point is in the character of ancient Hebrew or ancient Egyptian myths.
And about the root cause (the most important argument of the churchmen), Bertrand Russell also said:
“By its very nature, the root cause argument is no different from that of the Hindu who believed that the world rests on an elephant and an elephant rests on a turtle; when the Hindu was asked: "And what does the turtle rest on?" - he replied: "Let's talk about something else." Indeed, the root cause argument is no better than the answer given by the Hindu. After all, there is no reason to believe that the world could not have arisen without a reason; on the other hand, there is no reason to believe that the world could not exist forever. There is no reason to believe that the world had a beginning at all. The notion that things must necessarily have a beginning actually owes to the squalor of our imaginations. So I probably don't need to spend more time parsing the root cause argument. ”
In fact, the answer to any fundamental question on the part of religious leaders is “I don’t know”, and sometimes “I don’t know and I don’t want to know”. The latter most often refers to those who benefit from this activity, that is, the various priests.
“One of the most common types of arbitrary reasoning is incorrect references to authorities. Arguments "from authority" are very important and, in general, are often indispensable without them. But we must remember two conditions for their correct application: a) these arguments are correctly applicable or in the absence of substantive arguments (which happens very often, because we cannot know everything, test everything ourselves and check everything personally); or in support of substantive arguments. In itself, a reference to authority in the vast majority of cases is only a more or less probable (and not reliable) argument; b) secondly, each authority is an authority only in the field of its specialty. If there are several such areas, it is better for him, of course. But outside the limits of his specialty, he is an "ordinary mortal", and the reference to him in these cases is a mistake or sophism. Here are two conditions under which an authority reference can be valid. In other cases, such a link is a mistake or sophism (of a false or arbitrary argument) ".
In the question of the existence of God, a scientist is always an "ordinary mortal", since in his constructions he does not use empirical evidence, the scientific method. In the case of the ignorant, such arguments are not sophism, but paralogism.
If God is mentioned in some scientific question, it means that a person simply refuses to understand, since faith is not only the absence of any knowledge, but often a fundamental refusal to understand.
And if we return to the believers, when they use the authority of scientists in their own interests, we can note an interesting thing. What do they really know about Newton, Galileo or Pascal? Basically only that they were "some sort of scientists", but the main thing is that they believed in God. That is, they are usually referred to people who influenced the development of science, and religious fanatics most often single out only that they were believers.
You can be sure that the religious fanatics who use these names, for the most part, do not know anything at all, except that the latter believed in God. And earlier they did not have to use such an argument, since the attitude towards scientists was negative, but now it is a requirement of modern society. However, there are rare exceptions like Herman Sterligov, who calls for the killing of scientists.
The appeal to authority is logical when it comes to the question of where a person is really authority. But to appeal to authority if you need to prove the "truth" of your religious, political and other views is a logical mistake.
However, since we are talking about faith in God, then there is nothing to be surprised at, since in apologetics everything is built on logical errors. You should always remember that God is an empty concept. The existence of a biblical deity is no more likely than the existence of a flying macaroni monster.
What believers always forget about in disputes is the law of sufficient reason, because they have no facts. It remains only to say: "prove that there is no God." But here you still need to remember the words of Carl Sagan: "Extraordinary Claims Require Extraordinary Evidence"... So far, there is no such evidence, despite the long years of "scientific work" by Christian apologists in the dark ages.
In modern times, attempts do not stop, but in general they do not differ from what they were 1000 years ago. For example, here is how the Orthodox theologian Osipov, who is full of awards and who has been doing this for more than a dozen years, proves the existence of God:
“First, a simple example. Several unfamiliar people at different times saw a bear in the forest. Can you believe them? Yes, especially since there could be no collusion here. But in order to deny this, you will have to carefully and repeatedly examine the specified forest, do a tremendous job, and even then you can still doubt, what if the beast cleverly hid?
The same can be said about the existence of God. "
This man has taught theology at the Moscow Theological Academy since 1965, so if someone thinks that these people have any arguments, they are greatly mistaken. Such absurdities are the norm when it comes to trying to prove the existence of God. Moreover, what is funny, this does not in any way prove the existence of the same Jesus. Thus, you can "prove" the existence of some ancient Greek god or any other.
But this is quite convincing to believers, just like in 1984 it was written: "The best books, he realized, tell you what you already know yourself"... Believers already believe, but such waste paper “strengthens” the faith, as these books are written by church authorities, who in fact know no more than anyone else on the topic. Ignorance is raised to the rank of "special knowledge", but the point is precisely that the root of any religion is the practical impotence of man before nature and before society. This also includes "difficult questions". Alas, instead of knowing objective reality, people simply find the simplest answers, some scientists are no exception.
Sources of
Sources of
1. Theology - Psychologos. URL: www.psychologos.ru/articles/view/bogoslovie
2. Europe in the Middle Ages. Life, religion, culture. URL: www.universalinternetlibrary.ru/book/29182/ogl.shtml
4. Gilson, 2010, p. 178-179.
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About science, faith and outstanding scientists who became confessors of Orthodoxy in the XX century - oilman V.N. Shchelkachev, mathematicians D.F. Egorova and N.N. Luzin, a geologist and secret priest Gleb Kalede, our portal was told by the doctor of physical and mathematical sciences, professor of the Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, head. Vladimir Igorevich Bogachev, Chair of Mathematics, Faculty of Informatics and Applied Mathematics, PSTGU.
- Indeed, we knew Vladimir Nikolaevich Shchelkachev for about a quarter of a century. You can even say that we are relatives: his son is the godfather of our son, and spiritual kinship is sometimes considered stronger than blood.
He was an extremely interesting person. He lived a long life, almost a century: he was born in 1907 and died in 2005, a little before his century. Recently, the publishing house "Oil Industry" published the book "The Road to Truth" - it can be recommended to everyone, however, I do not know how accessible it is.
The main part of this book is made up of his personal recollections - of course, it is impossible to retell them briefly, but in a nutshell the leitmotif is this: the questions of the relationship between science and faith, the search for a personal path - these are, of course, eternal questions, and a hundred years ago they were just as acute as today.
And now Vladimir Nikolaevich tells how he and other people of his time solved such issues - and it should be noted that then, probably, all this was even more dramatic.
He was born in 1907, and his fifteen or twenty years - the age when a person generally begins to ask "eternal" questions - fell on the post-revolutionary period, the civil war and the first years after it.
It should be borne in mind that Shchelkachev's father was a military officer - of course the tsarist army, a colonel - and was arrested several times by the new authorities. He was released, then arrested again, released again and taken away - he lived after the revolution for about twenty-five years and spent almost all this time in camps and exiles.
Vladimir Nikolaevich several times secretly met with his father, when he, being in exile, worked on some huge construction sites, where an outsider could penetrate. But he never got out.
So Vladimir Nikolaevich was brought up mainly by his mother, finished school early - at the age of 15 - and ended up in a big city: he came to Moscow to enroll. He grew up in a believing family, and then plunged into new propaganda, which was completely opposite to what he had learned at home.
And at some point, like many then, he began to have doubts about his faith, which he, having arrived home, shared with his mother.She showed very great wisdom. She did not agitate, but said something like the following: “Well, since childhood you were brought up in the same views, and then you ran into others and began to doubt. If you are a solid person, then you must, of course, draw a conclusion for yourself not on the basis of superficial, emotional impressions, but after seriously thinking, weighing and deciding everything for yourself. Go back to Moscow, sit in the libraries, read what the supporters of one view and that of the other write, make a choice, and then you will tell me what you have come to.
And I will respect you as a person who has made an informed decision, even if it is unacceptable for me personally. "
So Vladimir Nikolayevich did - he returned to Moscow and began to read. He approached all questions methodically, like mathematical problems.
Received admission to the closed department of the library: in the twenties, part of the funds was quickly transferred to the category "for official use", but professors could still give students the right to borrow books from there. Soon it became impossible, but Vladimir Nikolayevich managed to read the works of individual philosophers, not to mention the multitude of Soviet propaganda literature.
I read and compared. This reading and comparison made a tremendous impression on him. And he made a really conscious choice.
He realized that faith is not a commitment to any rituals or a cultural tradition of the family. Faith is really a question that can be rationally substantiated, as a scientific theory, for oneself.
— Not so much, perhaps, to substantiate the belief itself, but to show the fallacy of its refutations?
- And this, too, but more broadly: your views can be substantiated as scientific results. This does not mean that they can be deduced logically - it would be ridiculous to think that in matters of faith it is possible to give some kind of logical, scientific evidence.
Even in such the most formalized science as mathematics, the simplest things very often turn out to be unprovable in principle. For example, in arithmetic, which deals with natural numbers. It is proved that there are some equations for which it is impossible to establish whether they are solvable or not. It seems paradoxical: the equation is written, and it seems that it is obvious - it is either solvable or not. It is so, but it is impossible to establish this by means of arithmetic itself.
— Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem?
- Yes. This is a very interesting phenomenon. And if this happens with basic things, then it’s ridiculous to believe that with the help of scientific arguments it is possible to prove or disprove more radical things.
- But the same theorem of Gödel says that any axiomatic theory is either contradictory or incomplete. And in this sense, one can at least say that if there are conflicting grounds at the basis of some dogmatic system, - like Catholics, for example,- then, in the aggregate, the dogmatic theory itself is not interesting to consider, because anything you want can be deduced from this theory. Can this theorem be applied in this way?
- I think that at the philological level it is possible to draw just another conclusion - that the foundations themselves are not in the sphere of formal, so to speak, "machine-verifiable" relationships. These are facts that are confirmed by colossal experience - this is the sense in which the phenomena of spiritual life can be compared, as Vladimir Nikolaevich Shchelkachev did, with science.
There are facts, which means there is some kind of empiricism, and it really is subject to verification.
Worldview truths are not axioms or theorems that are derived from somewhere - they are empirical. Vladimir Nikolaevich comprehended this science and was happy that for almost a century of his life he had not been disappointed in his convictions.
He did another very interesting job: he began to collect literature related to the statements of famous scientists about faith.
It turned out that there are outstanding believing scientists and equally outstanding non-believing scientists. Such a study was carried out a hundred years ago.
— Tabrum's profile?
- Yes, the Englishman Tabrum sent out about 200 questionnaires to the largest scientists of that time and from most of them - about 150 - received answers. It turned out that the percentage of believing scientists is very high.
If such a study were conducted now, then, most likely, the percentage would be lower. Well, what would follow from this? I think nothing.
There is no reason to believe that chemists or physicists, dealing with their narrow problems and reaching, perhaps, incredible heights in them, have a more weighty opinion on worldview issues than other people - well, you just cannot agree with this.
Of course, if you look at who is being appealed to in the media today - football players, actors, singers - then the appeal to scientists deserves, of course, much more attention. Nevertheless, it seems to me, in principle, it is wrong to think that some statistics among some category of people determines something in this matter.
In terms of faith, all people are equal, no matter what they do or how great their achievements.
By the way, about statistics. If you look at how many truly Orthodox, church people there are now in Russia, it turns out that there are very few. But it probably has been almost always - and something similar will be in the future.
Even before the revolution, among scientists, especially in our country, the percentage of non-church people increased, although there were deeply religious people - the same Mendeleev. And among mathematicians - Egorov, whose student was Vladimir Nikolaevich Shchelkachev.
- Could you tell us about Egorov and Luzin , about what Moscow University and, in general, the entire Moscow mathematical school owe them?
- Egorov was an old, pre-revolutionary professor. He was educated in Russia, then, as was customary then, he traveled to France and Germany. He was fluent in several languages and personally knew many outstanding scientists of Europe, attended their lectures, talked with them. Already in Moscow, Egorov became one of the initiators of the modern system of work with students, when, in addition to the compulsory disciplines, the program includes special courses and seminars where students make reports and engage in scientific work.
One of Yegorov's main achievements is the establishment of Russian education. He, of course, also has personal scientific achievements; say, one of his theorems is included in the university curriculum, but, again, I think the main role in organizing a new type of education for Russia.
Luzin was one of the most famous students of Egorov, among whose students were other remarkable scientists - the same outstanding rector of Moscow University, Petrovsky. Luzin became a professor just before the revolution. Interestingly, he received his doctorate for his master's thesis due to its outstanding value.
So, Luzin was a student of Yegorov and took over many traditions from him. And in turn, Luzin's disciples have already made up a whole constellation.
— "Luzinskoe tree" ...- Yes, the "Luzin tree": his students, students of his students ...
If we look at who falls into this tree, we will see that these are the majority of today's Russian mathematicians. There are, of course, scientists who go back to some other sources, but, undoubtedly, the majority are related to Egorov and Luzin. So the flourishing of Russian mathematical science, which took place in the 30s, and its leading position, which has survived to the present, are largely due to Egorov and Luzin.
— And they were both believers.
- Yes, and Yegorov suffered as a believer. He never, even in the difficult years of persecution, did not hide his views.
In what sense did you not hide it? He was a rather reserved person, never engaged in propaganda, generally believed that faith is a personal area,
but he did not hide his position on issues related to his beliefs.
Until his death, he was president of the Moscow Mathematical Society. In the 1920s, repressions were already in full swing, and so he could stand up at a meeting of the society and say that such and such people were arrested, their families were in distress, let's raise money.
For the time being, he got away with it, and in the 30th an anti-church case was fabricated.
It was a series of blows against the Orthodox Church. Several years before that, there was an attempt to form a kind of alternative church, and when it ignominiously failed, and it became clear that the majority of believers could not be corrupted in this way, this project was abandoned, and a new method of pressure came to replace it - the fabrication of deeds.
So Yegorov, along with a whole circle of famous professors, fell under such a case. And Vladimir Nikolaevich Shchelkachev was also arrested in this case, although he was then very young - he was only 22. He spent several months in prison, in the same cell with Yegorov.
He writes very interestingly about this in his memoirs - you cannot describe it in a nutshell.
And Shchelkachev first got the camps, but his sister, through a long walk through the authorities, somehow managed to slightly weaken the sentence, and the camps were replaced by exile. Shchelkachev spent many years outside Moscow - only, in my opinion, after the war he managed to return.
Because of these links, due to the fact that he was divorced from mathematics, he had to master a new profession - he became involved in oil production. And it turned out to be the work of his whole life. Shchelkachev became one of the largest specialists in oil production not only in Russia, but also in the world: although he was engaged in our fields, he worked very carefully on oil production in America.
— In theory?
- In what sense theoretically? He also dealt with theoretical issues, up to the equations associated with calculating the pressure in wells, but he studied the American fields very well and was one of our largest experts in oil production there. And of course, he did not study all this for theoretical reasons.
From the late 30s to the late 70s, he participated in the development of the largest oil fields. Even in last years In his life, he was consulted - he was an outstanding oil worker. He had many government awards - in the early 50s, he even became a laureate of the Stalin Prize of the first degree.
— Did the people around you see a believer in Vladimir Nikolaevich?
- The fact that he was a believer was known to many, but not all, because he did not engage in, as they would say now, propaganda. But I must say that when they found out, this did not surprise anyone: from his whole appearance and, of course, his behavior, one could easily guess that he was a Christian.
At that time, people did not particularly advertise their beliefs. Until the beginning of the 60s, the Soviet intelligentsia was generally extremely atheistic and moved further and further from the faith, and then the reverse process began, and, oddly enough, not among the humanities, but among the "techies" - physicists, mathematicians, engineers.
Many people came to faith in adulthood - for example, myself: this happened when I was already a student. Well, how old was I then? About twenty. It was then that I met Vladimir Nikolaevich.
Throughout his life, he preached Christian values. Perhaps, without calling a spade a spade - it is clear that in Soviet times they would not have allowed an explicit Christian sermon - but if you read his speeches at representative congresses, conferences, brochures that he published, there would be absolutely no desire for anything. then delete from there. What he said and wrote is still good. But there are not so many, I think, there will be speeches - not on scientific issues, but on ideological ones - made in the Soviet years, so that now their authors would not be ashamed of what they said then.
— How did you meet?
- Through his son, who has long been a priest, and then was a physicist. For a long time he was a theoretical physicist, a student of Bogolyubov, prepared his doctoral dissertation, but when he decided to become a priest, he did not bring it to defense.
He could well have defended himself, but he entered a new field for himself.
Even then, in the 70s, he was engaged in the new history of the Russian Orthodox Church and, in particular, the events associated with the Council of 1918, with the election of the Patriarch and what followed. It was on this basis that we met - he made very interesting reports. It is clear that at that time such reports could not be official - all this took place in student houses.
- How then did the University feel about the fact that one of the teachers or students goes to church? Was there any relaxation in this regard in the early 80s?
- There were no indulgences. Even at the beginning of Perestroika, when party officials began to trade in state property, and they were already allowed abroad, and it was obvious that everything was falling, there was no relaxation in relation to religion. Until the very last moment [of the existence of the USSR - approx. ed.] pressure on the Church by inertia continued.
They could also, say, not recommend people to graduate school because they are believers. Or someone should not be allowed somewhere - if it was still possible to refuse someone on this basis. This was the case until the mid-80s - and even, it seems to me, until the end of the 80s.
In any case, when the millennium of the Baptism of Rus was celebrated, it was perceived as an incredible indulgence. Although if you look from today: what actually happened? They were simply allowed to celebrate a historic event, no more - no continuation followed, there were no indulgences in relation to the Church.
But it was already 88 years old, the party officials who were in supervising positions were already worried about something completely different - they were madly privatizing the former public property - but, nevertheless, the pressure did not abate.
Changes began in the year 90-91: churches began to open, Sunday schools were allowed.
Of course, one cannot say that before that there were persecutions - one cannot even compare with what happened in the 30s - but undoubtedly the pressure was felt.
But, - I want to repeat once again, - Vladimir Nikolaevich Shchelkachev, although he was never in any opposition, did not disseminate any illegal materials, with all his activities, both scientific and pedagogical, undoubtedly he testified about Christianity.
— How would you quietly preach with your life, your attitude towards people?
- I would not say that it is quiet, but simply without loud words. But bright. Yes Yes! Not only by the way he lived, but also by the fact that he sincerely expressed his views on how to educate young people. And this is an example for us, which may not be very easy to follow.
He talked a lot about his teachers, first of all, about Egorov, Luzin, Leibenzon. And he was interested not only in mathematics, but, for example, music and other things. He had a lot of interesting contacts with completely different people. And wherever he worked, he always arranged something: additional classes, circles ... Wherever he was - in Grozny, in Alma-Ata, somewhere else - everyone remembers him.
- I would like to hear about Vladimir Nikolaevich as a living person. What is he remembered for, in addition to his stories, in addition to his attitude to business?Anna Nikolaevna Bogacheva : Let me.
— Sure.
“He could preach even if he didn't say anything. Just preach with your appearance. It's hard to put into words. They said he looked like an old-regime general. Tall, straight. This, of course, is far from an exhaustive description, but here's what it is for sure: he really felt like a man in the ranks. It served the truth, not only in their work, but also in the Truth in general. It was evident from him.
And, of course, the appearance of a servant person, directed towards the goal with all his being, preached by himself.
Maybe it was hard to live next to such a person, to be in a close relationship with him was sometimes difficult - the one who has a goal often really moves forward like a tank, and it is difficult next to him.
— Have you known him for a long time?
- Like Vladimir Igorevich, almost 25 years old. I have always been friends, and now I am friends with the wife of his son, we often visited their homes. We did not communicate in a formal setting. Of course, I did not have any purely personal conversations with Vladimir Nikolaevich, because I am a completely different generation of people, but his image meant a lot to me.
— The image of a person in pre-revolutionary times?
- Not just pre-revolutionary times, but, one might say, an eternal image. The image of a convinced man, a Christian, - he, probably, has not changed since the apostolic times, and Vladimir Nikolaevich was him.
— Surely you knew other similar people?
V. I. Bogachev : Yes, I would like to recall another remarkable scientist-geologist -. We also talked with him for quite a long time, and we did not immediately find out that he was a secret priest.
Here too - what a person! He passed the front, became a scientist, a prominent geologist. I spent a lot of time in geological parties all over the country. Had a lot of work, was a doctor of sciences. And at some point he was ordained.
The church was then in great danger. Some prominent bishops understood that sometimes it was impossible to openly ordain - either the authorities would not let the candidacy pass, or the person would be under their control - and then they ordained secretly.
One of these secretly ordained priests was Father Gleb Kaleda. And, in my opinion, for fifteen years, if not more, he was in such a position - that very few close people knew that he was a priest. He always served the Liturgy at home.
Well, and only then, when the situation changed, he went into open service with the blessing of Patriarch Alexy.
And now Fr. Gleb also dealt a lot with issues related to science and faith. In particular, he was very interested in the Turin Shroud. I collected materials on it and even published a very interesting brochure - it seems to me that everyone who is interested in this issue should definitely read it. It clearly and succinctly sets out the basic information and various scientific hypotheses associated with the Shroud. This is a very interesting reading.
Both in print and in sermons, Father Gleb spoke on the same topic as Vladimir Nikolaevich: the relationship between science and faith.
Of course, such people preached by their own example.
By the way, I found, leafing through Fr. Gleb's book about the Turin Shroud, the words of Shchelkachev: “Real faith is akin to science. After all, what is science? It is a body of knowledge based on observation, experience and inference. What is religious faith? Religious belief is a belief also based on observation, experience and inference. " These are very characteristic words for him. It seems to me that he proved this point of view throughout his life.
Isaac Newton(1643-1727), physicist and mathematician: “The Bible contains more signs of reliability than the whole secular history".
“The wonderful structure of the cosmos and the harmony in it can only be explained by the fact that the cosmos was created according to the plan of an omniscient and omnipotent being. This is my first and last word. "
Astronomer Herschel: "The more the field of science expands, the more there is evidence of the existence of the Eternal Creative and Almighty Reason."
Astronomer Madler: "Whoever does not want to see anything except by chance in this harmony, which is revealed with such obviousness in the structure of the starry sky, must attribute Divine wisdom to this case."
Astronomer Watson: "The study of the wondrous mechanism of the starry sky excites and strengthens in us wonder at the infinite perfection of the Almighty and Living God."
Johannes Kepler, the greatest astronomer, physicist and mathematician who discovered the laws of motion of planets in the solar system: “Before leaving this table, at which I have done all my research, I can only thank the Creator of the Universe for His mercy to me! I thank You for all the joys that I experienced in contemplating Your deeds! "
Flammarion Camille, the famous astronomer who explored the moon, Mars, double stars: “Oh, the Supreme culprit of all harmony and beauty! Who, then, and what are You, if Your works are so great? And what name should I give to those who deny You, who do not live with the thought of You, who have never felt Your presence? "
"The mathematical order of the astronomical organization (of the Universe) owes its origin to Reason."
Great scientist-physicist, astronomer and mechanic Galileo Galilei- the discoverer of the laws of inertia and free fall of bodies, the inventor of the telescope, discovered mountains on the Moon, 4 satellites of Jupiter, phases near Venus, says: "In the actions of nature, the Lord God is no less admirable for us than in the divine verses of Scripture." “Holy Scripture can never err or be mistaken. Scripture itself can never be wrong, because in many places it not only allows, but requires an interpretation that deviates from the direct literal sense. "
Leading physicist, astrophysicist and cosmologist of the XX century Gina says: “The primitive cosmogonies pictured the Creator as working in time, forging the sun and moon and stars from the raw material that already existed. Modern scientific theory makes us think about the Creator, working outside of time and space, which are part of His creation, just as an artist is outside his canvas. "
Gravestone inscription on the grave of the Italian astronomer Angelo Secchi reads: "From the spectacle of heaven - a short way to God."
The greatest physicist of the XX century Arthur Compton, a Nobel laureate, says: “Faith begins with the knowledge that the Supreme Intelligence created the Universe and man. It is not difficult for me to believe in this, because the fact that there is a plan and, therefore, Reason is irrefutable. The order in the Universe, which unfolds before our eyes, itself testifies to the truth of the greatest and most sublime statement: "In the beginning is God."
Famous natural scientist and biologist of the 18th century Carl Linnaeus, the founder of the system of flora and fauna (he also described about 1500 species of plants) testified: “Here and there I noticed His traces in His creations. In all His deeds, even the smallest and most imperceptible - what power, what wisdom, what unimaginable perfection! I watched as animate beings follow each other in a continuous chain, adjoining the vegetable kingdom, plants interlock with the mineral kingdom that goes into the interior of the globe, while this ball whirls in an invariable order around the Sun, which gives it life. Finally, I saw the Sun and all the other luminaries, the entire star system, infinite, incalculable in its infinity, moving in space, hanging among the eternal emptiness. So, it is fair to believe that there is a God, the Great and Eternal, who created this worldwide work and put it in order. "
According to the testimony of the great Russian scientist M.V. Lomonosov: “The Creator gave the human race two books. In one he showed His greatness; in the other, His will. The first is this visible world, created by Him so that a person, looking at the enormity, beauty and harmony of his buildings, would recognize the Divine omnipotence, by faith given to himself the concept. The second book is Holy Scripture. It shows the Creator's blessing for our salvation. "
"The purpose of science is to preach the gospel incessantly the Creative power, wisdom and majesty of God."
Andre Ampere(1775-1836), a French physicist and mathematician, the discoverer of the fundamental law of electrodynamics, said: “In nature we can observe the deeds of the Creator and from them rise by knowledge to the Creator”.
"The most convincing proof of the existence of God is the harmony of means by which order is maintained in the universe, thanks to this order, living beings find in their bodies everything necessary for the development and reproduction of their physical and spiritual abilities."
Major natural scientist of the 19th century Agassiz: "Science is the translation of the Creator's thoughts into human language." "The world is the clearest proof of the existence of a personal God, the Creator of all things and the Provider of the world."
Scientist-chemist Liebig, one of the founders of agrochemistry, writes: "Knowledge of nature is the path to reverence for the Creator."
Famous natural scientist Wallace testified: "The Universe is now represented by such an overwhelmingly complex mechanism that it inspires most minds with the idea of the existence of a Higher Reasonable Power - God, who penetrates and supports it everywhere."
One of the greatest mathematicians in the world - Cauchy, who made a colossal contribution to the theory of analytical functions, the theory of differential equations, mathematical physics, number theory, geometry, the author of classical courses in mathematical analysis, wrote: “I am a Christian, that is, I believe in the Deity of Jesus Christ, like (and) Tycho de Brahe, Copernicus, Descartes, Newton, Fermat, Leibniz, Pascal, Grimaldi, Euler and others; like all the great astronomers, physicists and mathematicians of the past centuries ”.
Famous physicist-inventor Thomas Edison(invented the light bulb and much, much more) in a conversation with one correspondent, when asked about expediency in the world of atoms, he answered: “Do you really think that this is done without any sense? Atoms in a harmonious and beneficial combination take on beautiful and interesting shapes and colors, as if expressing their pleasure. In sickness, death, decay or decay - the disagreement of the constituent atoms immediately makes itself felt bad smells. Atoms connected in known forms form animals of the lower ranks. Finally, they unite in a person who is a complete harmony of meaningful atoms. - But where is the original source of this meaningfulness? - In some Power above ourselves. - So, do you believe in the Creator, in God? "Of course," Edison replied, "the existence of God can even be proven chemically."
Discoverer of radioactivity Henri Becquerel testified: "It was my work that led me to God, to faith."
Once an outstanding scientist Michael Faraday(discovered the law of electromagnetic induction), reading the Holy Bible, he said: "I am amazed why people prefer to wander in the unknown on many important issues when God gave them such a wonderful book of Revelation?"
Great physicist Thomson(opened electron): “Don't be afraid to be independent thinkers! If you think strongly enough, you will inevitably be led by science to faith in God, which is the foundation of religion. You will see that science is not an enemy, but a helper of religion. "
Famous scientist, physicist and mathematician Stoke: “Regarding the claim that recent scientific research has shown that the Bible and religion are false, then I will answer directly: this view is completely false! I do not know of any sound scientific conclusions that would contradict the Christian religion. "
Scientist-physicist and chemist Ramsay, Nobel laureate (discovered argon, krypton, xenon, neon): "In my opinion there is no real clash between the facts of science and the essential teachings of Christianity."
Entomologist Fabre(the author of the ten-volume edition “Entomological Memories”, 1879-1907) left such a testimony about his faith in God: “The world is ruled by an infinite Reason. The more I watch, the more I open this Mind, shining behind the secret of the existing one. I know that they will laugh at me, but I care little about it, it is easier to flay my skin than to take away my faith in God. God… I don't have to believe in Him - I see Him. ”
Mathematician, physicist, philosopher, discoverer of the fundamental law of hydrostatics, one of the founders of mathematical analysis Blaise Pascal(1623-1662, for the flexibility and insight of his mind, this scientist is ranked among the three most outstanding mathematicians in the entire history of mankind) said:
“Only God can fill the vacuum in the heart of every person. Nothing created by man can fill this vacuum. Only God, whom we know through Jesus Christ, fills this void. Knowing God without knowing our sinfulness leads to pride. Knowing your sinfulness without knowing God leads to despair. The knowledge of Jesus Christ leads to the right path, because in Him we find God and our sinfulness. "
“There are three categories of people: some have found God and serve Him - these people are reasonable and happy. Others have not found and are not looking for Him - these are insane and unhappy. Still others have not found, but are looking for Him - these are intelligent people, but still unhappy. "
English physicist Rayleigh- one of the founders of the theory of vibrations, the author of fundamental works on molecular scattering of light, acoustics and the law of blackbody radiation, Nobel Prize laureate: “Many outstanding people do not want to know anything about natural science, because it seems to lead to materialism. That such a fear may exist is not surprising: there are many advocates of science in the literature who have made the dissemination of such views an occupation. There is no doubt, of course, that the representatives of science, like all other people, can meet rough concepts on higher questions and about the foundations of nature. But to disagree with the spirit of science, the religious and philosophical beliefs that lived Newton, Faraday. Maxwell, this is, of course, a position, the refutation of which I do not consider it necessary to engage in. "
Great scientist-physicist Reynolds- a researcher of fluid flow and turbulence believes: “As a result of scientific research in recent years, I do not see anything that would make me doubt the direct revelation of God to people at different times; and Christianity is based on this faith. "
English botanist Brown(opened the Brownian motion known from the school physics course): "Cognition of God in the world is the first movement of the mind, awakening from the vanity of life."
American Geological Scientist Hall left a vivid testimony of the relationship between science and religion: “Since the Bible was not written with the aim of teaching people natural history and physical sciences, but was originally intended for residents of Eastern countries, unfamiliar with the results of modern research, then its language, when presenting the subjects of natural knowledge the way it should be, in order to be consistent with the concepts inherent in those to whom speech is addressed. To achieve such results of modern research was left to the human mind and the experience of subsequent centuries. The Bible and science, therefore, move along parallel lines. The subjects available to the investigation of the human mind are left to its vision, while the Bible interprets the moral and spiritual aspects of human nature, which the mind is not able to reveal without outside help. As for the truthfulness and reliability of the historical books of Holy Scripture, daily discoveries tend to confirm them. Recent research in Egypt, Palestine, and other eastern countries has shown the extent to which, even in minute detail, Old Testament documents can be received with deep trust. The fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, prophecies uttered centuries before His appearance, as well as those prophecies that relate to the destinies of nations - especially the Jewish one - is convincing evidence that these prophecies were pronounced under the influence of the Divine inspiration.
At the same time, the moral teaching of the Bible is incompatible with the idea that the prophecies could have come from those who resorted to deception. The teaching of our Lord and His apostles in itself bears the imprint of divine truth. "
Biological scientist Schleiden, one of the founders of the cellular theory of the structure of living organisms: "A true and accurate naturalist can never become a materialist and deny the soul, freedom and God."
One of the founders of electrochemistry, physicist and chemist Humphrey Davy in his essay “The Last Days of a Naturalist” he devotes several pages to the proof of immortality: “The teaching of the materialists has always, even in my youth, was disgusting to me. Having listened to nausea in the lecture halls of the speeches of evolutionary physiologists about the gradual development of matter to the degree of animation by its own power and even about its development to the degree of an intelligent being, I used to go into green fields and groves along the river bank - to nature, which silently turned my heart to God; I saw in all my powers the tools of the Divine ... New ideas and endless hopes then arose in my soul, and I felt a thirst for immortality. These moods are usually, of course, attributed to the field of poetry, but I think that they contain a healthy philosophical basis for the belief in immortality. "
Great Louis Pasteur(1822-1895), the father of modern microbiology and immunology, said: “I have studied a lot and therefore I believe as a simple peasant. If I became even more learned, then my faith would become as deep and ardent as the faith of a simple peasant woman. " “The more I study nature, the more I stop in awe at the deeds of the Creator. I pray during my lab work. ”
Charles Darwin(1809-1882), the founder of the evolutionary doctrine, who doubted it all his life: “To explain the origin of life on earth only by chance is like explaining the origin of the dictionary by an explosion in the printing house ... The impossibility of recognizing that the great and wonderful world is with us as conscious beings, arose by chance, it seems to me the most important proof of the existence of God. The world rests on laws and in its manifestations appears as a product of reason - this indicates its Creator. "
N.I. Pirogov(1810-1881), the great Russian surgeon and anatomist: "I became a sincere believer, without losing any of my scientific, thought and experience acquired convictions."
The greatest scientist of our time Max Planck, in 1918 received the Nobel Prize in Physics (1858-1947), professor of physics at the University of Berlin, founder of quantum theory: “Wherever we turn our gaze, whatever the subject of our observation, nowhere do we find a contradiction between science and religion ; we rather ascertain their absolute harmony in the main points, especially in the field of natural science. Both religion and science ultimately seek the truth and come to the confession of God. Religion praises God at the beginning, science at the end of all thoughts. The first presents Him as the basis, the second - as the end of any phenomenal view of the world. "
Albert Einstein(1879-1955), the greatest theoretical physicist of the XX century, one of the founders of modern physics, the author of the special and general theory of relativity, introduced the concept of a photon, discovered the laws of the photoelectric effect, worked on the problems of cosmology and the unified field theory, a Nobel Prize winner - this is what he says about his attitude to religion: “Every serious natural scientist must be somehow a religious person. Otherwise, he is not able to imagine that the incredibly subtle interdependencies that he observes are not invented by him. The activity of the infinitely perfect Reason is revealed in the infinite universe. The usual idea of me as an atheist is a big misconception. If this idea is gleaned from my scientific works, I can say that my works are not understood ... In vain, in the face of the catastrophes of the 20th century, many complain: "How did God allow it?" Yes, He allowed: He allowed our freedom, but He did not leave us in the darkness of ignorance. The path of knowledge of good and evil is indicated. And the man himself had to pay for choosing the wrong paths. " "... As a young student, I resolutely rejected the views of Darwin, Haeckel and Huxley as helplessly outdated views."
Niels Bohr(1885-1962) physicist, creator of the first quantum theory of the atom, developer of the foundations of quantum mechanics: "It is not our business to prescribe to God how he should govern this world."
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev(1834-1907), a chemist of world importance: “Truth is one. On the path of atheism, one can hardly find it. Our people understood the benefits of spreading true enlightenment precisely from the time of the introduction of Christianity. "
Werner von Braun(1912-1977), physicist, one of the founders of cosmonautics, head of the American space program: “I cannot understand a scientist who would not recognize the Supreme Reason in the entire system of the universe, just as I could not understand a theologian who would deny the progress of science ... Religion and science are sisters. "
From a lecture by a neurophysiologist John Eccles(born 1903) when he received the Nobel Prize: “I have to think that there is something like the supernatural principle of my unique self-conscious spirit and my unique soul ... The idea of supernatural creation helps me to avoid the obviously ridiculous inference about the genetic origin of my unique“ I "".
Andrey Dmitrievich Sakharov, physicist: “I cannot imagine the Universe and human life without some kind of meaningful beginning, without a source of spiritual“ warmth ”lying outside matter and its laws. Perhaps this feeling can be called religious. "
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a famous paleontologist who held the Department of Geology at the Paris Institute, writes: "Science and religion are two complementary sides of the same cognitive act, the only act that can embrace the knowledge of the Supreme."
Geological scientist Marcius testifies: “The Lord, before whose wisdom and righteousness I am in awe, created us out of matter and spirit ... Yes, what no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, and that no human heart has entered - this is bliss to which I I hope when I leave my body. "
Famous Geological Scientist Lyell: "In whatever direction we do our research, everywhere we open the clearest evidence of the creative Higher Mind and the action of the Wise Providence of God in nature."
One of the world's greatest mathematicians Euler: “The Bible loses nothing from the objection of unbelievers, as well as geometry, in relation to which there are also objections. If there are willing to object even to geometry, then by what right can unbelievers demand that we immediately and completely reject Holy Scripture due to objections to it, which, moreover, are often not as important as those made against geometry. "
John Reinio(1849-1931) professor of botany at the University of Göttingen, who was awarded the title of Honoris Causa by the University of Bonn for his theological knowledge, and Cologne - the same title for his medical works, left a note: “Our heart cannot find peace until it rests in God. " These words of the great theologian, thinker and philosopher St. Augustine, one of the most profound connoisseurs of the human heart, are important for every thinker, for they express the final conclusion of countless people, scientists and non-scientists, who struggle with doubts about the existence of God. I, a naturalist, cannot deny God, on the contrary, I see Him in all manifestations of nature to such an extent that for me all nature seems to breathe with Divinity. "
Peter Termier(1859-1950) - a famous professor of geology at the Mining Institute, a member of the French Academy of Sciences, professed his faith in the famous works "The Joy of Knowing" and "The Calling of a Scientist." In them he says: “The sciences in their totality predispose the mind to the knowledge of the existence of God, the existence of the soul, the moral law and our destiny in superhuman destiny. In this sense, we can say that the physical world - nature - is the sacrament of God. "
Samuel Morse(1791-1872), American inventor and artist, creator of the wired telegraph and Morse code, which is still used today in radio communications. "Born into the family of the famous geographer, Congregational priest Jedediah Morse (1761-1826)." That is, as we can see, Morse Sr. successfully combined science with religion. Morse Jr., as a professor of painting and sculpture, in the 30s became interested in the possibility of creating an electrical connection. After much experimentation, on May 24, 1844, he sent the first telegraph message: "Marvelous are your works, O Lord!" along a line from Baltimore to Washington. Having received 400,000 francs from ten European countries for his invention, he bought an estate near New York, and spent the rest of his life among his children and grandchildren, taking care of schools, churches and poor artists.
Rauschenbach Boris Viktorovich(1915-2001) - Soviet scientist in the field of mechanics and control processes, one of the founders of Russian cosmonautics, corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Sciences.
“… I will note that more and more people are wondering whether the synthesis of two systems of knowledge, religious and scientific, is ripe? Although I would not divide the religious and scientific worldviews, but would take a broader view - logical, including scientific, and extralogical, which includes not only religion, but also art: different facets of the worldview. If we talk roughly, very roughly, we can say that they do not depend on each other. One half of the brain is engaged in the logical part of cognition, the other - in the extra-logical ...
This is a very crude scheme. I would not like to dissect a person like this: here is the left, here is the right, and they are completely unrelated. In fact, a person is a kind of unity, and a holistic understanding of the world is characteristic of him. Both parts are equally important, equally, so to speak, complement each other ...
The incorrectness of this division proves, for example, the following: I have already said that mathematics is beautiful, but, on the other hand, religion is logic ... The existence of a logically strict theology along with a deeply intimate religious experience and the beauty of dry mathematical proofs testify that in fact, there is no gap, there is a holistic perception of the world "
Max Born(1882-1970) physicist, mathematician, one of the founders of quantum mechanics: “Many scientists believe in God. Those who say that studying the sciences makes a person an atheist are probably some funny people. "
Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky(1889-1972) - Russian scientist, designer and inventor. Before the First World War, he created the Ilya Muromets heavy bomber. In 1918 he was forced to emigrate to the United States. In the 20-30s he was engaged in hydroplanes, in the early 40s he became a pioneer of helicopter construction. Known for his theological writings, for example "Our Father. Reflections on the Lord's Prayer. He took part in the construction of an Orthodox church in Connecticut, the Jordanville Monastery ... He was entrusted to deliver a speech to other emigrants from Russia in honor of the 950th anniversary of the Baptism of Rus.
To argue that faith in God is the result of ignorance - in our time can only be ignorant people or those who propagandize it for unscrupulous, vicious purposes.