Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.
“Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.”
Albert Einstein
I was thinking of this expression of faith and exploration when viewing the movie “Angels and Demons.” Putting side the fictional aspect of the movie, and not attempting to be a film critic, I found the message both stimulating and provocative. It illustrates the conflict between faith and understanding.
History is replete with visions of what is right and wrong and how we fit into the concept of good and evil. We are constantly questioning the very existence of God as we witness all kinds of horror both natural and unnatural. The world, we are told, is a ticking time bomb waiting for the ultimate explosion which will send us all to oblivion. And we are left to wonder about our mortality and the next phase in our journey of life.
We are caught up in the quagmire of guilt and superstition because when we don’t understand something our minds begin to imagine all sorts of things that, if you really think about, have no basis in reality. I guess in a way this could be called faith. But I rather think that faith is not some mystical adventure, some unimaginable ride to a destination no one has returned from or is in a hurry to venture to. Rather faith is the expression of longing for answers to complex situations to help us deal with just everyday living without worrying about the “next place.”
Science, on the other hand, is the fulfillment of that expression, that desire to make sense of all that we know and don’t know. Creation is described in terms that boggle the mind because we can’t, and never will, truly understand the Divine. The outline given us is a description of the results not the method. That is where science and religion come together.
Religion is the blueprint of everything we are and have and science is the means that was used to complete the task of bringing us to this point in time. Both are complementary, not in opposition of each other. One explains the purpose and the reasoning for our existence and the other contributes to the knowledge of how that was brought about.
Perhaps this is too simplified. But if you think about it you surely will understand that you can’t complete the work or even continue it without a road map, or plan. The design is there to bring the creation to life and even improve upon it as we search for answers to make life as enhancing as possible.
I watched with amazement at the conflict that religion has with science because it was made very clear that zealousness is dangerous. Open minds are required to absorb the knowledge brought about by the foundation that was created in the original document, the original plans for the universe and all that we are amazed to see continually as we gaze into the sky or reach out our hand to touch another. God didn’t promote connection with the intention of separation. That we were formed in the image of God is an indication that we are all different as is God. Each of us has the ability to reason and think and use this to partner with God in the ever continuing saga called life.
We reach for the stars because we must know that keeping our feet firmly planted on the ground will get us no where. We search for the impossible because we comprehend that progress comes form experimentation. We dream in order to make life more real through imagination.
Science and religion gives us both: The ability to dream and the talent to enhance that dream through knowledge and perception. Can we truly believe that the two are incompatible? Some of the greatest minds in the world were filled with faith in reasoning and the power to overcome mistrust to reach that ever present moment of truth and belief.
Only closed minds, as depicted in the movie, prevents us from reaching for the moon and even beyond. Only closed minds will destroy that which we are building and continue to build as each generation moves forward in its quest for that ultimate connection between God and science.
“Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.” Why? Because they bring the two elements of life together: Faith and reasoning. Instead of looking for ways to continue the separation we should be trying to determine how we can bring them closer together. We must have faith that our reasoning will complete the process of creation. Only then will we get to that place in time which was originally designed in the master plan and completed by our rationality.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Monday, June 1, 2009
Turn Fright Into Fight
Rabbi Irwin Wiener, D.D.
“The nations of the world are so preoccupied with their anxieties and ambitions that they do not realize that the very foundation of civilized life is being undermined.”
Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan
Everything seems so mundane given the experiences of the last year: Death, destruction, hysteria, bravery, patriotism and financial ruin.
There seems to be no one who is able to stand up and offer words of consolation and encouragement to a nation, a family, a person. There is only faith which has been encouraged by the bravery and patriotism of a few.
Faith has sustained us in all sorts of ordeals. Faith is the underlying ability to cope with adversity. Faith allows us to understand without asking why. Faith helps us realize that there is good and there is evil. It is up to us to determine which will prevail.
“Be of strong heart…” the Prophets tell us. Be of strong heart for our own sake and for the sake of all that was needlessly sacrificed. Sometimes we find it difficult to understand everything that is happening so our faith is put to the test. Sometimes we can’t imagine a world so corrupt that our faith is shaken to the core. Sometimes we see death on such a large scale and hatred seething from the mouths of people we thought to be innocent that our faith is driven into hiding.
In our lifetime we have seen the lack of humanity so unimaginable that we shudder to even believe it was possible. The world seems so polarized that we can’t see the light because of all the darkness and somewhere in that darkness is our faith which we fear will never surface.
Our lives are so fragile and so short. I recently began cleaning out old files and old pictures and my life seemed to flash right before me. Where has the time gone? What has happened to all the dreams? People are no longer here that once graced our lives. The ranks are thinning and with it all the laughter and tears of the generations.
Reality stepped back in and I realized that that was then and this is now. But have things really changed? We have aged but the world seems to be in a standstill because the same threats and hurts and disappointments are there. The only difference is that the date has changed. No wonder we lack the spirit, the spark, and the flame of faith that carried us to this moment in time.
Civilization is being undermined by a new order of extinction. Once we faced an enemy and we knew who they were and how to fight to win. Once we rallied around the concept of survival that included all of humanity. Now we don’t know what is happening to us. We look around and we see greed and despair and killing on such a level that it appears that there really is no hope, no expectation of renewal.
And perhaps there are no words other than the silent words found in our hearts and minds that try to make sense of that which is senseless. We need the words found in our souls to emerge to free us from the fear of the past and give us the resoluteness to confront this evil. And those words, as they emerge, should encourage us to act as one to overcome this madness. No imaginary wish of understanding when there is no one to reason with. No extending of a hand of friendship to be grasped by the clutches of madness.
How short our memory: Appeasement in any form encourages insanity. You cannot reason with barbarity or dine with animals. You cannot put a face of decency on those determined to undermine the very fabric of human connectiveness. And yet to not attempt to civilize the uncivilized would be to destroy the very essence of our collective needs.
Mordecai Kaplan understood years ago that civilization would be undermined by concern only for the few with no care for the many. He tried to explain that parochialism is not the road to salvation but a sure path to undermining the very principle of endurance.
The lesson is so simple it escapes us: If we remain hostages to fright we will, in the end, destroy ourselves. If we lose our resolve to remove the “r” and fight then we will have relinquished our obligation to ourselves and to God who gave us the ability to survive the ordeals of every day living with a one syllable word: Faith.
“The nations of the world are so preoccupied with their anxieties and ambitions that they do not realize that the very foundation of civilized life is being undermined.”
Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan
Everything seems so mundane given the experiences of the last year: Death, destruction, hysteria, bravery, patriotism and financial ruin.
There seems to be no one who is able to stand up and offer words of consolation and encouragement to a nation, a family, a person. There is only faith which has been encouraged by the bravery and patriotism of a few.
Faith has sustained us in all sorts of ordeals. Faith is the underlying ability to cope with adversity. Faith allows us to understand without asking why. Faith helps us realize that there is good and there is evil. It is up to us to determine which will prevail.
“Be of strong heart…” the Prophets tell us. Be of strong heart for our own sake and for the sake of all that was needlessly sacrificed. Sometimes we find it difficult to understand everything that is happening so our faith is put to the test. Sometimes we can’t imagine a world so corrupt that our faith is shaken to the core. Sometimes we see death on such a large scale and hatred seething from the mouths of people we thought to be innocent that our faith is driven into hiding.
In our lifetime we have seen the lack of humanity so unimaginable that we shudder to even believe it was possible. The world seems so polarized that we can’t see the light because of all the darkness and somewhere in that darkness is our faith which we fear will never surface.
Our lives are so fragile and so short. I recently began cleaning out old files and old pictures and my life seemed to flash right before me. Where has the time gone? What has happened to all the dreams? People are no longer here that once graced our lives. The ranks are thinning and with it all the laughter and tears of the generations.
Reality stepped back in and I realized that that was then and this is now. But have things really changed? We have aged but the world seems to be in a standstill because the same threats and hurts and disappointments are there. The only difference is that the date has changed. No wonder we lack the spirit, the spark, and the flame of faith that carried us to this moment in time.
Civilization is being undermined by a new order of extinction. Once we faced an enemy and we knew who they were and how to fight to win. Once we rallied around the concept of survival that included all of humanity. Now we don’t know what is happening to us. We look around and we see greed and despair and killing on such a level that it appears that there really is no hope, no expectation of renewal.
And perhaps there are no words other than the silent words found in our hearts and minds that try to make sense of that which is senseless. We need the words found in our souls to emerge to free us from the fear of the past and give us the resoluteness to confront this evil. And those words, as they emerge, should encourage us to act as one to overcome this madness. No imaginary wish of understanding when there is no one to reason with. No extending of a hand of friendship to be grasped by the clutches of madness.
How short our memory: Appeasement in any form encourages insanity. You cannot reason with barbarity or dine with animals. You cannot put a face of decency on those determined to undermine the very fabric of human connectiveness. And yet to not attempt to civilize the uncivilized would be to destroy the very essence of our collective needs.
Mordecai Kaplan understood years ago that civilization would be undermined by concern only for the few with no care for the many. He tried to explain that parochialism is not the road to salvation but a sure path to undermining the very principle of endurance.
The lesson is so simple it escapes us: If we remain hostages to fright we will, in the end, destroy ourselves. If we lose our resolve to remove the “r” and fight then we will have relinquished our obligation to ourselves and to God who gave us the ability to survive the ordeals of every day living with a one syllable word: Faith.
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