Faith in science?
Steuart Campbell seems to dispute the authenticity of the New Testament books as good primary sources when he claims that Jesus was not acclaimed by his disciples as the Son of God (Letters, 5 August.
I see the New Testament as theologically-based sources and don’t think that real historians can do more than speculate, given the limited knowledge we actually have regarding the texts.
Steuart is more a certainty thinker in his analysis of what really happened and that tendency in modern times comes from the cult of Scientism. Richard Dawkins claimed that religion is based on ‘a selfish gene’, but are we less selfish in our modern secular society than was previously the case?
And now apparently the concept of ‘the selfish gene’ has been discredited. But why did Professor Dawkins ever allow himself to make such a speculative claim – as if it were factual! Such flaws in arguments of atheistic scientists have led to the conclusion that those who claim atheism as the basis of science are in a cult.
Why is the term Scientism appropriate? It is because those in the atheistic religion of Scientism are too inclined to see facts everywhere– in ideologies, in historical narratives and in atheistic claims when the rest of us (who are more like post-modernists perhaps) try to restrain ourselves a little.
When Steuart claims that no one has been or will ever be resurrected he is denying the respect which most scientists have towards certain evidence of psychic phenomena. Near-death experiences are a kind of resurrection and are not dismissed out of hand by trained scientists. Evidence of miraculous healing can also at times be breathtaking.
Religion is not about proof. It is about taking a balanced view on the believability and the salubriousness of having an attachment to a faith. Christian faith has a good effect on many people and evidence shows that going to church can be beneficial to one’s health. That evidence suggests that spirituality is sometimes more helpful than atheism for helping us live with the uncertainties of life.
ANDREW VASS Corbiehill Place, Edinburgh