SCIENCE AND THEOLOGY (Part-2)
A Universe With God
Our universe is based on very firm laws. It is custom made for our habitation. The order, organisation and design evident in it is extraordinary. All of these compulsively lead us to accept that some agency outside the universe is responsible for its creation and functioning. Denying God’s existence because of His being invisible is an anachronistic argument in the age of modern science. The choice does not lie between the universe without God and the universe with God; but rather between the universe with God and no universe at all.
................ Part 1 appeared in the previous issue ................
The Observation of Space
ONE of the new developments of modernity is space travel. A number of people have travelled into space and have studied the earth and many galaxies through high-powered telescopes, discovering many things which were hitherto unknown. One of these discoveries is that there is no planet similar to the earth anywhere in the vast universe. There is life on our earth with its totally balanced life support system. On the subject of how entirely appropriate this system was for human life on earth, one scientist typified it as “the right type of material at the right place.”
The unique quality possessed by our earth is the life existing upon it, the highest form being that of human beings. In this respect the earth, where the existence of man is an exception, is a singularity in the vast universe. The existence of this kind of life is not a simple matter. Innumerable factors, making up the life support system, are essential to its survival and all of these factors must co-exist in exactly the right proportion to each other. This meaningful exception in the vast universe is undoubtedly the result of purposeful creation and proof of there being a Planner. The earth and its life support system could only have come into being as a result of Divine Intervention.
Earth: the Exception
If a space traveller could make a thorough survey of the entire universe, he would find that it was totally lifeless. In limitless space, he would encounter terrible darkness, huge rocks and immense balls of fire — all in constant, frenzied movement. After passing through such a frightful scenario he would reach planet earth, where he would find an astonishing exception. Here, quite uniquely, there is water, vegetation; living things like fish, birds and animals, and human beings who are capable of thought. Even more astonishingly, there exists on Earth that factor which favours all these life forms — the ‘Life Support System’. Here exists a complete civilization which does not exist anywhere else in the vast universe. In other words — in a totally meaningless universe, here exists a highly meaningful world.
The meaningful exception of the Earth’s life support is undoubtedly the result of purposeful creation.
This set of circumstances tells us that planet Earth is a unique exception in the vast universe. This exception is no simple matter. This observation is proof of a great reality: the existence of God Almighty. This exception proves intervention; and intervention proves without doubt that an intervener exists, and when the existence of an intervener is proved, God’s existence is thereby also proved.
The Problem of Suffering Due to Evil
One of the problems regularly cited to cast doubt upon the existence of God is the problem of evil. This objection to belief in God is the result of the erroneous view: that evil in human life is God-made, whereas this is not true.
The actual reason for this misunderstanding is that when people observe human suffering due to evil, they seek an explanation. When, in many cases, this explanation is not immediately observable they allege that either there is no God controlling this world or, that if there is a God, He is unjust. But this attribution is quite wrong. This suffering which is found in human life is caused by people themselves, by others and often by the social system of which they are a part. Sometimes suffering has an immediate cause, and sometimes, the cause of the suffering can be traced back over several generations.
Making a Wrong Reference
The reason for these misapprehensions is that people study situations from the wrong angle. That is, they look at a phenomenon as if it is related to God rather than to man. This goes entirely against scientific facts.
For instance, in modern times, there are many diseases known as ‘lifestyle diseases’ which are entirely man made. Corruption, pollution, adulteration, crime, oppression, greed and such man made evils have all been responsible for human suffering. Similarly, in the wake of violence, a number of people die or become disabled, all of which is due to human action.
The truth is that attributing entire human suffering to nature is unscientific. The study of all the branches of science tells us that nature is totally devoid of such evils. Laws of nature are so perfect that had it not been so, scientific research would become rudderless and come to an abrupt halt.
A Comparative Study
The first principle of the scientific study of the problem of evil is what may be called ‘understanding in comparison’. This comparative study shows that this problem is limited purely to the human world, an extremely tiny part as compared to the entire universe. The rest of the universe with all its vastness is entirely a zero-defect world. There is evidence of innumerable happenings at all times throughout the universe, but we cannot find evil anywhere.
The Earth is a unique exception in the vast universe. Exception proves intervention and intervention requires an Intervener.
The human world is marred by disease, accidents, corruption, injustice, exploitation, hatred, war, enmity, arrogance, strife, crime, etc. In short, all kinds of evils are found in the human world. But the rest of the universe is totally free from such kinds of evil. It is this difference which proves that the problem of evil is a product of man himself rather than a product of nature. Had this problem been a product of nature, it would certainly be found throughout the universe.
Scientific Study
Scientific studies show that there is a clear difference between the human world and the rest of the universe. That is, the rest of the universe is controlled by the eternal laws of nature. Contrary to this, man is free and leads his life according to his own free will. It is this difference which is, in actual fact, the real reason for what is called the ‘problem of evil’.
A deeper study of this matter shows that all the evils of this human world are the result of the wrong use of human freedom. Corruption in social systems results in many kinds of diseases. Wars, global warming, pollution, ecological problems, etc, are all the result of the misuse of human freedom.
God’s Creation Plan
Why did the Creator give man this freedom? To understand this point, we shall have to understand God’s Creation Plan. According to this Plan, man has been given total freedom in this world. God has arranged this for the purpose of putting man to the test.
God wanted to bestow upon man a great reward. This great reward is Paradise – a place of eternal pleasure. Only those who make proper use of their freedom will be entitled to a place in Paradise. Those will be such individuals who practice self-discipline, in spite of having the freedom not to do so. Whenever there is freedom, there is going to be the misuse of freedom; but freedom is so precious that it cannot be taken away merely due to the risk of it being misused by man.
The Explanation of the Meaningfulness of the Universe
Another aspect of the discussion regarding God’s existence relates to the meaningfulness of the universe.
Acceptance of God not only provides the explanation for the existence of this universe, but also gives complete meaningfulness to the universe. Not accepting the existence of God means reducing a meaningful universe to meaninglessness, whereas belief in God means having the conviction that the universe is ultimately going to reach a meaningful conclusion. The concepts of justice and injustice are part of a human being’s mental make-up right from the moment he is born. Man has the inherent desire that whoever leads his life in accordance with the principles of justice should be rewarded and whoever leads a life of injustice should be punished. This natural demand or urge finds its fulfilment only in acceptance of the concept of the universe with God. A denial of this concept provides no answer to this innate urge in man.
Every man, by birth, has an ocean of desires surging within him. In the present world, the fulfillment of these desires is not possible. According to the concept of the universe without God, man is fated to never have his desires fulfilled; but the concept of the universe with God, holds out the hope that man will find total fulfillment of his desires in the next stage of his life after death.
Consciousness of Time
The study of human psychology shows that man is a time-conscious creature. Man is the only creature cognizant of his past, present and future. But it is an undeniable fact that every one finds only the ‘present’ in his life. Deprived of his future, every man dies in depression. He acts for a better future throughout his present life. But in his limited life span, he cannot find his better future and he is forced to leave this world in despair. An internet search for, ‘Risk Factor: Depression’, lists over five hundred eminent people who have suffered depression, many of whom have died in a state of despair. The concept of the universe without God fails to provide any answer to the question of whether there is an after-life or not, whereas the concept of a universe with God provides satisfactory answers to all of man’s questions on this subject.
The Principle of Pairs
The study of the universe shows that, here, everything has been created in pairs — negative electric particles are paired with positive electric particles, the flowers in the trees are divided into male and female, animals are both male and female, human beings are likewise male and female. This is a universal law. In this world everything has its pair.
On a parallel with this, human life must also have its pair. That is, the incomplete life before death should be succeeded by a complete life after death. According to the concept of a universe with God, this ‘pair’ of human life exists; but according to the concept of a universe without God, this complementary pair does not exist.
The Failure of Idealism
All the philosophers and thinkers regard this present world as an eternal world. They believe that they will be able to build their desired world in this present world itself. The ideal society, the ideal state, the ideal system – all these concepts have stemmed from such a belief. These thinkers have been fascinated by such concepts all their lives. They persisted with the belief that civilization was the realization of this dream.
With modern industrial progress, people thought that civilizational development was finally going to lead them to their destination, when they would be able to build their paradise in the present world itself; but this notion has proved to be totally wrong.
The End of the World
Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727), the founder of modern science, studied the laws of physics and predicted in 1704, that the modern world would come to an end in 2060. On the basis of this observation, scientists all over the world are saying that as a result of global warming, the end of the world has become certain. The further development of civilization is no longer possible. In his book, Future Shock, published in 1970, Alvin Toffler wrote that now the world had passed through the industrial age and was entering the super-industrial age. The next stage of civilization would be a stage of complete automation. Push-button culture would progress to the extent that everything would be done automatically. But the problem of global warming has brought the message not of the consummation of history but of the end of history. This turn of events is undoubtedly the most crucial issue of today. A satisfactory answer to the questions it raises is to be found only in the concept of the universe with God. Without this concept, it is just not possible to find a satisfactory explanation for this phenomenon.
This event is an argument in favour of the concept of the universe with God; an argument which fully satisfies reason and logic.
Such examples clearly prove that the concept of a Godless universe has a very serious logical flaw. Such a concept would lead us to believe that our perfectly meaningful universe will come to a totally meaningless end.
On the other hand, the concept of the universe with God is totally free of this flaw. It is only when we believe in the concept of the universe with God that we can believe that this meaningful universe will culminate in a meaningful future.
Therefore we can say that:
The option that we have is not between a ‘universe with God’ and a ‘universe without God’. The only option we have is between a ‘universe with God’ and ‘no universe at all’.
Islamic Spirituality
Islam is a scheme of spiritual development. Its goal is to establish direct communion between God and man in order that man may become the recipient of divine inspiration. In such a religion it is moderation which is of the utmost importance, not extremism or fundamentalism. It is peace which is of the utmost importance and not violence.
