Fear of Science

Long has raged the debate about whether science is evil because scientists use science to prove God does not exist or if, through science, we see the beauty of Hashem's world, which He runs through nature, not above it. I, of course, am a proponent of the latter. And in truth, so are many scientist, who, while making amzazing discoveries, may also be devoutly religious people. In fact, Darwin was a deeply religious man. And evolution is indeed a fact of life, which adapts to its environs over time.

Some examples: My father-in-law bought me a subscription to Astronomy Magazine, as it is one of the many things he and I have in common: a love for the stars. I happen to know almost nothing about Astronomy from a practicing standpoint, but I do love looking and the magazine is written for us common folk who aren't all that scientific. ANYWAY, there is an article in the May, 2007 issue I found fascinating, entitled Cosmology: Five Things You Need to Know. Thing number 3 was: What kind of explosion was the Big Bang? Yes, I said Big Bang! Common belief is that the Big Bang was some kind of explosion that took place nearly 14 billion (yes, I said BILLION) years ago that caused the creation of the cosmos.

Well, it wasn't an explosion, as the author of this article tells us: "It's [the Big Bang's] name implies a standard bang, such as a chemical explosion - think of firewords - and once we have this image in our mind, it's hard to imagine the Big Bang as anything else. But the universe's beginning wasn't an explosion. It was closer to (are you ready for this - from an "evil" scientist!!) an unfolding, OR CREATION, of matter, energy, time - and space itself." The article continues: "'What would actually have been a much better name is the expanding-universe theory, because it's really a theory of how the universe expands,' says David Spergel, a WMAP team member at Princeton University."

WOW! That was beautiful! The Big Bang was a CREATION of everything - a Yeish Me'Ayin - something from nothing! That's fantastic! So, because of an unfortunate choice of words, what is a working theory of the creation of the universe is debunked by religious fanatics who don't really know what they are talking about when the debunk that theory!

Ok, so there's the age of the universe thing. Many rabbanim for many centuries have proposed all sorts of answers to that - the best of which is the one where there were many Olamos (worlds) before ours. Another is that time is relative, and we have no idea how time flowed back at the creation of the universe. I'm not going to go into all the theories, which are really complex, but if one is interested, one may pick up Rabbi Natan Slifkin's book, The Challenge of Creation, and read all about it in part two of his book, which deals with Cosmology, and in which he correctly quotes several Rabbinic sources to support his theories. Of course, if one holds Rabbi Slifkin's books are assur to read, well, then, I'm sorry for a person who adheres to a wrongful ban.:)

Next example. We have a precept that when Hashem helps, He usually does so within the confines of nature. A friend of mine recently saw a special on the History Channel about the Ten Plagues Hashem brought down upon the Egyptians enslaving the Israelites. This special explores whether the Ten Plagues could have happened and how, trying to explain them scientifically. Sounds like they are trying to take God out of the equation, doesn't it? And maybe this was their motivation. But, in doing so, they just strengthen my belief in the fact that Hashem works through nature, rather than above it, whenever possible, and uses nature to achieve his goals.

The special proposes a theory that a volcano erupted that could have caused all the plagues, in the order mentioned in the Torah: There was apparently a volcano that erupted around the time of the plagues/Exodus. The volcanic fallout, as shown in more recent history in Africa, could have heated the water. This would have done a few things. First, bringing sediment and rust to the surface. (Your water turned to blood). Second, it would kill things in the water, except frogs... they could escape. Hence the plague of frogs. With the water gone bad one gets the pestilance. (Gnats and flies). Thunder and hail could be the fiery fallout of volcanic rock. The density of the air could cause rain. Hence the fire and ice. Darkness would be had by the volanic fallout and ash, the boils cause by the gases... they saw this in Africa when they had a similar eruption...

Basically, they scientifically and historically showed what COULD have caused the 10 plagues. That said, they were quick to point out that this is not to say that God COULDN'T have caused the eruption that created the fallout of the 10 plagues in the first place!

Ok. So we have a volcano, which for all we know, could have been dormant forever, and it suddenly erupts, causing all the plagues! This is a beautiful example of Hashem working THROUGH nature, not outside it! This is Moshe showing the Jewish people the wonders of Hashem! "Ma Rabu Ma'asecha Hashem, Kulam B'Chachma Asseesa - How wonderous are your works Hashem, you have created all of them with wisdom!"

Bottom line - all those fundamentalists out there who are walking around claiming Science and the existence of God are incompatible - YOU ARE SIMPLY WRONG!! it is foolish to put someone in cherem because he is showing, in a beautiful, Torah way, how compatible Science and Torah and God are. If someone is so threatened by rabbinically supported theories that to accept them shakes one's faith to its foundations, then something is very wrong with that faith. You can't have an all or nothing world. Thinking people need to understand that Torah and Science are indeed very compatible and that one can see the beauty of Torah and Hashem's world through Science.