God and Science:  A Complimentary Team

My wife has been convening a cancer mutual help group for women at our church.  Even though there is a fine cancer support group at our local hospital, my wife felt that conversations about important issues would be strengthened when held where we worship.  She said she felt more comfortable, more at home, and more inclusive of God when the discussions were at our church.  

Scientific research certainly agrees with my wife.  Place matters.  A sense of place can have a powerful impact on people.  Positive emotions, such as comfort, calmness, closeness or even feelings of control, can be enhanced when entering meaningful (to us) places such as our own living room or the pews toward the back on the left side of our church (where we always sit), for example.   

And when we are feeling positive emotions in our daily life, we are healthier, have a better sense of well-being, we are more open to what is actually going on around us, more thoughtful and creative in our decisions, and more appreciative of alternative perspectives.  In the long run, the more (to a limit) positive emotions in our daily life the better our health and well-being.

But recently a friend, a very capable women with a strong faith, said that what is important to her are the  words of the Bible  -- that’s all she needs.  Being at church for discussions about her cancer, for instance, is not important.  She could as well be in one place as in another – they are all the same. 

Because of my respect for this woman, her rejection of what is an important part of my own experience is a significant challenge.  Unhelpfully, one of my first impulses was to be dismissive of my friend’s comments -- to think that she just doesn’t understand.  My second was to think that well, OK so we disagree, no big deal.  But my third thought was to say to myself that this is a big deal;  I can learn something important.

My friend’s beliefs in her understandings of the words of the Bible are certainly true for her.  To the extent that she can live her life faithfully in accord with her beliefs, I suspect that goodness and mercy will continue to fill her days.   

But what of the Christians who find themselves influenced, for instance, by the power of a place, such as the feelings that come from being at home in one’s church.  Will their choices be encouraged by those who believe that place (or science) does not matter because decisions should be guided only by one’s chosen words from the Bible?

What seems to be going on is that our perspectives, whether from our beliefs that grow from the words of the Bible, or our beliefs that emerge from the halls of science or from our life experiences, serve as compasses for us, and guide our pathways and consequently our loyalties.

I am reminded of the change going on in medicine.  In our Western culture, traditional medicine has been dominant.  The practice of what has been called alternative medicine, such as faith/belief healing or meditation has been perceived in the past as a false-belief for the well-being of patients.  But research programs are now identifying some positive benefits from prayer, beliefs, mutual help groups, and friends, for instance.  Traditional medicine and belief approaches are becoming complimentary, not antagonistic.

Is it possible, for religion to adopt such complimentary perspectives -- that God’s word and the science of human belief, thoughts, emotions and behavior can be complimentary – strengthening each other? 

With such a complimentary world of faith, approaches that enhance the well-being of parishioners could begin with the wisdom of science as well as from the traditions of our Biblical faith.  These potentially complimentary approaches can travel the same pathways toward strengthening both a belief in God and the well-being of people.   God and science: A complimentary team.

Bruce