Jewish Science (1:1)
Science does not paint G-d out of the
picture; on the contrary.
Jewish Science (1:1)
In
the ongoing ferocious battles between creationists and evolutionists, the
latter recently scored a point when Kansas
The
creationists posit that there are aspects of biology which cannot be accounted
for by a natural explanation, and that these gaps in scientific theory prove
that the world was designed by a Creator. Evolutionists, on the other hand,
claim that these gaps will soon be filled and thus there is no need to invoke a
Master Architect.
The
tragedy of this debate is that many lay people assume that they have to side
fully with one group or the other. This is a mistake, because the philosophies
of both positions are critically flawed.
From
a Jewish point of view, the scientific enterprise itself is rooted in G-d who
imposed the laws of science upon the physical universe. Therefore, Judaism
always believed in perceiving G-d through studying the natural world. This
never meant, “There is no scientific explanation for phenomena.” Rather,
it meant understanding that G-d was the One who decreed these laws in the first
place.
After
a while however, science forgot its roots. Giddy with its newfound ability to
provide explanations for the mechanisms of natural phenomena, science forgot to
ask who made these mechanisms. Only recently with the success of science in
discovering the extraordinary degree of order and unity inherent in nature,
have some scientists begun to ask where these laws came from.
Consider
Einstein who wrote to a colleague, “But surely, one should expect the world
to be chaotic...the success of in the objective world of a high degree of
order, which we are in no way entitled to expect...Therein lies the ‘miracle’
which becomes more and more evident as our knowledge develops. And here is the
weak point of positivists and professional atheists...”
Science
does not paint G-d out of the picture. On the contrary, it presents a new
picture: the body of scientific law, for Him to have painted. Our grasp of the
remarkable rationality of the universe is reaching its climax with the quest
for a “Unified Theory of Everything,” an encapsulation of all the laws
of nature into a simple and single unit.
The fact that such a unification is even sought tells us something important
about our expectations regarding the Universe. Our tradition of monotheism
reinforces the assumption that our Universe must be governed by unity. Thus to
the Jewish believer, science and monotheism go hand-in-hand.
Furthermore, appreciating the rule of spiritual
law helps us understand the need for a natural law, since Jews perceive G-d as
lawmaker, not lawbreaker. This holds true for the laws of nature as well.
Miracles therefore are considered a last resort, something to shake people into
looking beyond the laws of nature.
So we
now know that G-d works through a system of natural law. Not because He has to,
but because He chooses to. The creationists however, who look for G-d in
miraculous events are committing a grave error. G-d’s fingerprints are to be
found in nature as much as they are in the supernatural. As Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, an eminent
Jewish thinker of the 19th century, explained, “Judaism is most anxious to
make its adherents aware that all the phenomena of nature are subject to
certain unchanging laws. Since Judaism itself is a system of laws...”
Unlike other religious fundamentalists, Jews
accept that science works. But unlike many scientists, we look deeper. For
while it is praiseworthy to look for laws in nature; we should never disregard
the Lawmaker.
The Bible informs us that every human being is
a descendent from one man. There’s even genetic evidence to support it.
But what concerns us about this Biblical concept is its testament to the
singularity of the Creator, as well as a demonstration of the infinite
diversity latent within that singularity (since every individual comes from one
person, yet no two are exactly alike!). Nonetheless, as different as we all
are, we have been given certain common rules. This not only fosters social
rapport and brotherhood, but divine allegiance to the “image of G-d” we
must all enhance within ourselves. For many, this discovery remains elusive.
Perhaps they should replace the telescope with a view of the heavens, with a
microscope that peers into their souls.
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