Below is a comment I made on this article in The Irish Times -- http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0716/1224250761194.html.
I find a discrepancy between reading Dawkins (when I read "The God Delusion" I found myself agreeing with most of it) and watching or listening to the man (I find him a little too aggressive and he may need to lighten up).
Personally, I am a religious atheist, with a splash of paganism! Or as a friend once said when he was asked what religion he belonged to, "I'm an atheist, thank God."
Seriously though, I wouldn't call myself an atheist for two reasons: 1. I don't like defining myself by what I am not; 2. I can't say for certain that God doesn't exist (especially when you start considering all the possible definitions of God). Is there an all-knowing supreme being who sits in judgement in heaven? I don't know but I doubt it greatly. Do I believe in the inter-connectivity of all things in the universe, living, dead or neither? Of course I do. Is that God? I dunnu -- that's up to you.
I love that question posed earlier -- "what is the scientific proof that only what is empirically verifiable is true?" Right now, and probably for all time, there is no such scientific proof but that is not to say that some time in the future, we won't come up with one.
Science came about from trying to figure stuff out. So did religion. A good scientist admits that he/she doesn't know all the answers and admits that it may be impossible to ever do so -- there will always be another question. A good religious person admits he/she may well be wrong -- to do otherwise is to lose your humility; the cornerstone of faith. Bad science believes in the power of rationality alone and sees faith as the enemy. Bad religion believes in the power of faith alone and forgets the importance of doubt and asking questions. These two fundamental mindsets sit at either end of the spectrum. All of us sit somewhere in between, usually favouring one pole to the other. We all use faith and instinct and rational thinking at the same time.
I am starting to realise that true science and true religion are the very same thing. Religion does not need a god.
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Gravitation Force is the Ultimate Creator, this paper I presented at the 1st Int. Conf. on Revival of Traditional Yoga, held at The Lonavla Yoga Institute (India), Lonavla, Pune in 2006. The Abstract of this paper is given below:
The Universe includes everything that exists. In the Universe there are billions and billions of stars. These stars are distributed in the space in huge clusters. They are held together by gravitation and are known as galaxies. Sun is also a star. Various members of the solar system are bound to it by gravitation force. Gravitation force is the ultimate cause of birth and death of galaxy, star and planets etc. Gravitation can be considered as the cause of various forms of animate and inanimate existence. Human form is superior to all other forms. Withdrawal of gravitational wave from some plane of action is called the death of that form. It can be assumed that gravitation force is ultimate creator. Source of it is ‘God’. Gravitational Field is the supreme soul (consciousness) and its innumerable points of action may be called as individual soul (consciousness). It acts through body and mind. Body is physical entity. Mind can be defined as the function of autonomic nervous system. Electromagnetic waves are its agents through which it works. This can be realized through the practice of meditation and yoga under qualified meditation instruction. This can remove misunderstanding between science and religion and amongst various religions. This is the gist of all religious teachings – past, present and future.
AND
‘In Scientific Terminology Source of Gravitational Wave is God’ I have presented this paper at the 2nd World Congress on Vedic Sciences held at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi on February 9-11, 2007. The Abstract of this paper is given below:
For Centuries, antagonism remained between science and religion. Science and spirituality require to be fused. An integrated philisophy is to be developed. It is written in the scriptures that entire creation is being maintained only through love or force of attraction. In Persian it is known as quvat-i-jaziba. It is on account of this force that the entire creation, which come into existence through the combination of small particles and atoms, is being maintained and sustained. The creation or universe includes everything that exists. In the universe there are billions and billions of stars. They are held together by gravitation and are known as galaxies. Sun is also a star. Various members of the solar system are bound to it by gravitation force. Gravitation force is the ultimate cause of birth and death of a galaxy, star and planet etc. and various forms of animate and inanimate existence. Gravitation force is the ultimate creator, sustainer and destroyer of the universe. These are the three attributes of God. Providence has located within the human body a spiritual faculty. When this faculty is developed like physical and mental faculties we find that Truth-the goal of science and God-the goal of religion are one and the same thing.
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