From ‘Focus on Faith’, Stretton Focus, November 2014
A great part of our life is governed by evidence – we look and listen for evidence of danger when starting to cross the road. In particular areas such as health care, evidence tells us what has benefited patients and what has not.
Can we take an evidence-based approach when we consider religion? Many people would say that the evidence for God is in the Bible. But is the Bible really evidence? It is after all a lot of anecdotes quite often without any cross-references which might help confirm what is put forward as fact. For some this may be enough but the decline of church attendance suggests that for many it is not. The standards which one would apply to assessing the Bible as evidence would be completely inapplicable if we were looking at healthcare. In healthcare there need to be undeniable facts supported by measurable data. So is there a better way to go about looking for evidence which supports the exercise of faith?
Those with a strong faith may be horrified by taking a modern approach allied to science to this question. Is such an approach appropriate? I think it is. It is perhaps surprising to find that there are many scientists who have a faith. It isn’t rooted in their science. It is rooted more than anything in their understanding of life, and their awareness that there is something deep in humanity which cannot be readily explained.
It is not about language, family or society. It is not measurable. It is a different kind of evidence. Some would identify it as the core of our humanity. It is about the spiritual love of human kind which we all know about. Something taught by Jesus and all the great prophets of religion. It is something which takes you into the deeper connections of humanity.
This brings science and faith together in love. It is personally spiritual and intellectually mysterious. It is also quite exciting. Acceptance of this is a process which is both emotional and scientific. The evidence is personal, unique to each of us. Once understood like this it is with us everyday in everything we do; the eternal mystery of unconstrained love, striking the chords which are the music of faith.
Roger Wilson
