NOMA

We were doing a personal culture activity today in my LCG class and I came to realize something really interesting that was happening within my students. There was a clear split between individuals who believe in creation and those in evolution. It seems as though individuals who are religious seem to be skeptic regarding science because of this division. I consider myself somewhat religious. I believe in God, and I am currently on the process of becoming a catholic. However, I do believe on evolution. How can this be possible? Well my friends… I rely on the Theory of Non-Overlapping Magisteria (NOMA). Created by Stephen Jay Gould, it advocates the idea that neither religion nor science are more important than each other. In other words… there is a strict separation between both ideologies. Each magisteria holds its own questions, and these are the questions that they are capable of answering. For example: medical science answers questions regarding illness, whereas the bible answers questions regarding sin. “The bible is not a biology book,” is one of the quotes that I remember my Biology professor, Dr. Michael Dini, say as he explained the theory to our class. “Where do we come from?” is a measurable question which can be answered by science. ‘Why are we here?” is clearly defined in the bible and can not be measured by the realm of science. Thus, these questions are best answered by each realm that has the resources to do so. One is free to study nature in any way. However, because of my scientific backgroud this blog is designed to do so through a scientist's perspective. Everybody is welcomed to read it. I am just asking for tolerance and understanding. Maybe you do not believe in evolution, but that does not mean that science is out of your reach.