Chapter 45 Science and faith are two wheels of a car

Only by walking on the path of seeking truth can people have a sense of certainty. On the road of seeking the truth, each of us can only walk alone, and any blind obedience can only become meaningless booing in the end. This is not the attitude of seeking the truth.There is only one truth. As long as we have a scientific attitude and spirit, no matter which road you come from, you will definitely come together in the end and gather at the feet of truth. The greatest obstacle on the road to truth is always thinking that one's own point of view is right and everyone else's point of view is wrong.What is more frightening than this is losing control of emotions, losing reason, and ultimately unable to take a step forward on the road of seeking the truth.In daily life, many of our erroneous words and deeds are produced when we lose our minds. This kind of behavior of losing control and losing our minds may even bring us lifelong regrets.

In the world, there is only one truth about anything, and there is only one truth. No matter what method we use to explore, as long as we are in the spirit of truly seeking the truth, we will end up with the same goal in the end.Find the only truth, find the truth, come to agreement and unity, without truth there is no harmony. At present, all kinds of conflicts, disharmony, and even wars in the world are rooted in the fact that everyone thinks their own way and way is right, while others' way is wrong, which leads to differences and conflicts .Such a result can only make people farther and farther away from the truth.As far as I know, there are two major divisions in the world now, one is the division between science and religion; the other is the division and conflict between various religious sects.The latter is more harmful to the society.

The purpose of science is to explore the truth of things, discover the laws between things, and discover the truth.Science adopts the method of "discovery" to achieve the goal of approaching the truth by discovering the laws among various things.And religious belief uses the method of "revelation".If one only recognizes the truths explored by the scientific method of "discovery", but not the truths obtained by the religious method of "revelation", people will definitely fall into the quagmire of extreme materialism without belief and direction.There are many phenomena in the world that are difficult to explain in a scientific way, for example, "love" and "happiness", no matter what kind of scientific formulas and theorems are used, it is difficult to express clearly, but it does exist and exists in each of us In our hearts, everyone can strongly feel its influence on us all the time.So we have to believe that, apart from science, there are some things that we can't fully understand at present, and faith can help us understand and approach the world we live in from another perspective.

But once religion falls into superstition, it will become a fantasy that disrespects and rejects science, or even a farce that pretends to be a ghost.If it is admitted that there is only one truth, then I believe that it cannot be true religiously and false scientifically, or vice versa.A sage named 'Abdu'l-Baha said the following passage, which clearly explained the relationship between science and religious belief: "If religious beliefs and viewpoints are opposed to scientific standards, then it is Just superstition and fantasy, for the opposite of knowledge is ignorance, and ignorance leads to superstition. There is no doubt that true religion and science agree, and if a matter is found to contradict the truth, we cannot believe and believe in it, except It will have no effect but to confuse and shake people." Understanding the world in two different ways, science and religion, will be closer to the truth and our hearts.If we only focus on exploring the truth in a scientific way, we will ignore our inner feelings and spend a lot of energy and time on observing the outside world and looking outward; Sitting quietly and praying, only focusing on your inner feelings and the revelations given to you by the magical power, you will ignore the existence and changes outside your body.Science and religious belief are two wheels of a car and two wings of a bird. Neither aspect can be favored. The two must develop in a balanced way to achieve harmony.The development of science and technology in the past century has advanced by leaps and bounds and changed with each passing day. Under such circumstances, people should have firm beliefs and restrain themselves with higher moral standards.We cannot ignore the influence of the magical power of faith on our progress.A few days ago, I met with the leaders of the State Administration of Religious Affairs and asked for advice on the current status of religion in China.She told me a story that really surprised me.She said that there is a legend in the Bible that Abraham killed his son to sacrifice to God.In a rural area of ​​Henan, China, a farmer really killed his son in order to sacrifice to God.This is entirely out of superstition and ignorance, and it is a tragedy that occurs in a vacuum of belief.There are also people who worship mountains when they see mountains, worship water when they see water, and worship more and more forms and rituals, while ignoring the understanding of the nature of sacred things and the search for truth.

At present, on the way of seeking the truth, we are more adopting scientific methods, and we pay far less attention to the ways of faith revelation. Some ways of revelation are still the most primitive ways left over 2,000 years ago.As people's thinking and spiritual state are improving, so should the way of seeking truth. The way 2,000 years ago must not be suitable for the thinking and life of modern people.