Science Versus Religion

This is a fictional debate between a mathematician and a Christian, but it provides a basis for real discussion.

C: Do you believe in God — that Jesus died on the cross for your salvation and the salvation of all mankind for all time to come?

M: No, I was raised Catholic, but my scientific training has convinced me to turn my attention to my scientific work in mathematics. I no longer believe in a supreme deity like God.

C: You will burn in Hell forever for that, you know?

M: That’s according to what you believe. If there is no God, as science posits, then there is no soul. No soul means when one dies, one just dies and ceases to exist.

C: Well, what do you think animates you if it isn’t your soul?

M: My consciousness. It appears that it is an emergent property of the many neurons firing below its surface. If I decide I want to move my arm, there is some descent from my consciousness back into the neurons firing network whence it comes, and the necessary firing of neurons transpires to allow me to move my arm. Such is the way it goes for all of my bodily motions that animate me and allow me to speak. So, it doesn’t require the supernatural explanation like a soul to answer this kind of question.

C: Well, I have never heard of an emergent property before.

M: It is a property of complex systems. Take water, for example, the water molecules are not wet. But, when you get enough water molecules together, they become wet. You can splash water and hear the sound of water, which are emergent properties because the water molecules cannot be heard. The neurons in the brain firing away do not exhibit consciousness. But, get enough neurons firing, and you get the emergent property of consciousness. The consciousness is above the fray of the firing neurons on which it is based. When a consciousness makes a decision, a signal of some kind must descend back into the neuronal network to invoke that decision. I am not a brain scientist, so I don’t know all what transpires to make this so, but all the same, it happens for all of us as we navigate life.

C: Well, I think I am animated by a soul, not an emergent property.

M: That’s fine. I don’t want to try to make you forsake your beliefs. We are having a civil discussion here, nothing more.

C: Ok. What do you think about God being all powerful?

M: That essentially would mean he has infinite power, and not just any infinite power — the maximum infinite power possible since a lesser god might also have some lesser infinite power. God being all powerful means He must have more power than any lesser infinitely powerful god. So, since there are different sized infinities possible, God’s power must be whatever the largest infinite power would be, right?

C: Of course. God’s power has to be the largest infinite power.

M: Well, it can be proven mathematically that there is no largest infinite power. So, God’s power might be able to be bested by some other entity with an even higher level of infinite power than God’s power.

C: Well, I don’t understand all that highfalutin math talk there. I believe God is all powerful. Whatever power He needs to do something, he has it. Period.

M: That’s fine. Belief in something is good. That’s the big difference between science and religion. Science uses what they call the scientific method to explain the things they are looking into. Religion uses belief in miracles or other such unexplainable things like the power of God. Both have their purposes. It is not my place to say one is better than the other.

C: My faith runs deep in my being. I truly believe in God and Jesus and all the miracles written about in the Bible. It gives my life meaning to find lost souls and bring them to the Lord. Do you want to come to my church on Sunday?

M: No. I am sorry. I am currently writing a book called Points, Lines, and Conic Sections: A Sequel to College Algebra. I have been working on this thing for nine years, and it is close to getting done. I need all my disposable time to finish it. When I get it done, I will publish it on Amazon. Would you like to read a few chapters of what I have completed already?

C: No. I hate math. I was terrible at it in school. If you can write a whole math book, more power to you. But, that’s not for me.

M: No problem. Well, we discussed a few things here. We didn’t persuade each other, but that’s usually how conversations about religion go. It’s also how conversations about politics usually go, too.

C: Yeah, I have friends and family of different political persuasions. Man, the discussions get so heated, but no one sways anyone to the other side. Once in a while, though, souls get saved; and a D or R sees the other viewpoint. I wished it happened more often, though.

M: Me too. Well, you have a great day. Next time maybe we can discuss one of my board games called Fighting Chess.

C: That would be nice. After you teach it to me, we can even play it. I can beat a lot of my friends at regular chess, so I might be able to give you a run for your money in Fighting Chess.

M: Well, we shall see. Until that time.

Note: Fighting Chess rules are here: (https://medium.com/boardgamesandcards/fighting-chess-rules-97857b98452e?sk=f56b626b08a7f5ab519df04c1497d896)

The math book mentioned on Amazon is here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1456377191/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i4