"My science tells me how he did it."

Theologian and scientist Jesuit Br Guy Consolmagno is a graduate of Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

He also studied philosophy as part of his Jesuit formation.

Speaking to University of Detroit Mercy students and staff in a lecture entitled "Where Faith and Science Meet," he said the more he discovers in science, the more he feels himself connecting with God.

"Most students going to college in engineering or science enter those fields looking for the truth.

"They're frustrated because religion is very full of fallible people, so they've given up on religion but they're still looking for God.

"The thing about philosophy, mathematics and science, is that it's logical," Cosolmagno explained.

He pointed to three logical axioms he believes underpin science: Reality exists; The universe operates by repeatable laws; Science is worth doing because looking at and understanding the universe is good within itself.

Given that we all assume that reality exists, Cosolmagno explained that, as humans, scientists cannot prove reality to be otherwise.

This ties philosophical thought into science.

"Science is trying to come up with an explanation for the things we see in nature."

This is why scientific laws about the universe's operation being governed by repeatable laws exist, he said.

"If you don't believe in God, then you have to come up with another way to explain nature.

"But to be an atheist, you must have a very clear idea of the God you don't believe in. Otherwise, how do you know you don't believe in him?"

He went on to say the Genesis explanation of creation shows the universe was made "in a logically ordered fashion."

He explained that this logic "forgoes the religious attributes of Genesis" and connected it to God's creation process and the intent behind it.

In relation to science being worth doing because looking at and understanding the universe is good within itself, Cosolmagno said: "There is a lot of evil in the world and we don't know why, and this evil can lead us to mistakenly believe that the universe is evil."

In essence, "Religion gives you the basis that allows science to occur [and] it "acts as a basis for scientific discovery."

Source

• Fox5
• The Varsity News
• Image: Science

It "reminds us of the immense beauty in the universe that occurs outside of our own petty set of concerns," Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno says.

"It pulls us out of ourselves and makes us remember that we are part of a big and glorious and beautiful universe." Read more

Consolmagno is in New Zealand to take part in a panel discussion on extraterrestrial life at a festival on Great Barrier Island.

In an interview with Jamie Moreton in the New Zealand Herald Consolmagno said "And the reason that people think they are at odds is because most people stop learning about science when they're 12, and most people stop learning about religion when they're 12."

What does a 12-year-old know about science? he asked.

"It's a big book of facts, and they feel the same about religion; they learned it at Sunday school, so it must be true."

"But when you get beyond all that stuff, you learn that science itself is not about collecting answers; it's about asking the right questions, and getting used to concepts.

"It's the same way I feel about anything that you love."

"Spending time with the universe is a great way of getting to used to creation and the creator."

Consolmagno said that if you love someone, you love the things they make - just ask a mother who puts pictures that their children create on the refrigerator - so if you love God, you're going to love the things God made.

"This is going to make you want to know more and more about how the universe actually functions."

"Deeper than that, there's a sense that understanding science, and especially astronomy, is a great way to pull yourself out of ordinary, day-to-day life - you recognise that the universe is much bigger than your concerns about traffic, your dinner that night, or your job."

Consolmagno does not think the topic of aliens is trivial or a distraction.

"I certainly would think that in 20 years from now, we will have strong evidence of certain planets around other stars that make us think, maybe there's life out there."

"But do I think we are going to get a message from space?"

"Probably not."

Source

• nzherald.co.nz
• stuff.co.nz
• Image: catholicphilly.com