How Science and Religion Do Actually Get Along

For decades and even centuries, science and religion have come into great conflict.  Galileo was one of the first to start that war when he supported Copernicus's idea that the earth revolved around the sun, and that the earth was not, in fact, the center of the Universe.  The Catholic Church tried viciously to silence the man and discredit him.  The scriptures, they believed, said the earth was the center of the universe, and they could not tolerate anyone disagreeing with them.  People chose sides and the issue became hugely divisive and contentious.  It seemed there could be no agreement between the two: either you sided with the church or you sided with Galileo.

Me being a missionary.

This may sound very familiar because it has happened so many times in human history, and the battle continues to rage on in full force today.  Newton was scoffed, ridiculed and persecuted, and then later a man published a theory for which his name would be spoken of in praise and hate for centuries to come--Charles Darwin.  Many have picked their side and stood their ground, completely rejecting the other side.  "Evolution is the truth, and religion is bogus!" proclaim some, while others shout, "The earth is only 6,000 years old, no matter what those crackpot scientists say!"  Is there a solution?  Can one be a true believer in God and still accept science?  Can a scientist still be a person of faith?  And what do we do about all the seeming discrepancies--what if you find something in the word of God that seems to go against a scientific principle?  Can science and religion ever be fully reconciled?

Me as a scientist.

The answer is: of course.  I am a devoted follower of Jesus Christ as well as a wild science enthusiast.  There have been and are many, many like me, much better disciples and much better scientists.  Here's how you can accept both, and not be sitting on the fence doubting over differences nor obstinately on one side, unable to see the other's perspective.

1.  Realize that the aims of science and religion are different.

Galileo Galilei did not want to pick a fight with the Catholic church.  He knew he was proposing ideas others would disagree with--they were revolutionary and previously unheard-of and challenged people's beliefs on how the world works--but he recognized that science and religion had two different aims.  

"Scripture is a book about how to go to heaven; not a book about how heaven goes."

He proclaimed.  In fact, to confound the two seems a bit foolish if you really think about it.  You would not go to science to find out what your everyday actions should be so you can be prepared to live with God, just as you should not go to the Bible to find the exact process of how the world was created and each step involved.  The Bible is concerned with our actions: what we should do to draw nearer to God.  Science is concerned with how the world works: essentially, how God works.  Both causes bring us closer to God, but in different ways: we grow closer to Him as we become more like Him by following the scriptures, and we grow closer to Him as we understand more and more of how He works through science.

2.  Admit that we do not know everything.

Why was it that the church rejected the idea that the earth revolves around the sun?  It was because of a few verses of scripture which state that the earth stands still.  Why were and are so many people bitterly opposed to the theory of evolution?  Because the Bible states that God created man in His own image.  Why do people disbelieve the idea that the earth is billions of years old?  Because the scripture says the world was created in 6 days.  But take a step back and look at these issues for a moment.  Is it possible that those on "religion's side" are still right, but that they are thinking of the scriptures too literally?  

Me as a scientist.

An important attribute that we all could use a hearty dose more of (definitely including me!) is humility.  It is hard to admit that we could be wrong, that the way we were thinking of things is not necessarily the one correct opinion.  Perhaps the "six days" of creation does not mean "six periods of 24 hours."  Yes, God did create man in His own image, but that does not mean that He did not use a series of other lesser creatures before getting to man.  The word of God will always be completely true, but our limited understanding of it will not always be perfect.  When we see this, and are humble enough to admit that our interpretation of the scriptures may be imperfect, many of these seeming conflicts between science and scripture will vanish.

That being said, science can never say they know the truth with absolute certainty.  The scientific method cannot prove anything correct; it can only disprove things.  For example, if you want to prove that there are no leprechauns in Ireland you would have to simultaneously look in every single place in Ireland, which is impossible.  If anyone ever finds one leprechaun in Ireland, they have disproved the theory.  Science builds upon itself, and often it does this by admitting it was wrong at first.  As we disprove one hypothesis but find more and more evidence for another, we get closer and closer to the real truth.  A theory, like the theory of evolution, is an idea supported by multiple lines of evidence and something that has never been disproved yet.  When I say multiple I mean that thousands of legitimate scientists and their experiments have given evidence for evolution, and not one of them have been able to disprove it.  The same is true for gravity, relativity, deep time and many other scientific theories.  But we still could be wrong.  We don't know for sure the answers to everything, but we just crawl nearer and nearer to the actual truth.

Me beginning my career as a missionary in Mexico City, with my Mission President and his wife, the Villarreals.

In summary, scientists and crusaders, lay down your weapons.  One of the greatest signs of the strength of a person is their ability to admit that they could be wrong.  Evolution, which you have studied your whole life and seen so much evidence of, could very well be right--but it could be wrong.  Your understanding of that verse of scripture, as you have pondered it deeply and know it backwards in Hebrew, could be right, but it could be wrong.  Share your opinions and express your beliefs, but stop fighting!  Our goal in both science and religion is to draw closer to God, so keep studying and keep believing, but don't be so prideful that you get locked in your opinions and cannot see the world any other way!

I know that God lives and loves us.  Both the word of God and the experiments of man help me draw closer to Him, to understand Him and to be more like Him, and I invite all to get to know Him better by accepting both methods to come to know truth.

I love being outside in nature because it helps me feel closer to God both spiritually and scientifically.

This is all self-explanatory, except for the pirate behind me.

How I Met My Wife, Part Two and Final

We left off last week with me being despondent and lost in the throes of a broken heart, going to a blood drive, sitting next to Jenn McLean and asking her if she donated often.

January 18th, 2013 continued

"Yeah, yeah I do." she replied, giving me an odd look.  I then asked her about her major.

"Well, it was Geology..."

"Was?!" I responded, to which she explained that she was now studying Anthropology but still really enjoyed Geology (she eventually saw the light and switched back in a way, but that's a different story).  We started talking for a while and found out we had a ton in common, including a love for the outdoors, experience with choir and interest in science.  We were really hitting it off when Jenn got called to go donate.  Being a fantastic individual, however, she let me go first since I had a class starting at 4:00 and it was already about 3:30.  I went to donate, and she was called a short time later.

Unbeknownst to me, she was already wildly smitten by my charm (okay, not quite, but maybe a little) and was afraid that I would finish donating first and go off to class and she would never see me again.  So she decided to be in a big hurry and was desperate to beat me in donating blood.  When I was already on the chair and had begun to donate, she walked out of the screening booth towards another chair and yelled at me, "Race ya!"

She donated the fastest she had ever donated, way faster than me, but I had a head start so I finished first.  Not knowing of her fear that I would leave, I went to eat my snacks in some chairs by the exit, having no intention of leaving without talking to her again.  She finished, and by then my class was already half over, so I decided to skip it.  That was perhaps one of the best decisions I have ever made.  

We walked all over campus, talking about everything we could.  I even told her about Lisa and how I had been feeling horrible and was determined to get her back.  Amazingly enough, instead of being turned away by this she got really excited about it, and praised me for actually caring enough to try to make things work.  That might have been when my determination to get Lisa back wavered for the first time, because Jenn with two "n's" was amazing, and so much like me in so many ways.

January 19th - March 30th

Of course I got her number, of course I asked her on a date for the next day, and for the next two weeks we spent nearly every day seeing each other at least once.  Whenever we both had a break in classes we went to go see each other, mostly to just go talk in the hall.  This is the first picture we took together, the one I put as my phone background and started showing her to my friends, introducing her as my best friend Jenn (with two "n's").

Foolishly, this whole time I was still at least trying to convince myself that I was still going after Lisa.  I even made her a playlist to try and get her back, but now it seemed, oddly enough, that some of the songs were applying more to Jenn than to Lisa, especially the mushy ones.  And through this all, Jenn stood by me and supported me in trying to win back another girl!  Pretty soon, I gave up on Lisa--Jenn was much cooler anyway.  On February 3rd we started dating.

We fell in love very easily, since we are so similar in many many ways, especially in the most important things--we felt the same way about our loyalty to each other and our commitment to the Gospel and had the same bizarre sense of humor as well as similar interests.   Soon, I was in the Temple asking if I should marry Jenn.  Though I had asked this question before about Lisa and got what I thought was a positive answer, this time the answer hit with unmistakable force.  It was the strongest feeling of joy and hope and YES that I had ever received.  I was so overjoyed that there was  even a possibility that I could marry this incredible woman, the highest quality person I had ever known.

Turned out she had felt strongly, a little at a time that she should marry me too.  We discussed this before I ever officially proposed--in fact, when we decided we should get married we realized we needed to jump on the housing marked because apartments sell out very quickly in Provo, so we bought an apartment before we were ever engaged.  Since our friendship was founded on openness and honesty rather than surprise and secrets, I asked what kind of ring she wanted.  She didn't care, and for some reason I felt really good about it, so...I asked my parents to mail the ring I never thought I would use.

March 31st - August 21st, 2013

Our engagement is a story in itself, but basically I proposed on top of a mountain (Squaw Peak above Provo, Utah) and then we proceeded to go down the mountain the short way, straight down the side.  It was an intense journey, and by the time we came down we had to run to the jeweler's to get the ring resized.  So there we were, running into a pristine, spotless jewelry store caked in dirt.

On the hike to Squaw Peak where we got engaged.

It turns out the ring that I had gotten before even meeting Jenn had been the same type of ring that Jenn had wanted since she was little--a large sapphire with a few diamonds on the side.  This was just another evidence that this was all working out exactly how God had intended it to.

We finished school and then I went back to California to work and Jenn stayed in Utah.  Those were very difficult months, and deserve a post all to themselves, but finally they ended and I came up to Utah.  Jenn and I were sealed for time and all eternity in the Jordan River Temple on the 21st of August, 2013, and since then we have grown immensely in love and understanding of each other, always onward and upward (which is written on the front of my ring).

The Lesson

If someone had told me how happy I would be in one month the day Lisa broke up with me, I would have laughed.  One of the most difficult experiences I had ever had quickly led to the greatest and happiest.  God really does know what He is doing.  When bad things happen to us, we do not need to pound our fists and cry and ask "Why me?"  The answer to "why me" is that God knows you and loves you and He understands what is best for you far better than yourself or anyone else.

When my roommate laid his hands on my head 6 days before I met Jenn and promised that my sadness would soon be over, I believed that it came from the Lord, but I thought that "soon" could only mean many months from them.  I know that if we are trying to be the best person we will be, God will direct our steps and lead us to the place that will make us the most happy.  We do not know what He knows, and even when we think everything has gone horribly wrong, He is guiding us to unimaginable joy and blessings better than we could ever imagine.  Have faith in God, and trust Him--when things look hopeless, just keep moving forward, because your steps just may lead you to sit down next to the greatest blessing you could possibly have, much much greater than the one you missed.

How I Met My Wife, Part 1 (of 2)

It makes for quite a good story, I think, and it taught me some important things, so without further ado here is the unabridged version of how I met my wife:

January 2nd, 2013

I had been seriously dating Lisa for about 3 months now (no, Lisa is not my wife, nor is Lisa her real name.  And no, this will not turn into a longer-than-nine-season story, nor will it be raunchy in the slightest) and was now on Christmas break with my family in California, while she was in another state.  I was crazy about Lisa, and felt that things were going really really well between us.  In fact, I felt prompted and nudged to go buy a ring--so off I went to do that.

We had broached the subject of domestic felicity before, and I was all for it and had felt that it would be right.  Lisa, however, was terrified of marriage.  She sure liked me and could easily see things going that direction, but still had a thousand fears of this and that.  Despite this, I felt strongly that I should buy a ring while on Christmas break, and so I did.  I figured that about the time of her birthday, sometime in February, I could propose.  She liked the color blue, so the ring I bought was very unique--it had a giant blue sapphire in the middle and two small diamonds from my grandmother's earrings she had given me on the sides.  I really have got to say it is the most beautiful ring I have ever seen.





















January 5th-9th, 2013


Christmas break ended and for once I was very excited to return to school to see my love.  I really did love her a lot and would do anything for her--including scrape off her car of snow without gloves and drive it to the airport to pick her up.  That Winter was very cold, it was about 4 degrees fareneheit, and the car was covered in about a foot of snow.  I thought my fingers would die as they brushed away the snow.  I guess that's besides the point though.

That week went very well, with our relationship picking up where it left off before Christmas break (or so I thought).  We were very happy together, and I lightly brought up the subject of marriage again.  She often tried to avoid this subject, as it made her anxious, but she said that she had been praying over and over again to know if she should marry me, and had still not received an answer.  On my side, I had received my answer long ago, and was so sure of it that I had bought a ring.  Having received that answer, I was not worried at all that Lisa would eventually find her yes answer.

So all was well with Lisa and Scott (at least that's what I thought)...until January 10th came.

January 10th, 2013

The 10th was a Thursday, the first Thursday of school, and I had planned like everyday to go to Lisa's place after school to hang out.  Halfway through the day, though, I looked down at a text I had received: "I've got a lot on my mind lately and I need some time to be alone, so please don't come over today."

Scarcely have words ever pierced the soul with such dread.  What???  Where was this coming from??  What did she need to think about, and had I done anything wrong??  Perhaps you think I'm foolish, and in hindsight now I can see the warning signs, but living my life at that point this came as a complete shock.  Lisa valued her alone time, something which I had a hard time understanding, as I am very very clingy.

I don't actually know if that night was windy and stormy, but it felt like it was windy and stormy.  I had no idea what I would do since I couldn't go to Lisa's, and my heart was filled with such a horrible and unreasonable dread.  My mind jumped to the very worst conclusions, and even though I knew it was impossible (I had received my answer, and I thought she could not receive a different answer) I thought "Tomorrow morning she will break up with me.  No, no that's impossible."  But anyways the thought still festered there, tormenting me and keeping me from sleeping.

January 11th, 2013

The next morning dawned bright and cold and with no less nervousness from me.   I was so nervous I was shaking and could not keep my mind focused on anything but knowing what was going on with Lisa.  As I was doing some sit-ups trying to distract myself, my phone beeped and I looked down at the text: "Could you meet me at the duck pond?  We need to talk."

This text, of course, only sent my heart into wilder convulsions, and I could not stop the very very loud thought "She's going to break up with me.  She's going to break up with me!"  I rationalized that this was impossible, and tried frantically to calm myself and explain that this was not the case as I walked to the duck pond.  By now, many of you may be chuckling to yourself as you can see exactly what will happen next.  All I could think was, "No, this will be just a normal talk.  But why at the duck pond instead of at her house?"

There she was, at the duck pond, and then followed the last conversation I would ever have with her.  It was very short, and she began it like this: "I got my answer, and my answer was no.  I should not marry you.  And since I'm not going to marry you, I shouldn't be dating you.  And I don't want to tempt you to want to date me, so we probably shouldn't see each other for a while."  She spoke these words to someone, though she didn't know it, who had bought a ring for her and was very much counting on this to work out.  I don't remember what protests I made, but I'm sure they were very blubbering and pathetic.  Mostly I said "How?  How could this happen?  I was sure my answer was yes!"  She said she didn't know, but her face was not very sympathetic.  She did what she felt she had to do, which was very admirable.  I gave her a few hugs, and off she went.  Off I went into the saddest week of my life.

January 18th, 2013

The last week had been pretty horrible.  I had been so devastated, so taken by surprise, and so heartbroken.  I had never loved someone so much and then had my hopes been smashed so abruptly.  I clung on to hope, and felt, since my answer had been yes, that there was a very good chance we would get back together.  At this point, though, we were in a rough spot and were not speaking one word to each other.  I felt like a zombie the whole week, unable to concentrate on anything, overcome with grief.  Anyone who has experienced this will understand what I mean, and if you have not gone through this I hope you never do.

I had received a Priesthood blessing from my wonderful roommates, in which it was said that soon, I would be happy again.  I did not see at all how this was possible, but I believed in the promise.  That Friday, I was still a devastated zombie, and I had a space between classes with nothing to do.  Wandering around campus, I saw a poster advertising a blood drive going on then.  "Donating blood is service, helping others, right?  And that's supposed to make you feel better," I thought, and in a wild attempt to help myself feel better I went to donate.

I sat down in the line and pulled out my computer to work on some homework.  However, I have always believed that if you have an opportunity to do something good, you should always do it, because you never know what you might miss if you avoid the opportunity.  A very curly-haired girl was sitting next to me, but I had no interest in talking to her.  Absolutely no girls interested me except for Lisa.  Still, for some reason I could not concentrate at all on my homework.  Sighing, I put away my laptop, turned to Jenn McLean and asked the most suave line you have ever heard: "So...do you donate blood often?"