FREE ESSAY ON ARE SCIENCE AND RELIGION ONE?

ARE SCIENCE AND RELIGION ONE?

Are Science and Religion One?
Introduction
I have identified the axiom of mysticism (TAM) as the scientific, religious and
philosophical fact that there is only one thing that exists. Because the meaning of
mysticism is commonly misunderstood this definition needs some clarification. The
dictionary defines mysticism as a personal relationship with God. Given this definition
it is easy to see why I have named the theory that, everything existent and non-existent
is God, as the axiom of mysticism. If the theory is correct then a personal relationship
with God is mandatory because God is all that can be experienced.
After being confronted with TAM for the first time my fundamentalist Christian friend
said, somewhat flustered, But what are the consequences? The consequences are profound
indeed. The reality of the unified God infuses us at all levels of our existence.
Scientists talk about Grand Unified Theories (GUTs). These theories are possible models
for the behavior of matter when subjected to the stupendous energies prevalent at the
beginning of time. All of these theories predict that the structure of matter becomes
less diverse at earlier epochs until at some particular temperature there is only one
thing that exists. This prediction completely agrees with TAM ushering in the era of the
Grand Unified Philosophy (GUPY). The scientific aspect of TAM is of particular importance
because it relates the experimentally verifiable mathematical laws of physical science to
many aspects of traditional religion that were previously supported by intuition and
faith alone. Some of these areas include the existence and unity of God, moral law,
immortality, the power of prayer and the infinite aspects of Divinity. 
Some traditional religious doctrine cannot survive this marriage of scientific and
spiritual ideas. The unifying vision of God revealed by the equations of modern
scientific cosmology sanctifies the entire universe. The vision of modern physics
directly links the origin of creation to the unified singularity at the beginning of
time. I argue that this unified proto-cosmos, predicted by the equations, is the physical
aspect of God known and described by the prophets of all monotheistic religions. No
particular religion can any longer justly claim exclusive rights to God's all pervasive
spirit. In addition the common Judeo-Christian doctrine of separation, which sees the
Creator as totally separated from His creation, must be abandoned in light of these new
scientific discoveries. This vision of a God unified with the cosmos is the most
fundamental spiritual doctrine of all. It is the base truth from which we build a
satisfying and realistic working philosophy. Moses adamantly exhorts us on this subject:
Deu 6:1 Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your
God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going
over to possess it,
Deu 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The uncreated Jehovah and the created Elohiym are one God.
Deu 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your strength.
Deu 6:6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
Deu 6:7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you
walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Deu 6:8 Let all the work of your hands be in accordance with them and bind them in your
mind.
Deu 6:9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Jesus confirmed TAM as the most fundamental spiritual doctrine when he agreed with Moses
as recorded in Mark 12:2812:31:
Mark 12:28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that
Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, Of all the commandments, which is the
most important?
Mark 12:29 The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the
uncreated Jehovah and created Elohyim are one God.
Mark 12:30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your mind and with all your strength.'
Mark 12:31 The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment
greater than these.
No other biblical scripture is emphasized in this manner. The Hebrews recognize the
importance of these passages by giving them a special name; the Schema. The extreme
emphasis placed on these scriptures by the founders of the Judeo-Christian religion make
them akin to the importance of the definition of real numbers to the entire edifice of
mathematics. All other mathematical concepts and theories are based on the structure of
the real numbers just as all other aspects of the Judeo-Christian religion are built upon
the base definition of the Schema. This unprecedented scriptural evidence for the supreme
importance of the Schema in the Judeo-Christian spiritual tradition leaves the scholar
and the believer alike with no other choice but to examine all of the consequences of
this singular idea. Moses eloquently expresses this need in Deut 6:8, ...bind them in
your minds. by which he means think about them constantly. The seeker must ask why this
is the most important idea of Judeo-Christian theology and what are the moral,
philosophical, practical and theological implications. 
The importance of TAM is not confined to just the Judeo-Christian tradition. This idea is
also the deepest teaching of the most important eastern religions. The Tao of Taoism, the
void of Buddhism, the Allah of Isam and the Brahma and Atman of Hinduism are all
expressions of this unified God permeating the entire Cosmos. Since both the search for
God and the search for scientific knowledge are pursuits of truth, a rational mystic must
constantly examine all old beliefs in light of new information. In this way religion can
utilize the knowledge of science as a guide to understanding the nature of God. There is
no longer a case of two different competing cosmologies rather science is a modern tool
of true religion. 
The Scientific Aspect of TAM
Let us review the scientific aspect of TAM so that we can properly understand how it
supports many fundamental traditional religious doctrines. It is the predictions of the
so-called Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) that lead to these profound religious
implications. GUTs are based on the amalgamation of the two most successful modern
scientific theories, general relativity and quantum mechanics.
The theory of general relativity is a theory of the large-scale structure of the
universe. It describes the mathematical relationship between matter, space, time and
gravity. Shortly after the publication of the theory in 1915 a Russian mathematician
named Alexander Fiedmann realized that the theory predicted a dynamic universe which must
be either expanding or contracting. Soon thereafter the expansion of the universe was
confirmed by observation. As a consequence of this dynamic behavior the volume of the
universe must decrease during earlier epochs. As the time parameter of the equations of
relativity are turned further and further back to zero several interesting phenomenon
important to religion and philosophy occur. The volume of space is reduced to zero, the
temperature and density of matter increase without limit and the concept of time no
longer has any meaning. Here is how Stephen Hawking describes this prediction in his book
A Brief History of Time [1]: 
All of the Friedmann solutions have the feature that at some time in the past (between
ten and twenty thousand million years ago) the distance between neighboring galaxies must
have been zero. At that time, which we call the big bang, the density of the universe and
the curvature of space-time would have been infinite. 
This overwhelming state of matter and space at the beginning of time displays many
traditional divine characteristics including creativity, formlessness, infinities and
timelessness. 
It is, perhaps, the quantum mechanical aspect of the GUTs that supplies the most profound
link between the state of creation at the beginning of time as predicted by physics to
the traditional God of religion. Quantum mechanics is a theory of the extremely small
building blocks of matter. According to the theory, as the temperature of matter
increases the number of fundamental forces and their corresponding particles decrease.
First the electro-magnetic and weak nuclear forces merge. Next this electro-weak force
combines with the strong nuclear force and finally the amalgamated electro-weak-strong
force is merged with gravity. At each stage of unification the number of classes of
fundamental particles decrease until at the grand unified temperature there is only one
thing that exists. Thus the quantum mechanical theory of the GUTs predict the singular
nature of the traditional uncreated God of monotheistic religions. Physicist Paul Davies
makes this point quite eloquently in his book Superforce [2]: 
Two new conceptual schemes are currently forcing the pace. One goes under the name of
grand unified theories, or GUTs. The other is called supersymmetry. Together these
investigations point towards a compelling idea, that all nature is ultimately controlled
by the activities of a singe superforce. The superforce would have the power to bring the
universe into being and to furnish it with light, energy, matter and structure. But the
superforce would amount to more than just a creative agency. It would represent an
amalgamation of matter, spacetime, and force into an integrated and harmonious framework
that bestows upon the universe a hitherto unsuspected unity.
There are many similarities between the state of matter, space and time at the
singularity revealed by the equations of science, and the description of the traditional
God of religion. If we associate the creative God of monotheistic religion with the
singularity at the beginning of time then all of creation is directly descended from this
awesome Divine essence. The details of the GUTs give a plausible explanation of the
mechanism by which God expresses a multiplicity while retaining His unity. This direct
relationship between the Divine essence at the beginning of time and the physical
universe as we experience it in the current epoch sanctifies all of creation including
man. This vision reveals a direct link between the consciousness of I in man and the
universal I AM of God. This is one important meaning for the two scriptures:
Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male
and female created he them.
and
Exo 3:14 And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto
the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.
Many scientists are not happy about the possibility of a singularity at the beginning of
time. They are afraid that the presence of infinite values predicted by the equations
mark the end of rational forecast and the beginning of metaphysical interpretation.
Indeed this is the case but it is the equations themselves that suggest this situation.
In fact the infinities are related to the foundations of mathematics and could have been
foreseen even before mathematics was applied to a description of the physical world.
There are many situations in mathematics where paradox appears as a natural consequence
of logical deduction. The most profound and disturbing is the case of division by zero.
This case has traditionally been glibly dealt with by mathematicians by declaring it as
an undefined or illegal operation. The other case, which in my experience has never been
commented upon, is the definition of a geometric line. It is said to consist of an
infinity of points each with zero dimension. It seems hypocritical for scientists to rely
on mathematics only as long as the equations display answers that fit into their personal
ideas of what is. If we are to believe in mathematics we must be prepared to accept the
entire spectrum of predicted possibilities. It is entirely possible that the infinite
results predicted by the cosmological equations at time zero are real.
Regardless, the important result of the GUTs related to TAM is not dependent on the
appearance of a singularity. According to the theory unification occurs at a finite
temperature and a scale greater than zero. Even so, unification has its own physical
parameters that suggest metaphysical interpretation. For example even though the
temperature at unification is finite what can it mean for matter to have temperature if
there is only one thing that exists? By definition temperature is the speed and frequency
of collisions between particles. Thus we find ourselves once more in a paradoxical
situation. On the one hand the equations predict a specific temperature greater than zero
but, on the other hand, the unified state must be at temperature zero because there are
no particle interactions. This tendency to paradox displayed by the equations of
cosmology and built into the foundations of mathematics, if looked at squarely and taken
at face value, is telling us something profound about the structure of the world. Paradox
is built into the fabric of the universe in a profound and interesting way. It is this
aspect of paradox that gives the universe it's incredible, possibly infinite, logical
depth and creative power.
Our analysis that the singularity at the beginning of time is the same entity as the
creative God of monotheistic religions leads to the result that the pure essence of the
uncreated God is the direct ancestor of the entire cosmos including man. If it is so that
all of creation including man is sanctified as the direct descendant of God then what
does our newly discovered unified vision of God and creation, as revealed by the
equations of science and a proper interpretation of scripture, tell us about the
universal religious doctrine of divine law? What does TAM have to say about the existence
of evil, divine justice and mercy? For, unlike the barren common pulpit version of
christian doctrine that forces the believer to accept the division of God and the
universe with the threat of heresy, a unified interpretation of Deut 6:4 is pregnant with
explanatory power.
The Moral Implications of TAM
It is, perhaps, in the realm of moral law that TAM reveals its most pertinent lesson for
our time. Not in some abstract philosophical theory only important to scholars, but in a
way relevant to the practical decisions of our daily lives. Once the unifying message of
TAM is understood the truth of moral law becomes an obvious logical consequence. Since,
at the root, there is only one thing that exists all consequences of moral actions are
reconciled in the cosmic unity. Divine law includes both natural laws as specified by
science and moral law as defined by religion. The evolutionary theory of the scientific
aspect of TAM is the mechanism that unifies these seeming disparate elements. All of
nature, including man and therefore moral law, is descended from the primordial
singularity guided by Gods intrinsic laws governing the interactions of space and matter.
Moral law is directly descended from the symmetry inherent in nature as it is reflected
in the mathematical expressions of physical law. The heart of moral law is the doctrine
of divine justice. Biblically, divine justice is defined in the following verses:
Lev 24:20 fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth; just as he has injured a
man, so it shall be inflicted on him.
The punishment shall fit the crime. Of course, the corollary is the positive expression,
the reward shall fit the sacrifice. The implication is of a mathematically exact
relationship between a moral act and its corresponding consequences. This symmetry mimics
the root regularity of the physical laws governing the creation of matter, i.e. all
matter is created in matter anti-matter pairs. The conservation of energy and the
complimentarity of quantum measurables are further examples of this beautiful symmetry
manifest in the laws of nature.
Deu 32:35 'Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, In due time their foot will slip; For the
day of their calamity is near, And the impending things are hastening upon them.'
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
No one can escape due punishment for sin. God is the keeper of the books. Man may be an
agent of Gods justice but even if one is able to escape human justice, no one can escape
Gods justice.
Death and Immortality
The question of death is the one place where science cannot support traditional religious
theory. All religions agree that the individual self continues after death either as a
reincarnated being living out another life in the world or eternally in heaven or hell.
However, there is no scientific evidence for this theory. One possibility, perhaps more
in accord with the physical disintegration of our physical bodies at death, is that at
death our personal selves lose their differentiation from the universal I AM of God. A
good graphic analogy of this re-absorption of personal ego is of an eddy in a stream. At
first we observe the eddy as a strong swirl of water distinct from the general movement
of the stream but as time passes the swirl slows and eventually gets lost altogether back
into the overall movement. This theory of death is quite acceptable from our human point
of view. Unity with the God of TAM is perfect peace. This must be so because where there
is no differentiation there is no strife and therefore serenity. However, the problem of
moral consequences remains.
If we accept the idea of an end to our personal ego at the time of death then the
question remains, when does an individual experience the punishment or reward due
according to our analysis of divine justice? One possibility is that the personal self
immediately experiences the consequences for a moral act. Retribution can occur in an
infinite number of creative ways and always results in the loss of any satisfaction
resulting from the perceived gain for a sin. Again the positive corollary is that the
personal ego also immediately experiences any reward due to an act of charity or
righteousness. Thus according to this view, at death, the balance sheet of moral activity
is in perfect harmony. Sin as experienced from Gods point of view is related to the above
analysis of sin as experienced by humans. Since God is the direct source of all
individual egos He directly experiences both the pain of the victim and the pleasure of
the sinner. Of course, this also holds for the positive expression of righteousness and
charity. From the point of view of God the books are always in balance.
Another logically sound explanation to the question of moral symmetry is the doctrine of
reincarnation and its related concept of karma common to Buddhism and Hinduism. This
theory is based on the mathematical relationship between moral acts and their
consequences and therefor is in agreement with the biblical definition of divine justice
and our analysis of natural law as the origin of moral law. The doctrine of reincarnation
addresses the possibility that the account in our moral books can get out of harmony over
a lifetime and therefor, require another incarnation to bring them into balance. The goal
of the practice of these religions is to escape the wheel of birth and death and
permanently become united with the universal Self or Atman.
Although all of these theories are logically sound they predict some rather uncommon
philosophical consequences. For example, in these theories, evil and good are on an equal
footing. Both bring one out of equilibrium with the moral ground state. In the case of
reincarnation, being out of balance with the books on the good side will cause another
birth just as will a bad record. The equal footing of good and evil predicted by the
mathematical nature of these theories removes our traditional and, I feel, intuitive
guide of goodness as a way of gauging moral activity. At this time I do not know how to
reconcile this discrepancy between logical necessity and intuitive feeling except to say
that if the books are out of balance on the good side of the ledger at least the time
spent in another incarnation will be as pleasant as possible. Perhaps the biblical
episode describing the ascension of Elijah is the record of a man who balanced his moral
books and was released from the wheel of birth and death.
Biblical In-errancy
Our analysis of divine justice brings us face to face with the modern Christian doctrine
of biblical in-errancy. This is the idea that the Bible contains no logical errors or
doctrinal discrepancies. The usual argument for this theory is that if it is shown that
parts of the Bible are discrepant then we cannot be sure that any of it is true. To my
mind this outrageous claim is potentially the most destructive of all erroneous modern
christian dogma. It is obvious to an objective and intelligent reader that the Bible
contains many contradictions. Including this blatantly wrong idea into the mandatory body
of Christian belief repulses educated, intelligent and freethinking people. The very kind
of people that Christianity needs to continue as an evolving and vital religion.
Practicing Christians need not swallow this all or nothing doctrine to be convinced that
the fundamental truths of God are revealed in the Bible. For us a conviction of Gods
existence is more robust than the requirement of total biblical truth and can survive the
fact that there are real errors in the Bible. We are convinced of Gods existence for more
fundamental reasons like personal experience of the divine presence in ourselves and in
the entire world. Gods power and manifest matter are the substance and life of this
magnificent cosmos. Second is logical necessity. This is a world of cause and effect,
consequently there must be a first cause. It is this mind-boggling and hair raising cause
of time that we rightly call God. Third there is the confirmation of the predictions of
scientific cosmology. Thus our conviction of the reality of God transcends any particular
religious or philosophical system!
As we have seen, TAM cannot maintain the current Judeo-Christian view that a soul faces
one judgment and then an eternal stay in either heaven or hell. This idea is contrary to
the mathematical nature of divine justice that we discussed during our investigation of
the moral implications of TAM. The amount of sin that can be accumulated in one lifetime
must be finite, therefor, the infinite duration of punishment required by the theory of
eternal suffering is out of balance with Gods perfect justice. But now we are confronted
with a contradiction within the Bible because there is scriptural evidence for the
eternal-suffering model: 
Mat 25:46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into
life eternal.
This particular problem is no isolated example. The study of biblical theology is rife
with contradictory arguments that stem from seemingly conflicting scriptures. I am not
going to take the time, in this article, to make an exhaustive list of known biblical
discrepancies. I refer the interested reader to Gleason Archers book The Encyclopedia of
Bible Difficulties. Even though Archer's book is an attempted resolution to the cited
discrepancies many arguments are inconclusive and there is no attempt at all to defend
the deep problem of what Archer calls transmission errors. These errors have been
introduced by the ancient scribes responsible for disseminating the Bible before the
advent of printing.
There is only one other particular example of biblical errancy that I would like to
mention before we end our discussion of this unfortunate doctrine. In Matthew 27:9
Matthew attempts a quote from the Old Testament. He claims that the words come from the
book of Jeremiah but a little study reveals that there is no verse even similar to the
one used. The verse most like the one that Matthew quotes is in Zechariah 11:12 through
11:13 and it is not even identical to the Matthew's words. Here are the actual verses:
Mat 27:9 Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,
AND THEY TOOK THE THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER, THE PRICE OF THE ONE WHOSE PRICE HAD BEEN SET
by the sons of Israel;
Mat 27:10 AND THEY GAVE THEM FOR THE POTTER'S FIELD, AS THE LORD DIRECTED ME.
The quote is not found in Jeremiah at all. Matthew's quote most resembles these verses
from Zechariah:
Zec 11:12 And I said to them, If it is good in your sight, give me my wages; but if not,
never mind! So they weighed out thirty shekels of silver as my wages.
Zec 11:13 Then the LORD said to me, Throw it to the potter, that magnificent price at
which I was valued by them. So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the
potter in the house of the LORD.
Even one outright error like this is enough to put paid the idea of an in-errant Bible.
Bibliography
1 - Stephen Hawking; A Brief History of Time (Bantam Books: April 1988).
2 Paul Davies; Superforce (Simon and Schuster: New York, 1984).