Witchvox Article

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Posted: March 5th. 2000
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Merry Meet all!

For centuries, science and religion have been in a constant battle against each other. This is mostly because science, time-after-time, has proven that there are quite natural means of achieving what most thought to be only supernatural. For example, in the early days of astronomy, the church stated that since God had chosen to put man on this planet that it somehow merited the title of the center of the universe. As astronomy developed, master astronomers such as Copernicus and Galileo ultimately proved through observation that the earth is not, indeed, the center of the universe or, in fact, the center of our galaxy or our solar system. This was a very hard blow for the church as it showed that earth was just one of billions of planets that were periodically strewn throughout the universe. Throughout time, trial and error systems have turned the religion of today into the science of tomorrow.

Today, scientists are finding very new and exciting things about prayer and magick as they are observing that they do, in fact, have an effect on the outside environment. I once read a description of magick as it applied to science as being a way in which to, in a way, change the theory of probability in one's favor. The theory of probability stating that with every action there are many reactions that can occur, one ultimately being chosen and carried-through. Through magick, one is able to make it more probable that the effect in which they choose will be carried out. I, personally, along with many others, believe that this is an effect that will very soon be found to coincide with the Quantum Mechanics theories of today.

Scientists founded the Quantum Mechanics theories in order to try to observe and predict the actions of extremely small particles. This branch of science deals with particles that have close to and, in some cases, no mass. I do believe that it is possible to, with the mind, manipulate these particles and send them out to make changes occur in the natural world. This is a rather new science and scientists still have very difficult times explaining some of the strange and sporadic actions of the particles. Perhaps this science is the root of magickal workings. I can very easily see this happening.

In psychology, there is actually a term that deals with the powers of the mind and it changing the effects of the world around the thinker. The term is called "magical thinking" and it is a very new concept. Here is an example of "magical thinking." Suppose a young girl's mother was very sick and in the hospital. If this girl believed with everything inside of her heart and soul that if she chanted one particular prayer a day that her mother would stay alive, indeed she would. But, if this girl were to stop chanting this prayer with the same beliefs as before, her mother would die. This is actually a documented phenomenon, but I am sure that, in the future, it will be studied more closely and explained.

One of the most debated "science vs religion" stories of today is the "Shroud of Turin." This is the shroud that was to have supposedly covered the crucified Jesus Christ for his burial. After this shroud was retrieved, it was "stained" with the image of a man. According to the church, it was imprinted when Jesus was resurrected. Yet, this has been a heated debate as science keeps testing the theories of the church and trying to disprove their claims. This is a debate that I believe will persist for a very long time into the future.

An example of a discovery that was first made by religion is the idea of the HEF or "Human Energy Field." Pagans have always known that it was there and had ways of sensing and working with it. In early days, it was sometimes dismissed as "poppycock" until the first instruments were developed to sense magnetic fields and such. This proved that every living thing is enveloped in a measurable energy field. Until this point, only those who had studied the religious points of the HEF knew about it. This is what I think will happen to most religious lore; it will someday all be incorporated into science and explained. I can't wait.

What of evolution? Science has proven that things to change over time and, perhaps this is the origin of man. A religion that I will not mention has it's beliefs that God created man from the clay of the earth and that was it. Evolutionary Scientists are persistent that man has evolved over billions of years from lower life forms. Even today, religious scholars are trying to fit the two terms together. This is another kind of solution of many debates. If you can't rule out either of the two sides, try to merge the two into a workable theory. Perhaps, yes, man was made from the clay of the earth, but, perhaps, not all at once. Maybe the clay of the earth turned into multi-cellular lifeforms and, from there, simple life, to animals, to mammals, to primates, and finally to humans. But this, again, is one of those debates that is sure to never have a winning side and to continue into the future.

Perhaps this age-old debate between religion and science is that those who are religious refuse to believe that the world works under natural laws and nothing else. Conversely, perhaps scientists refuse to believe that there is actually a supernatural entity that can make miraculous things happen. Science is always trying to catch up with religion in the way that when scientists learn something new, it is already explained, at least vaguely, by a religious text. I am sure that until religion and science can work together that this race will continue indefinitely in the future and waste lots of money and time.

May the Goddess and God watch over and bless you,

Gwydion (Adam)

Adam Peffer

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