Saturday, February 8, 2014

The alliance between science and religion

8. Science and religion are the two levers of human intelligence, one revealing the laws of the material world, the other revealing those of the moral world. But seeing that these laws have the same principle, which is God,  they cannot contradict themselves. If they contradict one another it would stand to reason that one was right and the other wrong. However, God could not have intended the destruction of His own work. Therefore the incompatibility that apparently exists between these ideas proves that they have been incorrectly interpreted, due to excessive exclusiveness an both sides. For this reason we have a conflict which bas given rise to incredulity and intolerance.

We have now reached a phase upon this planet when the teachings of Christ most be completed and the intentional veil cast aver some parts of these teachings lifted. A time when science must desist in its exclusive materialism, so taking into consideration the spiritual element; when religion must cease to ignore the organic and immutable law of matter, so that bath may became two forces, each leaning an the other and advancing together in mutual concourse. Then religion, no longer discredited by science and no longer being able to oppose the overwhelming logic of the facts, will acquire an unshakable power because it will be in agreement with reason. 

Science and Religion could not come together till this time as they could only see matters according to their exclusive points of view, which in turn caused them to be reciprocally repelled. Something more was needed to enable them to close the gap that separated them, something which could unite them. This missing link is contained in the knowledge of the laws which govern the spiritual universe and its relationship with the world of matter. These laws are as immutable as those which govern the movement of the planet and the existence of all the beings. Once this relationship could be proved by experiments, a new light would begin to shine as faith began to be directed towards reason, and reason, finding nothing illogical in faith, could finally defeat materialism.

But, as in many other matters, there are always those who remain behind until the general wave of movement towards progress drags them along. If they choose to resist instead of accompanying this movement they will eventually be crushed. So, after an elaboration which has lasted for more than eighteen centuries, a moral revolution is now in progress, operated and directed by Spirit, as humanity reaches the climax of its present potentialities and marches towards a new era. It is easy to forecast the consequences which will cause inevitable changes in social relations and be impossible to withstand, because they are determined by God and derived from the Law of Progress which is God’s law.

- Allan Kardec.


Excerpted from Chapter I - I have not come to destroy the law - of "The Gospel according to Spiritism" - Allan Kardec.

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