J1: Science & Judaism

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Why study this subject?

There are two basic approaches:

REACTIVE REASONS - Throughout the centuries Jews have been challenged by other cultures. Though eternal Jewish beliefs were often ridiculed by the accepted knowledge of the day, scholarly Jews always endeavoured to give novel interpretations of the Torah so as to regain respect for its teachings. Thus Jews have always studied these issues in reaction to the damaging detractors of Judaism.

PROACTIVE REASONS - Starting at the beginning of time and describing the creation of the universe, the Earth and all living things implies that the Torah addresses every aspect of existence. Since Torah study is central to Judaism, it is therefore a central Jewish ideal to study and comprehend Nature and her physical laws. We see that even without being challenged, Jews are proactive in dealing with the issues raised by modern science.

Dealing with misconceptions

The public perception of scientific achievement is out of all proportion to reality. There is a common feeling that science has replaced or even superseded religion. This is aided by the popular press and a few scientists using religious language when they are describing purely scientific theories. The infamous Stephen Hawking uses phrases like "knowing the mind of God" and other cosmologists have also been prone to claiming to have insight into the meaning of existence. Though these issues are important for every person to tackle, the scientific establishment gives a false impression that their field can adequately deal with the secrets of life's origin. In general, scientific researchers are very honest about their successes, but the public misconceptions, fuelled by simplistic newspaper headlines, wash over this humility.

Better late than never

A history of stubbornness and fundamentalist views have often made the pursuit of knowledge a dangerous endeavour. Back in 1992, The Guardian newspaper reported:

Galileo wins, 359 years late After 359 years, the Catholic Church has admitted that it was wrong to condemn Galileo for asserting that the earth orbits the sun. At the weekend the Pope accepted the results of a commission of the pontifical academy of sciences he set up 13 years ago to study the case. The inquisition condemned Galileo in 1633 for backing a theory of the astronomer Copernicus because it clashed with the Bible. "Better late than never," said Margherita Hack, director of astronomy of the University of Trieste.

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