[thechat] King Preaches Abstinence to Parading Maidens

[Erika Meyer]

I agree that you can't really draw a strong line between religion and
science, much as that disturbs western-oriented thinkers.

My father is a biologist, professor emeritus.  For people like him,
science replaces religion... probably he was made more extreme by
fighting the so-called "scientific creationists" (who weren't
scientific at all) throughout the 80's.

Though I found some of his journals from the 60's and found he was
influenced by Buddhist thought.

I believe there was science even before we had a word for it.  Again,
the Yurok canoe: there is a heart... serving both a structural
('scientific') and a spiritual ('religious') purpose.  There is an
integration.

They did not cut up animals to understand them, they learned from
observation of behavior.  That, too is scientific.

That's how I like to live my life.  Holistically.  To me, personally,
there is no division between scientific observation and spiritual
understanding.

I believe that there were reasons for all religious laws or
guidelines, based on human nature, and/or a desire to manage the same.

Some of those laws/guidelines may (or may not) have outlived the
reasoning.  Religion must to change and grow with other aspects of
culture; otherwise it becomes rigid, and that which is rigid will die.

I am a pantheist.  God is everywhere.

Erika

>Madhu, if you study Islamic history in detail then you'll see that Prophet
>Muhammad has given scientific reasons for many Islamic laws. Other laws were
>left for us to investigate and research. Islam invites us to study religion in
>scientific way.
>
>Syed Zeeshan Haider.
>http://syedzeeshanhaider.faithweb.com/

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