THE EMBRACE OF ALL TRUTH | KAIROS GLOBAL | APRIL 2021

Author: Dr. Sunny George

Intro: Dr. Sunny George explains that science is never ending and always points to something beyond the object of study something higher and gives access to mystery.

The Embrace of All Truth - Faith, Science and Reason

Faith in God, by its very nature is value laden – it cares about life and existence, is concerned about death and dying, and what happens to us before and after, and seeks to restore dignity of every human life from its first moment of conception until death. The expression, ‘have faith, things will work out,’ is used to encourage and comfort someone facing serious problems or stressful situations. Interestingly, faith and trust are also connected, but there is a distinct difference between the two. Faith is belief in something that we cannot experience with our senses. Trust is surrender to faith. Trust itself is invisible. However, we know that we are deep into trust when we are at peace. The reason that mankind can only accept the Holy Trinity through faith is that human reasoning relates to the elements of time and space. In Heaven, and with God, there is no time or space.

God’s infinite plan for each soul – his provision and will – is not visible to the human eye, or understood with the human intellect. Therefore, to understand God’s will is to simply understand that God alone is the master weaver of the tapestry of each life. The threads that make up the tapestry are the moment to moment graces God gives that lead each soul to his salvation. No one is called outside of God’s will or to oppose God’s plan. It is Satan who inspires every sin, but free will cooperates upon every inspiration to sin. However, free will is God’s plan, and he continually gives fresh graces to overcome the effects of sin. 

Two Wings of the Spirit

Pope John Paul II in his encyclical, Fides et Ratio, illustrates that faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth. We cannot live by faith alone, or reason alone. One way of understanding the ‘reason’ aspect of our existence is to see in it, man’s quest for God. Thus, Revelation, or Word of God is an expression of God’s search for man. Faith in God is essential to reason and the culture of our time, if it is to remain fully human. Interplay between human imperfection seeking perfection, and Divine perfection reaching out to human imperfection is highly visible in the mystery of the Incarnation – the Word became flesh and dwelt among us!

The Pope reinforces the role that the human reason should play in human affairs, avoiding at the same time the marginalisation of philosophy and the threat of scientism as well. The new harmony between faith, science and reason are beautifully expressed in this encyclical. What we have been witnessing at the moment in particular is the search for ultimate truth that is often neglected. The Pope adds that ‘philosophy and science function within the order of natural reason, while faith, enlightened and guided by the Spirit of God, recognises in the message of salvation, the fullness of grace and truth, which God has willed to reveal in history, and definitively through his son, Jesus Christ.’

As knowledge about science and technology increases, a generalised agreement exists about the distinction between the perspectives of science and faith. This distinction can be interpreted in two opposing ways: sometimes science and faith are seen as complementary, while at other times they are seen as mutually opposed and even enemies. Both positions exist at present. The study of natural science, particularly the knowledge of nature eventually led mankind to know the existence of God. The Pope comments on the Book of Wisdom, where we read that, From the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator (Wisdom 13:5). He reflects, ‘this is to recognise as a first stage of Divine Revelation the marvellous “Book of Nature,” which, when read with proper tools of human reason, can lead to the knowledge of the Creator. If human beings with their intelligence fail to recognise God as Creator of all, it is not because they lack the means to do so, but because their free will and their sinfulness place an impediment in the way.’ In this perspective, reason is valued as an instrument to know the God who reveals himself through nature. 

Truth Cannot Contradict Truth

Pope Pius XII in his encyclical, Humani Generis, states that there was no opposition between evolution and the doctrine of the faith about man and his vocation, on the condition that one did not lose sight of several indisputable arguments. A greater good can be achieved in the understanding of the truth when the exegete and the theologian are informed about the results achieved by the natural sciences. The Church is directly concerned with the question of evolution because it involves the conception of man. The Word of God, or Revelation teaches that man is created in the image and likeness of God (Genesis 1:27).  The conciliar constitution, Gaudium et Spes has beautifully explained this doctrine, which is pivotal to Christian thought. It magnificently describes that ‘man is the only creature on earth God wants for his own sake. With his intellect and his will, he is capable of forming a relationship of communion, solidarity, and self-giving with his peers.’ St Thomas Aquinas observes that man’s likeness to God resides especially in his speculative intellect, for his relationship with the object of his knowledge resembles God’s relationship with what he has created (Summa Theologica I-II:3:5, ad 1). Pope Pius XII underlines this important point: If the human body takes its origin from pre-existent living matter, the spiritual soul is immediately created by God. However, it is disheartening to note that the theories of evolution in accordance with the philosophies inspiring them, consider the spirit as emerging from the forces of living matter as incompatible with the truth about the human being.     

Pope John Paul II emphasises that man has the capacity to know the truth, and not only particular truths, but ultimate truths that give a meaning to our life. Truth is the solution to many problems in the world today. Truth brings with it, very often, healing and forgiveness. Truth clarifies in the midst of confusion. Truth justifies actions and brings right reason and wisdom to the forefront. To appreciate truth in its fullness, a well-formed conscience is essential, that is to say, a conscience formed in truth. We may compare the conscience to an egg. The shell protects the egg itself; so we can say that the shell of the conscience represents the truth. If the egg shell cracks or becomes compromised, the contents of the egg leak out. So it is with the conscience. If the truth is compromised, every thought, word and deed which arises from the conscience is compromised as well.

The reason people do not unite in the truth is always the same – love of self above God and neighbour. This disordered self-love is always some form of pride, lust, anger, unforgiveness – anything that serves self above God and neighbours. Self-love which carries the souls away from Divine Love, confuses the truth through compromise. This is how sinful inclinations are fostered. This is why the world accepts such things as abortion and same-sex marriage. This is why those who do not compromise are persecuted.   

In a wider context of his philosophy, St. Thomas Aquinas held that human reason, without supernatural aid, can establish the existence of God and the immortality of the soul. For those who cannot engage in such strenuous intellectual activity, these matters can also be revealed and known by faith. St. Augustine believed that reason alone was incomplete. Faith comes after reason and then, faith allows reason to grow. Faith enables a believer to understand further truths that could not be discovered through reason alone. Unless science comes up with concrete proof that there is no Divine influence in the universe, there is no reason to disbelieve both science and God at the same time.

Science is, first of all, a search for truth. Its progress is a triumph of the realistic programme that, in some way, has an ethical character. The rigorous reflection on science is the best antidote to oppose materialistic reductionism, and it provides interesting bridges that communicate the world of science with the world of Divine. The search for truth is never ending, but always points beyond, to something higher than the immediate object of study, the questions which give access to mystery.

With the advent of molecular biology and genetic engineering, a wealth of new data and arguments were accumulated, which were unknown to earlier ages. And to be faithful to the Thomistic method of analyses and reasoning, we need to take into account all of those truths and then seriously wrestle with them. I do not say that this is always a comfortable exercise. Any genuine worker knows that his or her contributions leads to temporary contradictions, blind alleys and non-acceptance that most people do face. Yet if our Catholic desire for truth is to remain in the Tradition of Faith, we must willingly welcome those struggles, because humanly speaking, we have no other means to truth. As we live in a world unsuitable to live and practice our Catholic way of life, we keep close to our heart, democracy, human rights and freedom of conscience. Without the intellectual tools to defend certain truths about the human person, we will not be able to defend those public practices that we highly value. May our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, enlighten and guide all those who seek Truth, Reason and Faith.  

Dr. Sunny George is a Professor of Food Technology, Amal Jyothi College of Engineering. He holds a Master’s degree in Theology and is founder of two start-up companies. He lives in Kanjirapally, India with his wife, Dr Mini Mathew and their four children.