Quote:
Originally Posted by saden1
To summarize, science is trying to put together a puzzle and the picture is unknown. Religion knows the picture and therefore doesn't bother with the puzzle.
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I would disagree with your characterization of religion not seeking truth. The ultimate truth that God is the ultimate creator is accepted by religion. The how's and why's of his creation, however, will always be sought after. Your view of religion as an either/or proposition simplifies thousands of years of theology.
Most ancient religions are still around b/c they are open to change and to seeing each scientific discovery as a further glimpse into the mind of the creator. Reconciling scientific theories to long held religious beliefs without sacrificing the factual truth is what keeps spirituality vibrant and alive. In many respects, science is the starting point for spiritual thought: How can the existence of a single creator be reconciled to the infinity of space? Who/what was "Adam" (which most religions now use as an allegory for the transition from animal to what we now consider human)? What does it mean to be "human" in light of the discovery that more and more creatures are found to be self aware?
Yes, religion (as John Paul summarizes above) has accepted certain fundamental truths (in Christianity, these can be found in the Nicene Creed). True sprituality attempts to reconcile these truths to the scientifically discovered truths with an intent to view the truly unknown through the resulting prism.
Rather than say that religion knows what the puzzle looks like, I would suggest religion accepts that it doesn't know what the puzzle looks like but, rather, knows that something created the puzzle. Further, spirituality hopes that, through studying the known puzzle parts, we may learn something of the creator's purpose and, using these insights, guess as to what the unknown pieces may look like. As with science, when factual truth subsequently disproves those guesses, the insights must be rethought.