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Summary of Question:	Re: How Do We Know There Is A God?
Category:	General Sikhism
Date Posted:	Friday, 6/21/2002 3:49 AM MDT

ssa

it is pleasing to see you have a questioning mind. I have some points for you to consider:

1) science is based on observations and relationships. in science an event is explained in terms of what caused it. If we ask 'why does water turn to smoke?' than science says "it evapourates due to heat" and if we ask why this happens science explains how it happens 'the heat is transferred to the particles in the water making them vibrate..'.

now what do you notice? science, by its nature, can never say 'why', only 'how'. If you ask ascientist 'why' something happens, he will tell you 'how' it happens. In science 'why'='how', so if you asked a scientist "what is the meaning of life?" he will tell you only how life functions. This is because science is based on measurement from the start. It is its very nature. Of course science is extremely important to us, but people abuse its position as an obversavational device. That is not to say that science does not help us to understand "why", as everything in the universe is linked.

2) science is based on measurements made by our senses, and this is one way of interpretating data. However in philosophy people have shown that nothing can be said to be certain. science does have its uncertainties. it is also based on fundamental "assumptions"- and "assumptions" are just that. So should not other forms of perceiving also be explored? remember that science is also always changing. Nothing is ever proven for sure, only held until disproven.
Science can only see as far as our current knowledge.

As for proof of existance of God, this is based on the belief that God *is* somehow 'provable' or 'disprovable' even. How would a something that knows only itself be able to prove or measure something beyond itself?

Consider also this- if God was somehow proven beyond doubt, what would this mean for reality? Well reality would become bliss, because everyone would no longer suffer because what ever happened to them they knew there was a God. It would be heaven on Earth. However religion asks you to go without the proof, to have "faith".

Religion is an attempt to go beyond science and answer the 'why'. It covers existance, the nature of reality and ethics. It also trys to give reasons for being. These are things outside the reach of science. It looks at the infinite and uniform, at transcending all material things. The search for the 'ulimate truth' if you like. Religion is an experience or state of faith. It's 'proofs' work differently. With sikhism, Nanak ji says that union with 'God' can be achieved through his method, but the only way to validate this is to try the method for your self.


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Thanks for this thoughtful post.