The Dichotomy

"A dichotomy is a division or contrast between two things that are represented as being completely opposite or mutually exclusive.  Two parts: It always splits a whole into exactly two groups or ideas.  Mutually exclusive: Nothing can belong to both groups at the same time.  Jointly exhaustive: Everything must fit into one of the two categories.  Examples:  Good versus evil, theory versus practice, the mental and the physical, and married and single people."

I recently met someone at work who seemed to be very nice.  I had a few conversations with this person before realizing he wasn't as nice or as smart as he seemed.  He had attended a few Ivy League schools, done a lot of research for these schools, and had traveled the world quite a bit.  He was well versed in current events and issues like politics, environment, and AI as well as corporate business.  I do believe he is a smart person; he has a lot of knowledge.  When the conversation came to religion, I did not think he was that familiar with the LDS faith since he wasn't from around Utah. To my surprise, he divulged that he was raised LDS but had left.  I expressed that I was religious, but that I understood reasons why someone might not be.  I indirectly made a point that I was not judging him in any way.  Then he left me with something that did not sit well with me at all.... actually, it bothered me for days.  He said, "so, you are a free thinker, and a member of the church?"  

It wasn't just the phrase, but the way he said it.  He said it with a sense of shock and surprise as if one could not freely and critically think as well as be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He treated the matter as if religion was something you graduate from! He presented this dichotomy that did not make any sense to me.  If I cultivate my spirituality, believe in the teachings of Jesus, and be an active member of my church, then I could NOT in any way think for myself or be a critical thinker!  This is not a new idea.  This is not something I just heard for the first time.  It felt like he was perpetually looking down on me from his lofty mansion of higher education....Ivy League, collegiate academics to be precise as if that is the highest level one could attain!  

I have great respect for the academics and higher education.  Education is very important to me.  I always have great respect for those who spend years and years studying in a collegiate setting even if they lack some common sense or street smart, or basic courtesy.  I felt sad for him.  This interaction bothered me for days....I held a prayer in my heart for him.  Most of the time I make a conscious choice to NOT be offended by what people say regardless of what it is.  I think feeling offended is very much a choice we can make.  Was I feeling offended?  I wouldn't describe it as offense.  Rather than being offended, I think I was feeling disheartened and disconcerting.

As a brief sidenote and observation, I noticed for someone who was so academic, he used the f-word frequently as well as other profanities.  That surprised me a little.  I would think for someone who attended multiple Ivy League schools for many years that he might have a broader vocabulary or would be more eloquent in his speech.  This makes me wonder if he used this particular speech around me or others at work because he knew we were LDS.  I have met people like this; they are so angered at their experience in the church, or bitter, that they have to flaunt the idea that they are somehow freer than the rest of us who stayed by our own convictions.  I see this as sort of a false dichotomy within the false dichotomy: less religion equals more freedom.....FALSE!  At the end of the day we are all just people.  We all have problems, successes, failures, and we are equal in our humanity.   

I thought this new guy at work might fit right in with the lab.  All of us have science degrees, many have master's degrees and some have PhD degrees.  I thought there was plenty of common collegiate ground to be had.  I guess it wasn't good enough....a few weeks after our last conversation he was let go.  At first, I was surprised, but then I spoke with other coworkers, and it seems that his lofty grandeur was much higher than this place.  He was kind of trying to run the place, dictate his own schedule and his own work even though he wasn't fully trained on things.  Did he not understand the job position, or did he think he was better than the job position? I don't know.  Well, I have to say I am grateful for these kinds of experiences even when they are unpleasant because it does make for good writing material and reminds me of lessons learned, and lessons to be learned.   People like this are a good reminder of the value of humility.  A little humility goes a long way!

The General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints just happened, and I enjoyed all of it.  It felt enriching and uplifting.  I wish I had time to write about each talk!  There were many things that stood out to me, but the one that applies to this experience would have to be something President Oaks said, "Never let your secular learning limit your spiritual horizons." This is a concept I have always held dear.  I have always tried my best to seek both secular and spiritual learning and truths.   There is something here I've never really understood....why do we think that it has to be science or religion? Can't it be both? It seems that many let "school...especially science" get in the way of spiritual growth and belief in God or higher powers!

I've always thought there was something people missed! Studying Biology only strengthened my belief in a higher power, a loving God, and Divine Design! To me, science is evidence of a higher power and grand design! So many famous scientists throughout history never wavered in their belief in God, but because a few did, that means we must as well?.....Some tend to think so! Isaac Newton, Gregor Mendel, Michael Faraday, Johannes Kepler, Georges Lemaitre, Robert Boyle, Albert Einstein, Blaise Pascal, Soren Kierkegaard, and many more were all influential intellectuals as well as believers in God, religion, and a higher power. Some of the greatest thinkers of all time believed in a God or Gods, Higher powers, and accepted unknowns like Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle.

There is also a long list of scientists who lost their faiths. Somehow, I was able to find more scientists that had kept their faith even if it had changed or evolved over time. The most famous scientist among this group of abandoned or lost faith is probably Charles Darwin. He was very religious most of his life but doubted and lost his beliefs toward the end of it. Ivan Pavlov, Stephen Hawking, Pierre-Simon Laplace, Richard Feynman, Richard Dawkins, and Francis Crick are notable academics who abandoned faith and religion at some point in their life. Sometimes they question and leave because of academic endeavors and some leave before that and use academics as the reason to solidify their stance.

I see religion as having many unknowns and I see knowledge as also having unknowns. Having

unknowns isn't bad, nor does it indicate that something is false. Could it be that once all of the unknowns are known that knowledge and religion will meet each other, make sense and explain one another? Maybe religious unknowns will be science and Science unknowns will one day be part of religion! That is my hope....and belief!

My heart breaks when I see people going into science degrees and eventually feel as if they must choose one way or the other. It's hard to see claims that science disproves religion....it does no such thing. Because Darwin lost his faith, because Hawking was confident in his conviction of no God, and because Dawkins also had no faith it must be so?!? I realize everyone has the right to decide what they believe, I just don't get why the sciences/knowledge seemingly cause such a huge issue for religion? Or is it that people don't want to be wrong about religion. When we are learned, we think we are wise, wiser than anything or anyone else, therefore there could be no God? Interesting to think about!

I love science and I love my faith! I fully accept the unknowns as just that...unknowns! It's wise to know what you don't know and be mindful of it! Just because I believe in science does not mean I have to ignore my spirit! Science just can't fully explain the spirit yet. Why do people believe that the spirit should be ignored, or that it no longer matters once you believe in science? It's as if once a person gains so much knowledge the natural progression is the outgrowth of one's spirit and/or faith? To me this is unnecessary and NOT progress; rather it is merely trading one thing for another because you think you have to. A common belief could be that the spirit is non-existent, or that science must severely alter the way the spirit is viewed. In science the spirit (if it exists) becomes some invisible entity that is driven and dictated by chemical reactions and is completely governed by a chain of events in the nervous system and other systems in the body. The spirit becomes a series of reactions that humans have little control over.

For me, it is a little degrading to think that science would take me away from believing humanity to be made up of separate entities, spirits or intelligences, with our own thoughts and our own will entering into a sacred relationship with God to believing that we are just a chain of chemical reactions with no real will. As spirits that existed independently of God, we were invited through covenant into the family of a loving and powerful God who created bodies for us, earth, and heaven for us. The way we function on every level even down to the microscopic cellular level is because of what and how God created. I do realize that this sounds like a false dichotomy, but I also realize there is room for other ways of thought and other explanations and beliefs. This is the false dichotomy for me and my belief. I can't really prove any of my beliefs of course, but maybe one day it will all make sense. The experiences of my spirit have been evident to me of a higher power, the power of love, and that the unknown is something great that we probably can't comprehend fully, yet. Is it unknown? Yes. Is that bad? No, I don't believe so. It just means greater things are yet to come. New discoveries to look forward to.

Science versus religion, or knowledge versus religion is a false dichotomy! "A false dichotomy is a logical fallacy in which a situation is presented as having only two possible options when, in reality, more alternatives exist. It is also known as a false dilemma or either‑or fallacy, and it oversimplifies complex issues by ignoring middle ground or additional choices."  A false dichotomy happens when someone frames an issue as if there are only two possible outcomes, even though other reasonable possibilities are out there. The middle ground is deleted and there is a false sense of limited choice.  

I think there is plenty of middle ground and cross over present between religion and secular knowledge.  I do believe the two sides will catch up to one another, and we will eventually have more unknowns solved than we will know what to do with! It is kind of like love. Love has power.  Love is fundamentally invisible.  It is a feeling, yet has a powerful effect on the body, chemicals in the body, and the systems of the body.  It's almost as if love is an unseen force governing the kingdom of the human body.  Do the chemicals in the body create love......Or does love create reactions in the body that contribute to our feelings?  Is it both?  Science has discovered many things about love and attempts to explain it which is really quite fascinating.

It is a fact of life that everyone must find their own way.  Everyone has to eventually figure out what they believe and why they believe it.  We are all on a journey whether that be one of faith or one of secularism or one of truth, or all of the above.  Though, at the end of the day we are all just people with a shared humanity.  Human nature is our common ground, and it is a beautiful ground to share!  There is beauty in being human! There is beauty in also possessing divine nature, which I believe we all do!