This quote is from from "The Pope's Physicist'' by Fr. Paul Haffner, pp. 66-73 of the Spring 1996 issue of Sursum Corda, graciously posted by http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/a/science_origin.html
"To the popular mind, science is completely inimical to religion: science embraces facts and evidence while religion professes blind faith. Like many simplistic popular notions, this view is mistaken. Modern science is not only compatible with Christianity, it in fact finds its origins in Christianity. This is not to say that the Bible is a science textbook that contains raw scientific truths, as some evangelical Christians would have us believe. The Christian faith contains deeper truths-- truths with philosophical consequences that make conceivable the mind's exploration of nature: man's place in God's creation, who God is and how he freely created a cosmos.
In large part, the modern mind thinks little of these notions in much the same way that the last thing on a fish's mind is the water it breathes. It is difficult for those raised in a scientific world to appreciate the plight of the ancient mind trapped within an eternal and arbitrary world. It is difficult for those raised in a post-Christian world to appreciate the radical novelty and liberation Christian ideas presented to the ancient mind."
Perhaps I am lucky in that my road to science began with a fundamental 1 plus 1 that cannot be quantified. It began when I saw that I was wrong. I am in good company. Saint Augustine followed a similar path that began with the realization of his own wrong.
And when I saw I was wrong--what I mean is that I saw that I was in need of an attitude adjustment.
This is not an earth shaking discovery, but for me it was the beginning of a journey that would lead to Maxwell, Faraday, and Einstein.
Incidentally this small beginning and root (of realizing my own attitudinal error) also led to an appreciation of the spiritual writings of Emanuel Swedenborg in one branch, Christian mystics such as Madame Jeanne Guyon in another, and research scientists, physiologists, and Dr. Hans Selye ( the father of stress management) in yet another.
The fruit of this living growing tree has been joy, 22 years on the radio, and 14 books.
So again I say, I was lucky that my Renaissance began with a very simple realization of what was for me a profound axiom: I was guilty of a an erroneous attitude-- in short, wrong.
The edifice of my life had been built on various aspects of pridefulness.
The penetrating realization of wrong began a process of turning my life around based on truthful principles realized.
Now, you may ask: how did my realizing I was wrong lead to theoretical physics and cosmology. Here is how.
Just what was it that made me aware that I was wrong? Was it someone's speech, sermon, or book? Was it a Godly wife or a clever proofs about intelligent design? No.
I realized my wrong in the Light of Truth. The Truth was there showing me that I was wrong, and I saw the truth (with a small t) about my error in the light of the Truth (with a big T).
The only external factor in my profound realization was the words heard on the radio some 23 years ago (spoken by a man in whom the Truth dwells) and whose words awakened me to the Truth within. That man incidentally, if you would like to know, was Mr. Roy Masters, for whom I am profoundly grateful to God.
The enlightening and penetrating power to effect a salutary change was the work of the Truth within. The external words awakened me to the inner Truth, but once awakened (and being receptive to truth), the work was that of the inner Light of Truth itself.
Truth, the presence of Truth, is like a light that shines and in which your soul (perceptive mind) can see. I do not intend to speak in spiritual, religious or even psychological jargon here. So I will give a couple of mundane down to earth examples of how we can see (realize) wordlessly in the light.
For example, when you "get" a joke, you all of sudden see it. You "get it" and then it is funny. If you don't get it, no amount of explanation can make it funny unless and until such explanation perhaps helps you get to the Eureka moment when you do get it.
A dog or cat cannot get a joke. The dog and cat, as smart as they are, cannot see in the light of truth.
Here is another example. A parrot can be taught to say "one plus one equals two." But the parrot does not see or understand it. However a little child, in addition to memorizing it, can also see that one plus one equals two.
Once she does see it, then she has the fruit of this realization for life. Later you can ask her what is the sum of 3001 + 1, and she will immediately be able to say "3002."
She gets it, and now can apply the principle everywhere.
Other examples (I will give them in brief without too much explanation):
The Aha experience.
Intuition. Every one of us can tell stories of certain moments in our life when we had a wordless intuition about something. We just sensed, for example, not to do something. And we were protected by that realization.
One last example. Please forgive me for belaboring the point, but I offer these examples with the hope that you might realize the principle of seeing things in the Light without words or study, and then verify it in your own experience.
A little child sometimes sees injustice. For example if another child is being treated nicer than she is, she will see it. She sees the injustice in it. No one had to teach her about injustice or unfairness. She just sees it. And she knows in her heart that there is something wrong with it.
So now perhaps you can see why realizing I was wrong was quite profound and productive.
A realization of your wrongness, humbly received, is chastening because it means that that there is something greater than you are. It means also that you are willing to acknowledge the Truth that is greater than you are and honor what it wordlessly tells you.
It means that you recognize that this Truth which is greater than you does not lie, but is respectable. It shows you the plain unadorned truth, and it does not pander or condescend. It is at once stern and yet kind--like the good English teacher some of us were lucky to have had when we were kids.
Pride lives in the imagination with self serving fantasies of love and hate. Pride loves excuses, and rationale.
Truth is where thoughts are not. It is wordless and shines a light exposing folly and error.
A student who refuses to admit a mistake will never be able to progress in math. Because math requires learning principles to be respected and applied, it also thus requires being willing to admit an error and correct it in light of said principles.
Here is a little story from my own experience to illustrate this point. When I was in Middle School, I heard that they were accepting students for the following year in the advanced math class. I don't know why I decided to ask to get into the advanced class (I was okay in math, but not excellent, and I had no special interest in math). Yet apply I did, and I was accepted.
So the next year (8th grade) I started in the advanced math class. The subject matter was algebra. I quickly began to earn D-'s and F's. Somehow I just didn't get what was going on. Yet when the regular teacher became ill and was gone for a month or so, a new topic was introduced: graphing equations. I understood it and got A's during that time.
The main teacher returned. I received a D for the class. Fortunately, my parents decided to send me to another school system for high school. I began 9th grade there with a clean slate, and was required to take algebra with the slowest students.
I quickly got A's and this continued throughout high school. Why? The reason is in the prior class, I had joined students who already knew for example that when you multiply 2 negative numbers you get a positive number. When you multiply an negative and a positive number, you get a negative number. And so on.
These basics were absolutely necessary to progress. I had never learned them. I do recall that the teacher had said that I was welcome to stay after class for him to give me some help. But I didn't.
Something similar seems to be a work when it comes to understanding and wisdom. In order to gain understanding and learn truly learn beautiful spiritual principles and truths, so that they are deeply realized and then can be applied, we must first "get" some very basic truths, realize them, receive them without resentment, and be willing to change.
That is why the first truths we see are always negative. The first truths are about our basic error in light of principle. So if you see, for example, that you resent your mom or dad, and you realize it deeply, it is a very basic truth realized in the Light of Truth.
The human being can only progress in truth and upwardly ascend by degrees to deeper understanding and wisdom if s/he is willing to start on the ground floor.
The Creator is the Source of all truth. He is the Creator of all facts. He sends His Light of Truth, and for the receptive soul, which is willing to bear the short pain of inward embarrassment of seeing its own wrong, the pain will soon refine into sadness. Then the sadness melts into remorse. The remorse then brings relief and the joy of being forgiven and freed from lies and pretense. Soon there is the peace of reconciliation with Truth. The clouds blow away and the sunshine returns.
The process of repentance (as the Christians call it) is like childbirth-first pain and then joy. For those of you who have an interest in such things, there are some scripture passages that apply to the process I just described.
"Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted."
"God does not despise a humble and contrite heart."
"Put first the Kingdom of God and His right way, and all other things will be added unto you."
First we realize error, and if we are willing to accept the chastisement of conscience without resenting it, we are then free to realize and put into practice shining truth. Notice that I substituted the word conscience for realization. Realization=intuition=conscience=Light.
My Renaissance journey began at age 39 when my soul softened enough to admit some things.
Then I applied the principles realized (such as forgiveness and patience) and also learned basic common sense lessons about life.
It wasn't long, however, before the veil fell from my eyes and I began to also realize spiritual truths in the same Light of Truth. Now for the first time I saw that many of the beautiful things I had heard about in church when I was a child are true. Before they just sounded nice and were comforting, but I wasn't sure if they were true or not. Now I began to realize privately that they are true, I don't doubt it, and this is the beginning of faith.
As my understanding deepened, I developed an interest in the physiology of stress, the psycho biology of stress, and principles of psycho immunology. My research led me to study the discoveries of scientists in the field, and I began to understand why people over react to stress and how to help them learn to overcome stress.
I applied the principles I learned in my own life, and have been able to help other people cope with stress and heal relationships through my books, meditations, and lectures.
Soon I discovered and appreciated aspects of art, literature, music and sacred scripture that I had never understood before. And as I matured in my faith and as my understanding deepened, I was ready to begin to understand and appreciate physics.
First came metaphysics and then physics. Remember how I said first came pain and then joy. First sadness, then gladness. First realization of error and then realization of shining truths.
Now do you see why Jesus said to "put first the Kingdom of God and His right way and all other things will be added unto you?" Most people put the cart before the horse. They want proof before faith. The want forgiveness without the pain of remorse. They labor for the effect without finding first the cause. The want the benefits of studying science without acknowledging the Source of all science.
Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.
Albert Einstein