Mind, Body, Media

Mind, Body, Media

It seems as though organized religion, specifically Christianity, has always reacted with hostility towards scientific advancements. Examples of the church’s animosity towards scientific discoveries that threatened their power, influence, and credibility plague the history books. During the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution many scientists were ostracized from the church for their theories and discoveries. For example, Giordono Bruno, a follower of the Hermetic tradition and an outspoken supporter of the Copernican theory, was summoned by the church to appear before an Inquisition whereby he was found guilty of blasphemy and condemned to death. He was burned at the stake in 1600 (Perry, 70). Galilei Galileo and Johannes Kepler suffered less severe punishments in that they were only excommunicated from the church. Presently, research and scientific discovery are more collective and tend to be funded by corporations thus making it more difficult to pinpoint individual offenses, but the church continues to criticize and condemn science in areas such as cloning and stem cell research, to name but a few.

Before examing the topic of A.I. and religion, it is important to understand why the chasm between the two institutions exists. I will briefly analyze the church’s position on the subject of the Internet, which clarifies their stance on A.I. Many scholars, historians, and church leaders are skeptical about the possibility of a harmonious relationship developing between the church and science. Because the church and its doctrines are based upon ethereal claims and science is rooted in empiricism and veritable evidence, notions of truth are the points at which their differences seem to culminate and their dia...

... middle of paper ...

... clear set guidelines that make living with each other generally safe and when executed correctly, harmonious.

There are many questions that have not been answered in this treatise and many wishful outcomes that depend on certain circumstances in order to be fulfilled, however, if A.I., religion, and society were to embrace each other and allow the nature of each discipline and being to flourish, then I believe that finally, there will be a compatible working relationship formed between science and religion.

Works Cited

Cootsona, Gregory S. Questions Regarding A.I., The Internet, and The Church. New York. 25 Jul. 2001.

Hook, Sidney. Marx and the Marxists. Van Nostrand Punblishing Company, 1955.

Page, Benjamin B. Marxism and Spirituality. Bergin and Garvey, 1993.

Russell, Keith. "Believing in God and Science." Insight on the News 20 (1998) : 12-13.