This document discusses the relationship between science, religion, and belief in God. It argues that dismissing belief in God as psychopathology overlooks the complexity of human belief ("throwing the baby out with the bathwater"). While belief can sometimes be destructive, it is also possible for belief to mature and reflect an underlying reality. The document criticizes the "scientific tunnel vision" that excludes intangible matters like God from consideration. It suggests the unification of science and religion is possible but challenging, as both fields are prone to their own forms of narrow thinking. Keeping an open yet critical mind is important when examining extraordinary phenomena like miracles.

1. The Road Less Traveled
17 June 2017
GROWTH & RELIGION
The Baby and The Bath Water
Scientific Tunnel Vision.

2. The Purpose
• To understand both in Science and Religion the matter of “is
belief in God a form of Psychopathology?”

3. The Baby and The Bath Water

4. The Baby and The Bath Water
The foregoing case histories were offered in response to a question:
Is belief in God a form of psychopathology?
The Answer sometimes is Yes
But
Sometime No

5. The Baby and The Bath Water
Throw the baby out with the bathwater
Is an idiomatic expression and a concept used
to suggest an avoidable error in which
something good is eliminated when trying to get
rid of something bad, or in other words,
rejecting the essential along with the inessential

6. The Baby and The Bath Water
There is a lot of dirty water surrounding the reality of
God.
But is all this what God has done to humans or what
humans have done to God?
Human belief in God is sometimes destructive
Dogma

7. The Baby and The Bath Water

8. The Baby and The Bath Water
It is also possible to mature into a belief in God.
There is a reason to believe that behind spurious
notions and false concepts of God there lies a reality
that is God

9. The Baby and The Bath Water
Psychiatrists and psychotherapists who have simplistic
attitude towards religion are likely to do a disservice to
some of their patients.
And psychotherapists to all kinds should push
themselves to become not less involved but
rather more sophisticated in religious matters

10. Scientific Tunnel Vision

11. Scientific Tunnel Vision
• The Meaning
– Only able to see a very narrow area directly in front of them.
– They don’t want to see more than what immediately meets the eye.
– Only want to see what they choose to focus their attention upon
Many Scientist simply do not look at the
evidence of the reality of God

12. Scientific Tunnel Vision
Scientist blind themselves
psychologically, prevents them from
turning their attention to the realm of
spirit.

13. Scientific Tunnel Vision
• Science placed great emphasis upon
measurement.
– “What we cannot measure, we cannot know; there is no point in
worrying about what we cannot know; therefore, what cannot be
measured is unimportant and unworthy of our observation”
• Scientist exclude all matters that are seem to be
intangible from their serious consideration,
including The Reality of God

14. But With Measurement…
• Development of increasingly sophisticated
method of study
– Electron Microscopes, computers, softwares, etc
• The Reality of Paradox
– It was an error, but now it isn’t

15. The Reality of Paradox

16. The Reality of Paradox
• Unification of Science and Religion!
• But..
– Both The Religious and The Scientific remain blinded by it’s own
particular type of tunnel vision.
Let’s Talk about MIRACLE!

17. MIRACLE
• In Science
– It is unreal, cannot be explained by
currently understood natural law.
“What is very difficult to understand doesn’t exist”
• In Religion
– It does exist. What cannot be understood in terms
of known natural law is a Miracle.
“it need not to be scientifically examined”

18. MIRACLE

19. MIRACLE
• Perception of the miraculous requires no
faith or assumptions.
It is simply a matter of paying full and close
attention to the givens of life.
To what is so ever-present that it is usually taken for granted

20. Science & Religion
• The Unification of Science & Religion can be
shaky and dangerous.
– We shall be dealing with extrasensory perception and “psychic” or
“paranormal” phenomena as well as other varieties of miraculous.
– It is essential that we keep our wits about us.

21. Science & Religion
Don’t blind our sight by scientific tunnel vision.
But also,
Don’t blind our critical faculties and skepticism
by the beauty of spiritual realm.

22. SEE YOU!Next Saturday:
KAIZEN