Science and Religion

MEDIA AND RELIGION

The title caused in me a sense of wonder, amazement and so did confuse me a little bit. Anthony Toffler in his book ‘Three Waves’ speaks of three shifts that human life has taken from the beginning: The first wave according to him is Agricultural wave, the second is Industrial Wave and the third is Digital Wave. The post-modern human being is in the digital wave. It is all the science and the miracles of science. He/she is in the digital wave, amidst the science, living in the world with the human being. And so there arises a need for human being to know briefly about the universe, human being, religion and science as they are fundamental and basis for human life. They shape and fashion the human being as religious in religion with the media.

Universe, Human Being, Religion and Science

            The universe, that we live in and have our being, is believed to have originated 14 billion years ago. There are different view points as regards to the origin of the universe. The Bible says in the book of Genesis, “The universe was created by God and everything with in it and He found everything Good.” The modern science affirms and proves that “First there was an atom and from it came the whole universe or in other words combination of different Atoms made the universe to originate.” However I don’t claim my self to any theory but my point is that there is universe now and human being is in the universe.

            The human being is from the beginning of the universe or came in between is still a hot debate. However the history of human being is recorded from 6, 00,000 years ago. There are different stand-points regards to the creation of human being. The holy Bible says, “Man created by God with the mud and breathed into the nostrils the life, and after a while taking a rib from the man he created woman.”  On the other hand science says “Man has evolved from monkey to the present status.” Here also I neither claim to Bible nor to Science, because the fact is, that he/she exists both influenced by God and Science.  

            Religion is a strong binding force that unites human being to God and it was there from the beginning of universe. We know the Religion proper and have history from 2,500 years ago and the eminent figures were Gautama Buddha, Mahavira and Jesus Christ. Not claiming to anything I affirm, that Religion has its roots in the heart of man for his ever-evolving and ever-emerging desire to connect him self to God and thus becomes the founder of Religion.

The science, the cause of drastic change is of just 500 years ago. But in the modern world it has become the power, the change of the modern world. It changes everything. In the modern world everything is in the preview of science. Science the most powerful monster in the modern world, whose strength is incredible benefits to the humanity and at the same time it is also dangerous to humanity and destroys universe if not properly handled.

In the post-modern and scientific and technological world, the so- called science is becoming God of the world. The world every minute is no more the world of one minute ago. At Every minute there is a new discovery, new invention, and a new creation wiping out completely the old and giving birth to the new. And the media has a dominant share in the complete change of the world. As a consequence the faith of the religious and also widely the faith of the modern human being is being tested and challenged constantly. One of the miracles that dominates and influences the very being of human in the world is Media.

Religious Life and Media

           

            Really speaking there is no connection between religious life and media neither in history nor in the growth of human being. They are independent of each other. One can stand strong without the support of the other. This is the past. The present scenario is that it is media that dominates. All gaze towards the media and not towards the religious life. In other words, in the present day, religious life has become stagnant and where as media has become a dynamic reality evolving and that evolves everything. It is both active and passive

            Religion gives birth to religious life. Religious life is almost from the beginning of the first century with the St Anthony of the Desert (in Christianity). It can be defined as unwillingness to live in the pleasures of the world and being fed up with the world. Anthony chose to live away from the world to be one with God. Religious Life is actually to live in a secluded place and a way of being with God to become God. The whole life is a commitment to God in and through the service rendered to people of God. This revolution had primarily flooded whole of Europe and then to the whole world. This is the past. The present is that God is digitalized and mediated through the media by religious to the people where in the beginning their life was media that communicated God.

            Media is a really a marvel and a miracle of Science. Media can be defined as “any means used to communicate to the people through paper, television, internet and mobile and etc… The modern means of media like mobile and internet (30years old), television (70 years old), and computer (60 years old) are just recent inventions that rule the world. Strictly speaking it has history of 150 years old and not more than that. The modern human being is in the net of media that shows him/her life process and not the way of life. 

Conclusion

            The Modern religious should make media, not God but Good use of it to proclaim God, not a slave to it but a master over it, it is a help in the mission and not a hinder in the mission, not a necessity but a want, do not become a victim but a victor over the media, not get influenced but influence people through it, to come near God. The media constructs or destroys the self. The religious should construct God through media and make Him known through all the earth for this is the cause that should force, drive and motivate the religious.