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Faith and science: A peculiar case of the chicken and the egg?
Eva Mugisa
What you need to know:
- A perfect comparison of the two “titans” can be drawn from the Hippocratic Oath, which governs medical science and practice all over the world.
The common saying goes, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” A mind-twisting riddle that has remained unanswered, because of the timeless argument over which is the starting point of life: the progenitor (chicken) or the progeny (egg)?
This riddle mirrors the complexity of the love-hate relationship between Faith and Science today as each wrestles for predominance in the aftermath of Covid-19. “Follow the Science” was a mantra excitedly chanted by many, till dazed, tired and frustrated, they stopped to examine how far back God had stopped keeping up with them, (or rather, they had stopped following Him).
Faith and Science should not be a clash of titans, but rather a common sense realisation that one is infinitely higher than the other in nature, in precedence and in destination.
A perfect comparison of the two “titans” can be drawn from the Hippocratic Oath, which governs medical science and practice all over the world.
The very origins of the Hippocratic Oath attributed treating of the sick to the spiritual healing abilities of Apollos (the concept of Deity in Hippocrates’ time), and considered it a sacred duty and privilege from the gods. Even though this Oath has been modified to a more contemporary version that is sworn by all medics, it still underscores that true medical practice gains its legitimacy from the acknowledgement of, and submission to, the concept of divinity or deity.
Trained medical practitioners know that their ability to augment the functioning of the body is limited only to physical biology, and beyond this, the physical body is animated by a meta-physical ingredient of the spirit/soul of a man.
It is this sobering truth that demands medical science to respect religious views of patients, God-given bodily autonomy, and thereby prevent medical nihilism and over treatment.
Simply put, true medical science makes a strong case for God, without seeking to usurp His role in benevolence towards mankind nor attempt to render Him “out-dated” with the advancement of technology and passage of time.
Unfortunately though, the manner in which Covid-19 is being handled today appears to be completely amnesic to the respect of deity in corresponding medical treatment.
The continued imposition of SOPs and mandatory vaccinations in places of worship reveals a deliberate move to exalt science above the precepts of faith in God, relegating faith to a set of scientific protocols that are (more)”logical, safe and potent” than the prescribed ways of worship in the Holy Books of any Faith.
It is no wonder that we have bought into philosophies that assert that “science is the word of God”, that Science subjects are more important to study in secondary and tertiary institutions of learning than the arts, and that “God is everywhere (so He can meet you anywhere)”.
The day that we accepted these philosophies is the day that we rendered medical interventions inherently impotent to put an end to the Covid-19 scourge, because without acknowledging and submitting to divinity, medical science loses its spiritual healing qualities. And instead, it becomes an instrument to make access of basic human and civil rights contingent with compliance to an experimental medical procedure prescribed by the WHO and our own government. This should not be so.
The conclusion of the matter is this: science has its place, but it is below and in submission to divinity and deity, as asserted by the Hippocratic Oath and Physicians Oaths world over.
Faith is superior to science, and should not have its ancient boundaries moved. If we get the order right, the science, egg, should not tell the faith, chicken, what to do. Better still, who needs a chicken, when you can have the Golden Goose?
Dr Eva Mugisa is a pharmacist
