Substance Essays - Rationalists, Creation Myths, God, Singular God

When a child is brought up by parents who believe in God and goes to Sunday school and church, he or she learns that God created the world and people too. Later on, when that child begins school, he or she studies science, including the theory of evolution, or that man evolved from animals over millions of years. Especially in higher education, such as college, many professors of science teach evolution as proof that God does not exist. As a result, many Christian people fear sending their children to public schools and universities because their beliefs will be ridiculed. Based on Descartes? idea of substance, religious people who believe in God and scientists should stop arguing with each other and be able to exist together and respect each other?s ideas. According to Descartes, people are born with the concept of sameness, or an identity. As says, ?We are all born with the (apparently unconscious knowledge) of the ?principle of identity This identity, or self- knowledge, is not based on the senses, or any presupposed knowledge. Also, this identity could be what separates men from animals. While a man may have evolved from a monkey, there is no denying that man has a sense of identity, or self, that an animal does not have. Where did this substance come from? It really cannot be explained by scientific fact or observation. Maybe it came from a perfect being like God. In contrast many observations that involve the five senses of imperfect humans cannot be trusted. If this is true then the world, as people write about it or understand it, would keep changing throughout history and would look very different today than what may have seen like the ?truth? in ancient times For example, in the Bible, God is described as having created the world in seven days. (The Bible, Genesis Chapter 1). Perhaps, this is the way it seemed to someone a long time ago, before science had discovered many mathematical and observable facts, such as the world is millions of years old and revolves around the sun. Many religious people spend a lot of time and energy trying to prove that science is wrong and that creation did not happen over millions of years but happened literally as the Bible says. Likewise, scientists make fun of people who believe in God and take the stories of Genesis as proof that he cannot exist. But it is possible that both ideas can be true; God coul d exist and could have made the world over the time and principles that science has discovered in more modern times. Descartes did not believe that the idea of substance could come from just the senses alone. The information that people get from their senses is often faulty; as a result misconceptions about science throughout history could just be based on misinformation or what was apparent to people at the time. God however, is ?perfect and mysterious?. Many concepts, such as time, and even suffering, could have a completely different real meaning than what is apparent to people on earth. It is impossible to know what the reality of God is, because he is perfect but people are not. It may even be that God, for his own reasons, has created imperfections and misconceptions, or at least has allowed them to happen in the world, as a way of giving man the chance to make mathematical and scientific discoveries. Maybe God has a plan that man does not know everything about. If He is perfect this is definitely possible.