Faith v. Science, Can they Coexist?

The purpose of this writing is not to attack or berate those who would choose to put the concept of “Faith” above “Science”. Trying to relate these two positions of choice is analogous to asking someone if they are “In Love”, to contrasting the determination of the “Atomic Weight of Iron”. One concept is an ethereal emotion, and the other is an empirical fact. Where I have a problem is when one chooses information from a book, that was written thousands of years ago, when there was little technology available, over today’s science that can properly measure and observe what is going on in the universe.
What is there in the emotional makeup of some individuals that causes them to trump definable logic with faith? Is it that some people take comfort staying with old world traditions? Is that we are living in a such rapidly changing society, that this rapid change is cause for some mistrust and lack of spiritual footing? Is that some individuals take comfort in clinging to conceptual traditions that came down from previous institutions of authority and culture, such as organized religion and family? Is it a way of saying to the “Neo” intellectual, permissive, individualistic, liberal, progressive, creative society of today, “We are not comfortable with your fluid type of culture”? We hearken for the days of yore!
Taking into consideration the above emotional reasons for wanting to stay locked in an intellectual “Time Warp”, why should the balance of society be held back by this “Blind Sided Ignorance” toward wanting to embrace science and fact? Over three hundred years ago the church accused Galileo of being a heretic for stating that the earth was “Round” and not “Flat”. Great critical thinkers of the time, such as Galileo also asserted that earth revolved around the sun and not the contrary, and that the earth was also not the center of the universe. Those faith based men who came before Galileo used the best knowledge that they had, coupled with man’s innate nature to be egocentric, and claiming “Earthlings” are the superior of all beings. The Christian “Inquisitor’s” traveled through Venice, the then center of knowledge, and confiscated any books that conflicted with the Church’s arcane teachings.
The evolution of scientific fact finding has not had a 100% perfect trail of discovery. Comparing the track record of science to the bible for seeking the truth is like comparing the Electron Microscope to a blind man for it’s ability to accurately observe physical phenomenon. Seeking the truth through the scientific method has won out exponentially over “Faith Based” assumptions.
Faith is a fall-back position when one may not be able to use reason and observe definable facts. Faith should be the last refuge for an intelligent person to find an answer or no answer, not the first and only choice. What is the issue with accepting “Evolution” as one of the reasons for the change and existence of living things. We are now able to track genetic material and map many genomes through various plants and animals and determine the age of things through “Carbon Dating”. The ape and man share 98% of the same DNA material. Man shares DNA with all living things to a lesser extent. Man and apes share all of the same similar organs, extremities, muscular/bone structure, and circulatory system. How can any logical person refute such major similarities between these two mammals, and say that there is not a relatively close relationship? These “Faith” based folks want to also teach “Creationism” as an equal and credible concept as “Evolution”. Comparing this ancient and modern concept is like saying that “Babies are delivered by a Stork”.
I do not want to totally dismiss the concept of “Faith”. Faith can be a very comforting emotional tool when we are feeling desperate, finding reality too painful, or feel that death is imminent and there is no solution to stop it. Faith to me is akin to optimism which can act as an emotional mass of momentum to keep us moving on our life’s various goals. Faith and optimism, when not used in moderation can set us up for proceeding down an incorrect dangerous path and great disappointment.
As the role of science and technology continue to expand, discover more, and mature, the “Faith” based assumptions of the past religious groups will be disproved and become as extent as an “Dinosaur”.