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THE statement
THE LIST
COVER BY RUBY WALLAU AND JAKE WELLINS
VIDEO: TIME CAPSULE
BUZZFEED, BUT BETTER
HOW TO SPEND GALENTINE’S DAY
Wednesday, February 11, 2015 // The Statement
L
ast week I closed the pages
to the first Marilynne Rob-
inson book I’ve ever read,
Gilead.
This book is highly religious,
philosophical and spiritual but pri-
marily a reflective and meditative
book. Its narrator is a seventy-six
year old Congregationalist pastor
living in the town of Gilead, Iowa in
the 1950s. He is writing a letter to
his seven-year-old son reflecting on
his life as he is dying from coronary
heart disease.
Robinson herself was raised
Presbyterian but later became
Congregationalist
and
believes
strongly in the theology of John
Calvin, as she has stated in many
interviews.
At first I resisted the book,
expecting the narrator to shove
religious beliefs down the reader’s
throats. But quickly, I began to
realize the genius behind Robin-
son’s characters. They evaluated
universal struggles and put a spiri-
tual and self-reflective perspective
to problem solving. They were not
aggressive, overbearing or all-
knowing.
In an interview on “The Daily
Show with John Stewart,” Rob-
inson discusses the similarities
between science and religion, a
topic she centers around in her
book Absence of the Mind.
I so often absorbed and did not
question this idea that there is sci-
ence and then there is religion, and
the two are pitted against each
other. Robinson argues differently,
that the discrepancies are not so
black and white.
“I think that people on side of
the argument have declared the
authority of science but they have
not construed an argument that
actually satisfied the standards of
science,” Robinson said.
In a recent online TED discus-
sion, one commenter, Richard
Krooman, argued that people con-
fuse science as fact, when
in reality even if you can
measure a concept that
does not mean you fully
understand it.
“The foundation of sci-
ence, however, is that we
believe what we perceive
and we assume that when
our description of it is cor-
rect the physics behind it
is too,” Krooman wrote.
“We must never forget
that all we (scientists) do
is describe the events in
such a way that our math
explanation of it can
insanely closely (up to the
point where we have full
belief in it) show what will
happen.”
When considering this
nuance of science, I have
come to realize science is
making an argument that
discounts faith, but in reality, much
like religion, science relies in faith.
For example, I think of the natu-
ral phenomenon of gravity. Though
there are equations that prove this
scientific concept, it would be hard
to believe gravity existed if you
didn’t experience being held down
to the ground you are walking on
each day.
This is the same for religious
experiences. You may not believe in
God or a higher guiding spirit until
you are in a position in life where
you are tested, struggle, and expe-
rience the support. Without this
tangible experience, you would not
have faith.
Science is a system of explaining
why things happen in the world and
so, in a way, science is its own reli-
gious sect.
Religion breaks through and
expands human’s understandings
of the world, just as science does.
Religion pushes at the barriers of
human language, just as science
does. Religion has been created
from and is limited by the human
mind, just as science has.
In our society, political groups
have alienated religion and science
into two separate lines of thinking,
but this division is not always nec-
essary. Religion and science should
work together to better understand
each other and the reasons explain-
ing our complicated world.
From the Pews: The Science of Faith
ILLUSTRATIONS BY MEGAN MULHOLLAND
B Y C L A I R E B R YA N
Made famous by the ever-chipper Leslie Knope of “Parks and
Rec,” Galentine’s Day takes place Feb. 13 and celebrates female
friendship instead of stupid boys
— here’s how you can ring it in.
1. 50 SHADES OF NO
Jamie Dornan’s Christian Grey is undeniably foxy. But let’s not spend
money on a franchise that fetishizes sexual assault, yes? If you really
need to see it, download it illegally online like regular porn.
2. GILMORE GIRLS MARATHON
What better way to spend a day with your girls than watching the
Girls? Arguing over Rory’s boyfriends is a best-friendship rite of
passage. (Older, put-together writer Jess for the win.)
3. CREPES AND MIMOSAS
We all can be classy if we really try. Ring Galentine’s in with a
homemade brunch
— if you are really adventurous, give it a theme,
like Badass Literary Ladies or “Magic Mike 2.”
4. PLATONIC LOVE LETTERS
Yup, shamelessly piling on the cheese. Write a note telling your gal
pal why you are glad she’s in your life. These are the things we will
treasure in forty years when paper is obsolete.
5. GET SHIT DONE
Strong, independent, ambitious women don’t have time to sit
around. Do your homework, save the world, but do it with your
girlfriends at your side. Who run the world?