Experimenting With Faith

Faith is said to be a matter of faith! Whether you believe or not depends on your choice. And whether you believe or not, you can find justifications, and even rational support, for your choice. When we specifically talk about believing in God or not, we see countless accounts of people who explain how their point of view makes complete sense and how the other view is totally irrational. Here, I would like to venture into providing a rational and scientific basis for belief in God. In doing so, however, I am going to try to be fair in terms of appreciating the leaps of faith and solid scientific knowledge.

Let me warn you that what I am going to do is not listing a chain of scientific facts about the evolution of the universe and showing how miraculous it is for life to exist at all. Although such miraculousness is the case according to our current knowledge, that approach is subject to a person's ability to feel wonder and to experience awe. A person devoid of those qualities, or someone who does not/cannot appreciate them, cannot find the matters of faith plausible through this method. In fact, one motivation for the theory of parallel universes is claiming life as coincidental. Therefore, I am going to follow a more fundamental route, and go philosophical.

Controlled experiments are the foundations of science. In a controlled experiment, factors that are known to contribute to a specified end are kept constant all but one. Therefore, the resultant change in the end are proven to be due to that one parameter that was changed. Then, looking at the proportionality of the cause-effect, a mathematical relationship is developed. Now, can we extend this method to proving the existence of God?

First let's ponder what this means! If we were to make a controlled experiment to prove the existence of God, we would have to first decide whether God's existence is a cause or a result. If it is the first, then we can turn on and off God, and look at the result. If things go awkward in the universe, then we can decide that God exists. Wait a second! If we can turn on/off God, then He is not God. Plus, if we are turning him on/off, we are already accepting his existence! On the other hand, if we cannot turn Him on or off, then we cannot prove His existence for sure!

Then, let's look at the second avenue in the controlled experiment approach. If God's existence is a result, then we must be able to populate a list of causes for His existence, and each of those causes must be proven to be effective. That means, by turning on and off those causes, we watch whether God disappears or not, and so, we know for sure how, when and in what amount God exists. But wait! If we are controlling God's existence, then He is not really God. If we cannot control His existence, then we cannot test it?

If you are careful enough, you might notice a flaw in the above thinking. God's existence and His effectiveness on the universe are two different things. The experiments above are based on checking God's existence by looking at His effects on the universe. But a god that exists and is not related to the universe could both exist and be out of our ability to test. Therefore our inability to test his abilities cannot be a measure of his existence. Well, that makes sense but, one, why should we care for such a god who has nothing to do with us, two, that god's inability to interfere with or execute the universe is proof that he is not actually god. By definition, God must be infinite and unbounded. So, if there is God, He must be also powerful and governing over everything. In fact, the same line of thought can lead to the conclusion that if God exists, He must also be the source of every different aspect of the universe (i.e. beauty, life, power, order, perfectness, etc.) and must possess that aspect infinitely.

In short, the controlled experiment approach shows that it is beyond our ability to test God's existence experimentally. But Quran invites us to think exactly on this point:

"Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allah, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe." (Anbiya 21/22) 

So, what does this mean? If we cannot do physical experiments, then we can make thought experiments perhaps. That is we can use mathematical and rational thinking to proceed in our quest. In fact, that is exactly what we did above when considering a controlled experiment on God. So, we just need to broaden our perspective and enrich our question set.

In mathematics, there is the existence and uniqueness theorem. Given a problem, how do we know that there exists at least one solution to it? Furthermore, can we show that this solution is unique? These questions are very useful for our journey, because we are looking at finding rational grounds for the existence and uniqueness of God.

Looking at the mathematical answers to the above questions on existence and uniqueness, you will quickly realize that they rely on the presumption of an existing continuity over a given margin. This presumption translates to "it exists because it exists"! That is there must be an assumption as the foundation to build upon. Having presumptions may sound unscientific, but science and mathematics are based on unprovable axioms at the fundamental level. We accept them simply because 1) we haven't seen them invalid, and 2) the more we use them the more we can explain the universe. Conservation of energy and second law of thermodynamics (entropy) are among such useful presumptions.

This observation of ours overlaps with what we concluded after the controlled experiment endeavor. If we assume God as infinite and omnipotent, then this assumption is useful for explaining further things, but we cannot prove it. This may sound unacceptable, but otherwise cannot be proven either! That is one cannot prove God's nonexistence and/or a limit to his attributes. Rather, one can assume such limits or the nonexistence, and build upon those assumptions, but they are as irrational as the previous case at the foundation. So, the only thing to do is to look at the consequences. And that is exactly what the above verse invites us to do.

So, at this point, I would like to introduce another verse that is to be contemplated in conjunction with the verse above. For convenience, I am giving them both here:

"Allah presents an example: a slave owned by quarreling partners and another belonging exclusively to one man - are they equal in comparison? Praise be to Allah ! But most of them do not know." (Zumer 39/29)

"Had there been within the heavens and earth gods besides Allah, they both would have been ruined. So exalted is Allah, Lord of the Throne, above what they describe." (Anbiya 21/22) 

Now, let's put these verses in perspective with a mathematical theorem on convergence:

Let A and B functions defined in the same domain, and for all points, A(x)>B(x). Then, if B diverges, A diverges too.

The analogy between this theorem and the above verses tells that if the coexistence of independent powers in a small affair is leading to turmoil, bigger turmoil would result in a bigger affair. In other words, gods with infinite power and each independent of others would mean terror and destruction. Conversely, entities without independence and infinite power cannot be god, and therefore be subject to control of an infinite entity, thereby mediating the establishment of order. In short, the order that we see around us and the existence of laws governing the universe implies a power that is unbounded and unparalleled, so that other finite and bounded powers can function in an order:

Say, "He is Allah, [who is] One. Allah, the Self Sufficient. He neither begets nor is born, nor is there to Him any equivalent." (Ikhlas 112)

Another analogy can be established for the case of resurrection:

"Does man not consider that We created him from a [mere] sperm-drop - then at once he is a clear adversary? And he presents for Us an example and forgets his [own] creation. He says, "Who will give life to bones while they are disintegrated?" Say, "He will give them life who produced them the first time; and He is, of all creation, Knowing." [It is] He who made for you from the green tree, fire, and then from it you ignite. Is not He, who created the heavens and the earth, able to create the likes of them? Yes, [it is so]; and He is the Knowing Creator." (Yasin 36/77-81)

Now consider the following mathematical statement:

Let A and B functions defined in the same domain, and for all points, A(x)>B(x). Then, if A converges, B converges too.

Creation of heavens and earth, and the first creation of mankind are already great tasks that have been accomplished, as we see. This reality points at the fact that the person who made all this is powerful to do something much smaller. That is God is powerful to give life to the dead. If He is powerful to do it, and if He has promised it, He will definitely do it.

"So exalted is He in whose hand is the realm of all things, and to Him you will be returned." (Yasin 36/83)

Considering the above discussion, you can see that faith presents a consistent set of ideas that can explain the existence and answer our questions on life. Although these explanations can be rationally acceptable, there are still two major issues: irrationality and validity.

When we look at the human life at the individual or social level, we see implications of the emotional or irrational aspects of humanity. These may be sometimes nice but sometimes very hard to bear. Such instances of irrationality make life difficult for the rational thought. Understanding something does not necessarily mean being happy with it. And it is not always possible to see the big picture over an event, leaving us even devoid of a rational answer! Then, what to do in case of an irrational appearance with an unacceptable situation? How does faith address this issue? What does God tell us?

Answer: patience! Patience is an irrational answer that burns us inside out. It, in one respect, means waiting, and in another, means conserving your state despite adversities.

"Or do you think that you will enter Paradise while such [trial] has not yet come to you as came to those who passed on before you? They were touched by poverty and hardship and were shaken until [even their] messenger and those who believed with him said,"When is the help of Allah ?" Unquestionably, the help of Allah is near." (Baqara 2/214)

"And whoever desires the reward of this world - We will give him thereof; and whoever desires the reward of the Hereafter - We will give him thereof. And we will reward the grateful. And how many a prophet [fought and] with him fought many devout. But they never lost assurance due to what afflicted them in the cause of Allah, nor did they weaken or submit. And Allah loves the steadfast. And their words were not but that they said, "Our Lord, forgive us our sins and the excess [committed] in our affairs and plant firmly our feet and give us victory over the disbelieving people." So Allah gave them the reward of this world and the good reward of the Hereafter. And Allah loves the doers of good." (Ali Imran 3/145-148)

Second, something making sense rationally does not necessarily mean physical existence. So, faith requires you to act upon it, just like an engineer designing a vehicle according to the scientific observations. If you believe, you must take risks and act according to your faith, then you can prove to yourself physically whether your faith was not only rationally but also physically correct. The ultimate test in this regard is dying, of course, and this proof is exclusively yours to see.

Note: As a continuation to this discussion, you can read Reading Quran in an Age of Ego and Shoulder to Shoulder with David.