This is an answer to a question you posed in a different path in this thread that I cannot log into because early parts of that thread are hidden from me.

You were asking the question of when science started and if this forum was science versus religion, and so on.

Well your question started me thinking, and after just a few moments reflection on the history of science, it seems to me that science started with religion. Perhaps the Egyptians were the first to use science to bolster there religion. It also seems that the Babylonians also used the creation story to bolster their religion, and it found its way into the Torah.

But what hit me the hardest is that in Islam, science flourished in order to bolster that religion and it's attempt at world conquest from roughly 500 to 1500. At about 1200 the synergism of religion and science in Islam reached a peak and Islam had conquered most of the civilized europe except for western europe and northern china.

Something happened around 1200 that made the religious leaders of Islam fear and even condemn science. I have read and also heard on NPR that they just decided that they had enough science and did not need any more. At that time they had by far the best science in the world. But thenafter (if there is such a word) Islamic science went into decline until finally after a few hundred years a tiny island with better science was able to conquer almost all of Islam.

It was in western europe that science first, as far as I know, developed independently of the local religion. Even in Greece mathematics was developed as am attempt to reach and understand the gods.

Richard

• Interesting - davidoakley - September 2, 2003 - 02:31 UTC
  • Science is a kind of religion - yanniru - September 2, 2003 - 12:02 UTC
    • tree of knowledge - sagefr0g - September 2, 2003 - 23:50 UTC
      • Nice connection - yanniru - September 3, 2003 - 01:30 UTC
        • Positive thinking - davidoakley - September 3, 2003 - 02:16 UTC
          • Realistic thinking - yanniru - September 3, 2003 - 12:39 UTC
            • Realistic - eventhorizen - September 3, 2003 - 15:40 UTC
            • The apple of "pretending to think" - kantolfir2 - September 3, 2003 - 17:38 UTC
          • Wow, you are the perfect conversation partner for Yanniru! - kantolfir2 - September 3, 2003 - 18:30 UTC
        • more on this view - sagefr0g - September 4, 2003 - 03:05 UTC
          • What or who is doing this "harnessing?" - kantolfir2 - September 4, 2003 - 04:00 UTC
            • capability wise - sagefr0g - September 5, 2003 - 00:53 UTC
              • Now do you see your previous assumptions were dubious? - kantolfir2 - September 5, 2003 - 05:33 UTC
          • The escape clause - yanniru - September 4, 2003 - 12:01 UTC
            • strait is the gate narrow is the way - sagefr0g - September 5, 2003 - 00:12 UTC