From the Editors

‘The unknown’ could mean anything. Quite literally, it means something that is, well, not known. That was obvious. But the relative meaning of that phrase from person to person has the potential to be anything. It could be a place you’ve never visited before, or an experience you haven’t felt. Or maybe, it is something so inexplicable, nightmarish and terrific, that it can’t possibly exist. 

 

Or can it?

 

The supernatural has been a constant topic of debate for quite a long time. Religion says yes, science asks for proof, religion banishes science and science retaliates against it. It’s an endless cycle, quite frankly. Finding the existence of a god, or perhaps even a force that kicked off the Big Bang, is a task that both religious leaders and scientists find imperative in their respective fields.

 

The whole basis of religion is to worship something that cannot be seen; an omniscient presence. Some people believe in the whole idea of a god without any substantial proof, and the belief in something greater than oneself is a reassurance that we do not control our own fate. God is a being that is said to have powers beyond any other. Each religion has their own depiction of a supernatural force, but the portrayal of a god is always something or someone that is unlike anything other; greater and larger than life itself.

 

As humans, we have grown to be scared of the unknown. Often depicted as something beyond our comprehension, beyond the bounds of reality, the unknown is said to be something dark and dangerous. God falls into this category, as a being known for both his benevolence and wrath. We fear, yet we worship. We are scared of the consequences, so we worship. The belief in god, a being greater than anything ever, is what drives a large part of humanity forward. One might argue that god is a made-up idea, while others may say it is not. Henceforth, I shall be referring to it as the revelation of god to mankind.

 

Humans are an unimaginably complicated race. We are a species that has maximised its utilisation of our resources, and implemented them into a living hierarchy. In simpler words, we are the dominant species in the cycle of life and death on Earth. It is our doings, more than any other organism, that paves the path ahead for the future. In this existential chain, each and every species has something on top of it, that decides whether it lives or dies. A fish fears a shark, a gazelle is left in terror at the sight of a lion. But what about humans? What are we supposed to fear? 

 

As the most dominant species, we have nothing to fear, in biological and natural terms. Our existence, our mortality is at our own hands. But for many, this is daunting. It is scary. Mankind coped up with this terrifying realisation with the revelation of a greater force: God. Mankind transferred its debt, its worries and mistakes with it, and slowly, the idea of religion spread throughout the seven seas. God was meant to alleviate the burden of existence, a saviour of the hopeless, punisher of the wicked and preserver of all that is good in the world. Humanity transfixed itself upon the idea of an otherworldly persona that controls everything. The problem began when we started questioning further.

 

The fields of religion and science tackle the exact same questions. That of our existence and future. But when we go past those points, they diverge into wholly different directions. Religion and science have the same task in hand: to lift the veil that shrouds the unknown. Except, they both do it differently. 

 

Religion has an answer for everything, while science relies on absolute proof for any hypothesis. Let’s take, for example, the Big Bang Theory. Religion proclaims it to be an act of god, but science has hardly any evidence for what may have caused it. Due to the volatility of proof, these two fields have long past separated and settled into their own trains of thought, while failing to accept that they’re both searching for the same thing;  something that is yet to be known.

 

We cannot deny that our race has progressed and transcended beyond any other. We’ve discovered and managed to understand the workings and happenings of outer space, and continue to tackle the mysteries of the world around us. But in order to truly uncover the vast number of possibilities we have for further growth, the fields of religion and science must work closely to achieve a common goal: to aid in the long-lasting and progressive growth of our race. 

 

Science and religion seem to be from two different realms, previously united by a single common goal. They have shunned each other, erased out the white noise and continue to work towards the same thing. The unknown calls for the human race, and the human race calls back. But without the unification of factful thought and limitless belief, all we shall hear are echoes.