Neil deGrasse Tyson, an American astrophysicist, science communicator, and director of the Hayden Planetarium, made the headlines recently after stating in an interview that the enlightened people didn’t need to use the Bible as a textbook.
During the interview, Tyson asserted that trying to use the Bible or scripture verses as the source for science causes problems. Tyson stated, “there is no example of someone reading their scripture and saying ‘I have a prediction about the world that no one knows yet because this gave me insight.’”
Tyson furthered, “Enlightened religious people know this, and don’t try to use the Bible as a textbook.”
Religion and science are often at odds with each other in the media, and there are many scientists such as Professor Stephen Hawking that don’t believe in God; however, during the interview Tyson argued that many scientists do believe in the existence of God, and that those beliefs are not necessarily incompatible.
Tyson made the comments during an interview to promote his new show Cosmos which is a remake of the show once hosted by Carl Sagan in the 1980s.
Tyson’s comments are bound to get the religion vs science debate stirring again just as the new series of Cosmos – A Space Time Odyssey has recently begun to air.
The new series of Cosmos launched last week and has returned with a brand new, eye-catching look. The show has been described as having a stronger edge to it as well as being much bolder in its advocacy for science.
After airing, the first episode has already caused some degree of controversy because the 16th-century philosopher Giordano Bruno was the topic of conversation. Bruno was a philosopher and not a scientist, but the debate has, nonetheless, sparked even more interest in the show.
Cosmos is not Tyson’s first venture on television. Tyson was often a guest on The Colbert Report, and he is also known for his regular appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Over the coming weeks, the re-launched TV show aims to explain the importance of science in people’s lives. Cosmos airs on FOX Sundays at 9/8c and re-airs with bonus content on National Geographic on Mondays at 10/9c.
Comments are closed.