Religion and Science
8. The Atheistic Interpretation of Religion
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perceiving the truth. One is the scientific method,
which is based on observation and experiment. The
other is the poetic method, which springs from
within. The first method yields scientific truth and
the second poetic truth. He observes: “On the poetic
level
of
the
subconscious
psyche,
the
comprehensive vision is prophecy.”
1
In the
Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences,
religion has
been likened to art. It puts forward the view that
just as certain individuals have a special taste for
art, and exercise their extraordinary talent in that
field, so certain other individuals have been
specially gifted with ‘inner eyes and ears’ and it is
this unique talent which displays itself as the main-
stay of religion.
2
T.R. Miles, in his book,
Religion and the Scientific
Outlook,
observes: “If the metaphysical realities of
religion are understood literally, they are
meaningless. Some meaning could be attached to
them if they are understood as the ‘language of
parable.’ To Miles, if revelation is taken to mean the
word of God which is revealed to a particular man,
that makes no sense. But when it is taken to mean a
