Knowledge born unshorn grows a beard
Hairs unruly twisted curly to babes looks weird
Some plucked others cut, a face more like God
Knowledge shorn to conform to belief's facade
Wisdom worn, in hair unshorn but below lies God's face
Accepting both hair and skin is no sin, in both there's no disgrace
Science's hair grown, of belief's skin above bone, sprouts out of pores of faith
Nature's gift, our eyes to lift beyond the face of a wraith
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Author:
sorenbarrett (
Offline) - Published: April 4th, 2025 03:20
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 69
- Users favorite of this poem: Teddy.15, arqios, Tristan Robert Lange, GenXer Shamrocker ☘️
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Comments9
So very powerful, two subjects science and religion that should never go together and you do it perfectly 🌹
Thank you Teddy my friend everything is connected science at its most basic based on faith and true religion does not deny fact. Thank you for your read and most kind remarks they as always are most highly regarded
Wow. That’s the way sentences are created! 🙏🏻🕊
Thanks my friend for such gracious words they are appreciated
Most welcome dear Soren 🙏🏻🕊
The lines are wonderful, connecting two things I have little knowledge of in one write, science and religion, I would say there is some of each in each, was a very enjoyable read
Thanks so much for the feedback it is deeply appreciated
You are very welcome
I love the title! I need to read the poem again. I'm just too tired to absorb it fully today.
Thanks so much for the read it is appreciated
A Nazarene generally regards science as a valid means of understanding God's creation, believing that science and faith can coexist, which typically involves embracing theistic evolution and viewing science as a tool to comprehend God's creation, while maintaining a strong emphasis on faith and holiness. In the Old Testament, a Nazirite is an individual who undertakes a vow to consecrate themselves to God, involving abstention from certain practices, including cutting their hair for a predetermined period. They are permitted to groom their hair with their fingers or scratch their head, but are prohibited from using a comb or chemical depilatories, which may pull out or damage hair. Your poem explores the relationship between knowledge, science, and belief, contrasting the unkempt nature of true wisdom with the often conformist tendencies of societal beliefs. It suggests that embracing both scientific inquiry and spiritual understanding can lead to a more holistic view of truth. You address the tension between rigid belief systems and the fluidity of knowledge, using the metaphor of hair to symbolize the complexity of thought and existence. It invites the reader to appreciate the natural, sometimes chaotic, beauty of both science and spirituality.
Wow! You got the heart of the issue and have explained it. Yes science is based on faith as well at its bottom level, presumptions we make as given and so science proceeds out of faith as faith proceeds out of observations and analysis. Just two different sides of the same coin. thanks so much for the read Friendship
I grow a beard, so I am in disguise to KP! lol.
Thanks Orchi for the read and comment yes beards are a mark of a holy man.
A moustache is a dead caterpillar! lol.
Wow! Profound, my friend. In this I see a wisdom often absent from most discussions on science and religion, often treated as if one is familiar and superior and the other foreign and primitive. Any who are classically trained, however, understand that theology, just like biology or physiology, is one of many schools of science. It is only until more recently that we've limited the word science to mean "the natural sciences". Still, all of the sciences, while unique and distinct, do intersect at points and places. And each has their place and wisdom to impart. Even "dead" religions and theologies have much to teach us about ourselves, if nothing else. No science, therefore, is foreign to the other, no matter how much it may seem so. In essence, there's science in religion and religion in science, both roads lead to deeper human understanding, if harnessed by the right people in the right ways. If not...well, we've all seen the consequences of that both in science and religion. Anywho, this poem has teeth and they really tear through many myths. It doesn't take a side, it just presents the view. I love it. Well done, my friend! 🌹👏
Thank you so much Tristan you understand the meaning of the poem. When I first learned in science about disproving the null hypothesis I immediately realized that we can never prove anything true only false. Descartes came to mind in philosophy and as we go down in quantum theory and outward in relativity we reach limits were what we say we know is based on theory and belief. Here is were ( I won't say religion but will say faith) comes into play and intersects with science. I appreciate your understanding after all its just a poem.
You are most welcome, Soren. More than "just a poem", I see this as a poignant and necessary counter-presentation to what is often being put out there in popular "science" and modern pop-science understanding. I say popular to mean most commonly understood/carried by people. That is not saying all or many scientists see it this way, but many people do. I certainly understand your distinction between faith and religion, and I concur there is a difference. I used the word provocatively to indicate that they aren't mutually exclusive...organized scientifc systems and organized faith systems (which a religion is)...because both are, inevitably, organized faith systems, albeit using different tools/methods and asking different questions; still, both are seeking ultimate and elusive scientia. Anywho, you really got my philosophical juices flowing with poem, my friend. Again, well done. One of my more faves of a sea of faves I have of yours. I'm a fan.
We each form our own faith in our own ways soren.
Andy
Indeed so we do Andy thank you so much for the read and comment
Your ‘just a poem’ has provoked many detailed and complex responses, Soren. Raises the question: what purpose has ‘just a poem’? I’m not going there – this was just a comment.
My simple mind sees it quite…. simply. Religion and Science try to answer two different questions: Religions asks ‘why’? (and in my view haven’t found the answer yet, but seem very satisfied with their conclusions), while Science continually attempts to answer the question ‘how’ and is never satisfied, realizing the depths of our ignorance and the existence of multiple unknowns.
Finally, there is no need for the 'why' and 'how' to ever collide, they should be on two different pathways.
A very perceptive view Dave. You are absolutely right yet one always tries to discredit the other such as when creationism collides with evolution. Maybe it is not the issue of religion and science but fanatics in both that misinterpret. That is the essence of the poem that they are merely two different ways of looking at things neither better or worse just different. Thanks so much Dave for the read and acutely accurate point made.
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