Does Science Contradict the Torah?

Most of the perceived "contradictions" between the Torah and science are analyzed and resolved within the Torah itself (see, for example, the book Sha'arei Emunah by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, King Messiah). This analysis leads to the conclusion that the apparent contradictions between Torah and science are nothing more than imaginary conflicts.

Modern science itself has already moved past the era in which it believed its conclusions to be absolute and beyond question. This becomes clear when discussing the topic with scientists — most of whom, as is well known, are not religious.

The principle is simple: the less a person knows about both science and Torah, the more "contradictions" he perceives between them. In other words, anyone who sees a contradiction between the Torah and science simply does not understand the true nature of the relationship between the two.

Someone who does not accept the Divine origin of the Torah may speak of a "contradiction" between Torah and science — just as one might discuss "contradictions" between science and a fictional fairy tale. But when one accepts the Torah as the wisdom of the Creator of the world, it becomes absurd to think that human scientific conclusions could cast doubt on what is written within it.

The Torah reveals the laws of existence from the perspective of the Creator — the inner logic of reality itself. Science, by contrast, examines reality only from the outside. Therefore, by its very nature, science should never arrive at a contradiction with the Torah — were it not for the inherent limitations of the human mind and the tools available to man for understanding reality.

In the Rebbe's talk on Purim 5711, it was stated: Since the external sciences are only necessary insofar as they contribute to the service of G-d — there can be no contradiction between the Torah and any external knowledge that the Torah would not be able to resolve.