What makes something a miracle? When Jesus turned a few loaves and fishes into a meal for thousands, cured diseases and raised people from the dead, people were impressed not just because these actions were benevolentWell-meaning and kind., but because they seemed to defy the laws of nature. He was doing things that should not be scientifically possible.

These days, it is scientists pushing the boundaries of what we think can be done. Over the last twelve months they have climbed to new heights of discovery.

One group of scientists created a new AI model capable of detecting alien life, or traces of it from the past.¹ When tested, their programme could distinguish between biological and non-biological samples, even ancient ones, with 90% accuracy. They hope to use it to find out if there was once life on Mars.

Another big AI breakthrough is a thought-decoder that can translate brain activity into text using the technology from ChatGPTAn Artificial Intelligence chatbot released in November 2022. . It does not require any surgical implants and its authors hope it can be used to help people who are unable to communicate, although they also acknowledge the risk that it could be used to invade people's minds.²

Medical science brought new hope for victims of Alzheimer'sA disease which affects the brain and causes confusion and memory loss., with a new drug that can slow its onset by around one-third. The drug removes a kind of gunk called "beta-amyloid" that builds up between brain cells and causes the brain to degenerateImmoral and corrupt. .³

And some researchers finally delivered some good news about the climate crisis. A study showed it is possible to capture carbon dioxideCarbon dioxide is a colourless gas formed during the combustion of any material containing carbon and is a significant greenhouse gas.  from the atmosphere and convert it into baking soda, which can then be safely stored in the ocean.⁴

More pessimistically, scientists also proved that we are definitely in a human-driven mass extinctionCompletely dying out. event. A team found animal species are going extinctA species that no longer has any living members. 35 times faster than normal, and that since the year 1500 the planet might have lost as many as 13% of all its species - roughly 260,000.⁵

With scientists performing what some think are like modern miracles, it is no wonder some say science has taken the place of religion.

Many scientists reject this idea. They say there is a strict distinction between religion, whose ideas are based only on faith, and science, which applies a critical method to find out what is true and what is false.

They point out this method has proved more powerful than any other way of knowing in history for making new discoveries and breakthroughs.

But others call this reductiveDealing with or describing something complicated in a simple or too simple way.. The problem, they say, is that when we think of religion our minds leap to the Abrahamic religionsJudaism, Christianity and Islam are known as the Abrahamic religions because they all trace their roots back to the story of Abraham., which are generally based on a strong component of faith.

But many religions around the world are quite different. Buddhism prides itself on being an empiricalThrough observation or experience, rather than just theory. religion. Buddhists believe the tenetsA principle or belief, especially one of the main principles of a religion or philosophy. of their creed can be proved through close observation of nature.

And there are different kinds of science. The scientific methodA method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment. calls for doubt and humility. Scientists are supposed to question how much they can know and limit their claims to the very minimum of what can be proved.

But some scientists have become advocates of scientism: the claim that only scientific knowledge has any real worth. Its proponents suggest that not only religion, but also most philosophy, cannot tell us anything. In this form, science appears more like a religion.

Yes: Scientists use special knowledge that we cannot access in order to perform miracles that keep us in awe. They are the high priests of the new religion known as science.

No: Science is based on critical inquiry, scepticism, and humility about what we can and cannot know. It could not be further from religion, which believes it can explain everything but need not justify how.

Or... Religion was once the framework through which we organised all of our knowledge. Now, science fulfils the same function. But this does not mean they are the same thing.