The value of the religious model of knowing includes both biological and emotional benefits. A belief in a higher power brings peace of mind to many. When there are questions beyond a person's ability to understand, a religious model of knowing allows a person to believe that the answer is available, that a higher power has ordered the world, and that answers not currently known can be discovered in this life -- or in the next -- because of that. Professor Raymond Wesley Wells, in the "Journal of Psychology", said that belief in such things as God, immortality and freedom have a psychological benefit of their own, and appeal to that part of the human nature that is emotional and irrational. Some scientist feel their religious beliefs guide their scientific inquiry, and that what they discover in science helps them know and discover more about the wonder of the higher power who created the world. This understanding can give direction and comfort to the believer.
The scientific model has value in the ability to test and to duplicate test results for confidence in the facts that emerge. As scientists develop a theory and test it, some ideas are disregarded and others are accepted and built upon further. For example, the early theories of phrenology -- that lumps on the head indicated certain aspects of character -- were later proved false. However, Franz Gall, the man who developed the idea, did develop sound ideas, such as the idea that all reasoning and thinking took place in the brain and that certain parts of the brain were responsible for certain functions of the body. The scientific model accepts that knowledge of the universe and the function of the world is incomplete and changing, but asserts that everything can eventually be understood correctly through reason and testing.
Although many scientists reject religious models, many believe the two models can either coexist or come to a confluence. Moody, who helped edit the book "Converging Paths to Truth: The Summerhays Lectures on Science and Religion," said "Any difficulties that arise between science and religion are artificial and arise in the mind of people that don't understand." Some scientist find that their research confirms the existence of a higher power, and some consider the study of science to be a process of discovering what a higher power has done. Some scientists consider the mysteries of the universe to be an invitation from a creator to discover his works and find truth. Others reject this idea, however, saying that eventually everything that is unexplained will be explained through scientific inquiry.
Many historical and contemporary scientist follow both models of knowing. For example, even though they were sometimes at odds with the church at the time, Copernicus and Galileo were both believers in a higher power. Johannes Kepler, another astronomer and mathematician, was also a believer. Baruch Blumberg, a NASA scientist who developed the hepatitis B vaccine, was a believing Jew. Francis Collins of the Human Genome Project, Allan Sandage, a well-known astronomer, Owen Gingerich, a Harvard astronomer, and Henry Eyring, an award-winning chemist, also valued both the religious and scientific models of knowing. There are many scientist who reject this blending, however. For example, famous physicist Stephen Hawking rejects any idea of a higher power, and called the idea of a heaven "a fairy tale."