I have heard religion described as a language that helps us understand the world and our place in it. Science is another such language. Who is to say which is true and which is not? It is all in how you perceive things.
I will admit though that I am quite skeptical of literal interpretations of religion as "truth" or the idea that any book is the "word of god"....whichever god that might be.
You know......there is a website called the Universal Torah Network. On there is a couple of series of programs. The ones that I would recommend are the ones on the B'Neih Noach. Not only do they discuss theology in that short series (6 programs I think), but they also show (in the Torah), where DNA strands are spoken about.
We didn't learn about them until recently.
Additionally, Israel is one place where science and theology are pretty much researched about equally. Why else do you think that some of the best ideas come from there? Solar and wind, exceedingly precise weapons, as well as dangerous ones (the Merkvah 4 comes to mind).
Besides...........on the science front, one of the greatest thinkers of all time, Mr. Albert Einstein stated it very plainly when he stated "Theology without science is crippled, and science without theology is blind."
In other words, both must be united.
If not? Well......then we can start talking about how people like Copernicus and Galileo were persecuted for their heresy of stating that the Earth revolved around the Sun. Religion didn't agree, and they almost executed them.
Da Vinci was another one of them. He would take corpses and dissect them in order to learn more about the human body. Matter of fact, that research was considered to be heretical, if not downright blasphemous and evil in accordance with the beliefs of the day.
Now? If someone dies under unusual circumstances, we automatically dissect the body to find out why they died. Matter of fact, it's kinda required by law.
Incidentally, Da Vinci's drawings were THE BEST IN THE WORLD UNTIL THE MID 1990'S, when it came to anatomy drawings of people. Gray's Anatomy didn't catch up to a man who lived over 500 years ago until around 1997 or 1998.
And, that is only with the help of all modern equipment.
No, those that say you need to ignore theology in pursuit of science are half wrong. You need to pay attention to it, otherwise the science can go wrong. Human cloning and stem cell research, as well as abortion are hot issues concerning this.
And.....those that say you need to ignore science in pursuit of theology? Well.......again........half wrong. Not only can I point to the middle ages, but I can also point to it now in the form of the Amish, and to quite a great extent, the Islamic beliefs as well.
As far as is there an actual God? I like to believe so, as I've seen too much evidence of Him all over the place. Most notably in places like the History Channel and Science Channel, as well as Nat Geo, because when you're looking at how the world works, you can't help but believe that there is something keeping everything working just so, and it's a bit more than "just the laws of physics", because it's also dependent on human interaction.
Do I believe Yeshua (Jesus to Christians) existed? Yes. I believe that as well. Why? Well, a couple of years ago, in the news, there was a prison in the Middle East that was expanding. During the excavation for the foundation, they found a church from the time of around 100 years after Christ's crucifixion. Inside that church, there was a coin, with the name AND LIKENESS of Christ on it.
During that time, the countries of the day didn't put just anyone on their money. You had to be someone who was exceedingly famous, as well as did something notable, just like Lincoln, Jefferson, and all the others are on our money today.
Nope.......I believe in both, and I believe in others as well.