Man: A Little Less Than God – Bridging Science, Faith, and Freedom of Thought
Abstract
The Psalmist declared (psalm8) that man is made “a little less than God” and crowned him with glory and honor. This paper examines what that “little” means in light of religion, science, evolution, and human self-awareness. It argues that humanity’s divine likeness lies not in sensory power or material achievement, but in the boundless capacity for thought, imagination, and love. By reconciling reason and faith, science and spirituality, the world may yet rediscover the harmony needed for peace on earth.
Keywords: God, evolution, consciousness, free thought, science and religion, peace, empathy, collaboration.
1. The Divine Mystery of Man
“You have made him a little less than God; You have crowned him with glory and honor.” — Psalm 8:5
Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—affirm that man was created by God, just a little lower than the Divine Himself. Hindu philosophy, in contrast, teaches that man is not merely close to God but an inseparable part of the Divine essence: “Aham Brahmasmi”—I am Brahman. When we read john chapter 17where Jesus prays “they all may beone ,as you, father ,are in me and I in you. May they also be in us……. Etc. it is clear that the essence of Hindu and Christian teachings are in alignment
Science, meanwhile, sees humanity as the pinnacle of evolution, the most complex organism known—an outcome of billions of years of natural selection. But the discoveries by Science is also a continuing process, currently searching for answers to the mysteries connecting matter, energy, information , conscience, entanglement, tunneling and so on
Whether created or evolved, we stand astonishingly close to something divine. But how big is that “little” gap? How far have we grown toward, or away from, the ideal of ‘God’?
An Indian poet once joked: “God made man on the sixth day from dust; and on the seventh day man made God from stone.” In this irony lies the paradox of human greatness—we have the capacity to imagine God, to create gods, and even to destroy one another in their names.
2. The Power and Limits of the Human Brain
When scientists studied Albert Einstein’s brain, they sought to uncover what made him so brilliant. Myths arose that he used “10%” of his brain while others use only 1–2%. Although scientifically inaccurate, this legend highlights a deeper truth: the human brain remains one of the most mysterious and magnificent creations in the universe.
Our intellect has split the atom, mapped the genome, and send machines to Mars. Yet we still fail to fully understand the source of our own thoughts. Is man merely a biochemical machine, converting carbohydrates into energy to perform work? Or is there a spark within us—a consciousness—that points to something beyond material existence?
3. Our Sensory Limitations
If man is the “highest” of all beings, how do we explain that many animals surpass us in sensory powers?
Dogs and snakes can detect scents imperceptible to us. Eagles see with a resolution we can only mimic through telescopes. Science tells us that human eyes perceive only a ten-trillionth of the electromagnetic spectrum, and our ears hear just a narrow band between 20 and 20,000 Hz.
If “divine creation” were measured by sensory power alone, we would rank far below countless creatures. Perhaps, then, our greatness lies not in seeing or hearing—but in the capacity to understand, to imagine, and to love, to empathize.
4. The Gift of Thought and Imagination
Thought has no weight, no color, no speed limit. It leaps across time and space faster than light—carrying us from earth to heaven, from despair to hope, from ignorance to enlightenment.
Where does it come from? Not from any of the five senses, nor from any known organ, not from. any nook or corner of our body, mind or brain. Thought and imagination seem to spring from an invisible field that science has yet to define; They could chat with God, about creation of Adam/Eve at Paradise in the ‘past’ and instantaneously go to the Mars and chat with Elon Musk(?) in the ’future’
This may be the “little less than God” essence within us: the power to imagine, to create, to ask “Why?” and “Why not?” Free thought—unshackled by dogma, unafraid of doubt—is humanity’s true divine heritage.
5. Science and the Expansion of Human Senses
In recent decades, science has begun to extend and even replicate human senses. Cameras can now connect to the optic nerve, allowing the blind to “see.” Sensory vests enable the deaf to perceive sound. Technologies visualize brain activity, mapping emotions and decisions in real time.
DNA, discovered less than a century ago, has transformed biology and medicine. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are opening pathways for human exploration even inside the atom, as seen in projects like the AlloSphere.
These wonders exist because we dared to think freely. The progress of humanity is, above all, the triumph of imagination.
6. The Paradox of Progress
Despite our scientific miracles, we remain unable to master ourselves. We have explored space but not the depths of conscience. We have created digital universes but failed to build peace on earth.
Religions, ideologies, and political systems—though founded on noble intentions—have often divided rather than united humanity. Wars rage in the name of God, ideology, or nation. A hurts B who suffers pain that ‘grows’ into hatred and anger and revenge that strike A inflicting pain The pain-hatred-anger-revenge cycle spins endlessly: Jews and Palestinians, Hindus and Muslims, tribe against tribe. The root of this tragedy lies in our spiritual immaturity—the illusion that “my truth” excludes yours- the failure to understand the ‘oneness’ in us.
7. The Need for Free Thought and Humility
Theists, atheists, and scientists alike must reclaim the courage of open-minded inquiry. True knowledge grows only where ego dissolves. “I am right, you are wrong” has been humanity’s oldest disease.
Freedom of thought is not rebellion—it is reverence for truth—it is commitment to stand witness for truth. The moment we stop condemning differing views, the barrier between faith and reason begins to fall.
8. Science and Religion: Partners, Not Rivals
Albert Einstein once said, “Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.” Pope John Paul II added, “Science can purify religion from error; religion can purify science from false absolutes.”
This dialogue must not remain in quotations—it must become a movement. For science seeks truth through reason, while religion seeks truth through faith. Both yearn for the same light. Peace on earth demands their collaboration. Jews and gentile, Hindus, Muslims and Christians, theists and atheists, all are co-travelers in the highway to Truth. There is no need for collision.
9. The Biological Foundation of Goodness
Modern genetics and neuroscience increasingly reveal that empathy, cooperation, and compassion are not mere moral ideals—they are coded in our biology. Humanity carries within it what might be called a “God gene,” a neurochemical predisposition toward love and connectedness.
The Buddha and Jesus intuited this thousands of years ago; science is only now confirming it. Our longing for justice and peace is not foreign to nature—it is nature at its highest expression.
10. From Competition to Collaboration
Mao Zedong once said, “Let a hundred flowers bloom.” Competition has its place—life itself begins with the race of sperms toward the ovum—but unrestrained rivalry, whether in business or politics, breeds destruction.
True evolution demands both competition and cooperation. Companies, nations, and individuals must learn to serve and uplift, not to dominate. The wealth of the earth is enough to feed ten billion, yet over a billion people starve—not because of scarcity, but because of greed.
11. Toward Peace on Earth
Peace will not come from one ideology defeating another, but from humanity awakening to its shared divine spark. When science and religion collaborate, when thought, imagination and faith walk hand in hand, the distance between man and God will begin to shrink again.
A s we start seeing the summit of this climb to truth we will discover that the ladder to heaven was never outside—it has always been within ourselves. The “Kingdom of God” is not a place above the clouds but a state of consciousness attainable here and now—through love, empathy, and the freedom to think.
Conclusion
Man was made “a little less than God,” but through imagination, compassion, and collaboration, he can rise to that divine closeness again.
By uniting reason and reverence, science and spirituality, healthy competition and cooperation, humanity can transform its “little” distance from God into an infinite nearness—and rediscover heaven within itself.