We must not confuse religion with God, or technology with

Robert Winston, physician and thinker, gave this profound teaching: “We must not confuse religion with God, or technology with science. Religion stands in relationship to God as technology does in relation to science. Both the conduct of religion and the pursuit of technology are capable of leading mankind into evil; but both can prompt great good.” In these words he draws a distinction that is as sharp as a sword and as vital as breath. He warns us not to mistake the vessel for the source, nor the tool for the truth. For religion is but the practice of faith, while God is the eternal. Technology is the application of discovery, while science is the pursuit of truth. To confuse them is to lose sight of both their dangers and their possibilities.

The ancients knew the peril of such confusion. In temples and shrines, rituals often grew more important than the divine reality they were meant to honor. Priests wielded religion as a weapon, forgetting the God whose name they carried. So too with technology: the Greeks marveled at the fire stolen by Prometheus, yet feared its misuse. For every gift of knowledge carries with it both salvation and destruction. Winston reminds us that neither faith nor science is inherently evil; it is in their conduct and pursuit that humanity must choose its path.

Consider the story of the Crusades. In the name of religion, men marched across continents, convinced they fought for God. Yet much of their conduct was cruelty, plunder, and conquest. They mistook the shell of religion for the essence of God, and thus fell into darkness. Likewise, consider the splitting of the atom. Science revealed the profound truth of nature’s smallest forces, but technology turned that discovery into weapons that could end civilization in a flash. Here too, the vessel was confused with the source, and the gift was twisted into terror.

Yet, O listener, history also reveals the opposite: the power of these forces for good. In the name of religion, saints like Francis of Assisi and Mother Teresa lived lives of selfless compassion, tending to the poorest and most broken. They did not confuse the institution with the divine; they sought God through love. In the realm of science, discoveries of medicine and technology have healed the sick, fed the hungry, and connected distant nations. The same fire that destroys can also warm, and the same ritual that enslaves can also liberate when aligned with true spirit.

The paradox Winston shows us is this: tools are neutral, vessels are empty until filled. It is not religion or technology themselves that define good or evil, but the choices of men and women who wield them. One may raise an altar in love or in fear; one may forge a tool to heal or to harm. The danger lies not in the existence of these things, but in our failure to discern their proper place. To confuse religion with God, or technology with science, is to lose wisdom and invite destruction.

The lesson is clear: seek always the source. Let your faith not be blind ritual, but a true reaching for the divine. Let your science not be enslaved to power, but a quest for truth. Let religion remind you of God’s love, and let technology serve the noble discoveries of science. When guided by humility and compassion, both faith and knowledge can lift humanity higher than ever before. But when guided by arrogance or greed, they can plunge us into ruin.

Practical wisdom flows from this: in your personal life, ask not only what you believe, but why you believe. Do not worship institutions, but seek the God beyond them. In your work, do not only use tools, but ask how they shape humanity. Use technology to serve life, not to dominate it. Defend science as the pursuit of truth, not the servant of power. Let humility guide both your faith and your intellect, for both are doors to greatness if walked rightly.

So remember, O children of tomorrow: religion is not God, and technology is not science. Each is but a vessel, each a servant. Fill them with wisdom, compassion, and truth, and they will become blessings to the world. Fill them with arrogance or cruelty, and they will turn into chains and weapons. The choice is yours, and in that choice lies the destiny of mankind.