DreamStalker wrote:. . . science and religion . . .
My experience is that the two approaches and schools of thought can coexist quite nicely and inform one another, as long as one does not mix up which is designed for what.
Both, for me, are evidence-based. But one is designed to take God into consideration and the other one, by definition, is not allowed to do so.
Ultimate origins? Learning to humbly acknowledge the limitations of physical human observation? That search is best made in the realm of religion, in my opinion, since science wasn't designed to explore such matters.
My position is that I would consider it a mistake to turn a science book into the basis for one's religious beliefs, although one is certainly free to make that choice. And my position is that it is similarly a mistake to view the Bible as a book written by scientists--although, personally I have yet to find anything in the pages of the Bible that, in context, is in any way contradictory to accurate scientific observation.
But hey, that's just me. I never claimed to be mainstream.