Is Theology A Science

This reader brings together carefully selected material from a wide range of authors on the relationships between science, religion and theology. It samples the recent literature on the challenges to religion posed by both modern physics and evolutionary biology as well as exploring the relationship between scientific and theological approaches. Topics include models of interaction between science and religion, historical reflections on the "conflict thesis", scientific and theological methods, creation and modern cosmology, uncertainty and chaos, creationism and evolutionary theory, the anthropic principle and design, and the challenge of reductionism. Contributors include Ian Barbour, Michael Behe, Richard Dawkins, John Habgood, Mary Hesse, T. H. Huxley, Alister McGrath, Arthur Peacocke, John Polkinghorne, Michael Ruse, Keith Ward and Fraser Watts.

Papers from the Oxford International Symposium, held at Christ Church College in Sept. 1979. Includes bibliographical references and index.

Just as gendered, cultural, and geographical perspectives have illuminated and advanced theological thought, the contributions of twentieth-century science have much to offer theology. In his latest book, physicist-theologian John Polkinghorne, renowned as one of the world's foremost thinkers on science and religion, offers a lucid argument for developing the intersection of the two fields as another form of contextual theology. Countering recent assertions by new atheists that religious belief is irrational and even dangerous, Polkinghorne explores ways that theology can be open to and informed by science. He describes recent scientific discourse on such subjects as epistemology, objectivity, uncertainty, and rationality and considers the religious importance of the evolution in these areas of scientific thought. Then, evaluating such topics as relativity, space and time, and evolutionary theory, he uses a scientific style of inquiry as a foundation on which to build a model of Christian belief structure. Science and theology share in the great human quest for truth and understanding, says Polkinghorne, and he illustrates how their interaction can be fruitful for both.

What elements of theology allow it to be considered a science? What are the parallels between theological deduction and scientific analysis? Theology, specifically, is a science aimed at understanding the faith. Yet this understanding is not destructive of mystery. Theology is born, grows up and is brought to full accomplishment within the heart of mystery--not only is its subject matter the mystery of God and his historical plans, it is also the fact that its inner workings, even in their most intellectual forms are wholly penetrated with the mysterious light of faith. The relationship between theology and faith must be carefully defined. Theology as science, far from emptying or diminishing faith, allows the believing intelligence to develop its own scientific spirit, but always "under the enduring efficacy of the infused light of faith."

How do we react to the claim that physics must now be regarded as one of the liberal arts, for in its description of the universe it sets the stage for the drama of human life? If modern science has now become the dominant culture, how does Christianity look within it? What difference does the Christian idea of the contingence of nature make to science today? What difference does it make for Christian thought and culture to move away from the old idea of the world as a closed mechanical system of cause and effect into the new idea of the world as an open dynamic system configured by the behavior of light, the fastest messenger in the universe? These are some of the questions discussed in the light of James Clerk Maxwell's discoveries of the mathematical properties of light, and of Albert Einstein's generalization of the new understanding of light for a radically new and exciting view of nature that has made space travel possible and enabled us to trace the expansion of the universe back to conditions near its beginning. This is not a defensive book about science and religion in the usual vein. It is concerned rather with the deep mutual relation and respect of Christian and scientific thought for each other, and shows how this relationship throws new light upon basic Christian doctrines. This volume also warns against the dangers of a reactionary retreat from the rigors of scientific thought into fuzzy mythological interpretations of the incarnation, and calls for a deeper appreciation of the Nicene Creed upon which all Christendom rests.

This book analyses whether the scientific epistemology of Torrance's Theological Science project is robust enough to withstand the anarchic and distinctively post-modern challenge of Paul Feyerabend: 'The worst enemy of science'.

At a time when religion and science are seen by many to be antagonists locked in a battle to the death, Professor Hooykaas offers a startling proposition: modern science, he suggests, is in good part a product of the Judeo-Christian influence on western thought.

It is hard to think of an area of Christian theology that provides more scope for interdisciplinary conversation than the doctrine of creation. This doctrine not only invites reflection on an intellectual concept: it calls for contemplation of the endlessly complex, dynamic, and fascinating world that human being inhabit. But the possibilities for wide-ranging discussion are such that scholars sometimes end up talking past one another. Productive conversation requires mutual understanding of insights across disciplinary boundaries. Knowing Creation offers an essential resource for helping scholars from a range of fields to appreciate one another's concerns and perspectives. In so doing, it offers an important step forward in establishing a mutually-enriching dialogue that addresses, amongst others, the following key questions: Who is the God who creates? Why does God create? What is "creation"? What does it mean to recognize that a theology of creation speaks of a natural world that is subject to the observation of the natural sciences? What does it mean to talk about both a "natural" order and a "created" order? What are the major tensions that have arisen between the natural sciences and Christian thinking historically, and why? How can we move beyond such tensions to a positive and constructive conversation, while also avoiding facile notions such as a "god of the gaps"? Is it feasible for a natural scientist to maintain a belief in God's continuing creative activity? In what ways might a naturalistic understanding of the natural world be said to be limited? How can biblical studies, theology, philosophy, history, and science talk better together about these questions? At a time when the doctrine of creation - and even a mention of "creation" - has been disparaged due to its supposed associations with anti-scientific dogma, and theological offerings sometimes risk appearing a little more than reactionary exercises in naive apologetics, ill-informed by science or distinctly wary of engagement with it, it is more important than ever to offer a cross-disciplinary resource that can voice a positive account of a Christian theology of creation, and do so as a genuinely broad-ranging conversation about science and faith. Contributors to Knowing Creation include Marilyn McCord Adams, Denis Alexander, Susan Eastman, C. Stephen Evans, Peter van Inwagen, Christoph Schwobel, John H. Walton, Francis Watson, and more. X