Religion And The Challenges Of Science

Does science pose a challenge to religion and religious belief? This question has been a matter of long-standing debate - and it continues to concern not only scholars in philosophy, theology, and the sciences, but also those involved in public educational policy. This volume provides background to the current 'science and religion' debate, yet focuses as well on themes where recent discussion of the relation between science and religion has been particularly concentrated. The first theme deals with the history of the interrelation of science and religion. The second and third themes deal with the implications of recent work in cosmology, biology and so-called intelligent design for religion and religious belief. The fourth theme is concerned with 'conceptual issues' underlying, or implied, in the current debates, such as: Are scientific naturalism and religion compatible? Are science and religion bodies of knowledge or practices or both? Do religion and science offer conflicting truth claims? By illuminating contemporary discussion in the science-religion debate and by outlining the options available in describing the relation between the two, this volume will be of interest to scholars and to members of the educated public alike.

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.

The New York Times bestselling author explains why any attempt to make religion compatible with science is doomed to fail. What we read in the news today is full of subjectivity, half-truths, and blatant falsehoods; and thus it is more necessary now than ever to safeguard the truth with facts. In his provocative new book, evolutionary biologist Jerry A. Coyne aims to do exactly that in the arena of religion. In clear, dispassionate detail he explains why the toolkit of science, based on reason and empirical study, is reliable, while that of religion—including faith, dogma, and revelation—leads to incorrect, untestable, or conflicting conclusions. Coyne is responding to a national climate in which over half of Americans don’t believe in evolution (and congressmen deny global warming), and warns that religious prejudices and strictures in politics, education, medicine, and social policy are on the rise. Extending the bestselling works of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens, he demolishes the claims of religion to provide verifiable “truth” by subjecting those claims to the same tests we use to establish truth in science. Coyne irrefutably demonstrates the grave harm—to individuals and to our planet—in mistaking faith for fact in making the most important decisions about the world we live in.

The relationship between science and belief has been a prominent subject of public debate for many years, one that has relevance to everything from science communication, health and education to immigration and national values. Yet, sociological analysis of these subjects remains surprisingly scarce. This wide-ranging book critically reviews the ways in which religious and non-religious belief systems interact with scientific theories and practices. Contributors explore how, for some secularists, ‘science’ forms an important part of social identity. Others examine how many contemporary religious movements justify their beliefs by making a claim upon science. Moving beyond the traditional focus on the United States, the book shows how debates about science and belief are firmly embedded in political conflict, class, community and culture.

This extraordinary volume models a fruitful interaction between the profound discoveries of the natural sciences and the venerable and living wisdoms of the world's major religions. Bridging Science and Religion brings together distin-guished contributors to the sciences, comparative philosophy, and religious studies to address the most important current questions in the field. Sponsored by the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences in Berkeley, it is an ideal starting point for novices, yet has much to offer academics, professionals, and students. Part 1 establishes a working methodology for bridge-building between scientific and religious approaches to reality. Part 2 lays down the challenge to current theological and ethical positions from genetics, neuroscience, natural law, and evolutionary biology. Part 3 offers a religious response to modern science from scholars working out of Islamic, Jewish, Hindu, Orthodox, Latin American Catholic, and Chinese contexts. Showcasing attitudes toward science from outside the West and an inclusive and comparative perspective, Bridging Science and Religion brings a new and timely dimension to this burgeoning field.

This book addresses selected issues in the emerging field of science and religion, and at the same time acknowledges the situation of Indonesia (or, more generally, a "Third World" country) as the locus for this discussion. The book is concerned with how various world religions, in particular Islam and Christianity respond to shared challenges posed by science, as new theories in cosmology, physics, and the life sciences have brought challenges to many traditional religious ideas. There are also more generally epistemological challenges that reflect the recent success of natural science as a mode of inquiry. These are felt as problems in both the Western and non-Western worlds, but with an important difference. While the Western world is considered the "legitimate owner" of modern science, some in the Muslim world, and the Third World more generally, see modern science as a cultural alien imposed on them, due to its initial introduction in the colonial period.

The progress of modern science and technology has led to remarkable insights into the nature of the universe and of human life. These insights have challenged and transformed former traditional worldviews and narratives. This book explores and addresses the challenges that arise at the interface of science and religion in the 21st century. How does science affect the way that religion is perceived? Do modern scientific findings confirm or invalidate the perspective of faith? How does science lead religious persons to revise the way they understand their faith and its practices? Is a mutually respectful and mutually beneficial dialogue possible between science and faith? Drawing from many disciplines, psychology, theology, philosophy, history, cognitive science, education, this book considers the crucial questions of how science and religion can help shape our worldviews and ways of life today.

Scientific Challenges to Evolutionary Theory: How These Challenges Affect Religion addresses all aspects of the giant battle between two major belief systems…those that believe in a ‘naturalistic worldview’ and evolution, and those that believe in a miracle-performing God and the Creation of all things. On a trip to Mount St. Helens, some look at the catastrophic eruption of May 18, 1981 as a significant corroboration of the Creation event. Others, deniers of the possibilities of miracles, hold to the view that God’s creation cannot be taken seriously by the scientific community. At the Mount St. Helens book store, I asked about books for sale that gave a Christian view of the catastrophic eruption. The reply was, “I’m sorry, sir, but we only carry books by scientists.” It was time for the author, Jay Schabacker, to do a little scientific sleuthing. Join Jay Schabacker as you learn of the hundreds, even thousands, of Ph.D. scientists who repudiate the theory of evolution, but hold rather to the truth of the theory of Creation. Significant general information, likely new to most readers gives corroborative evidence from many sources, including: • From all over the ancient world, hundreds of accounts of a global flood • Well documented accounts of the Ark of Noah, indeed, located at the top of Mount Ararat • Ancient ‘Near East’ finds, inscribed on rock, told of the actual details covered in the Holy Bible Numerous scientific papers refute the naturalistic dogma forced on us the government, public schools, universities and media. You’ll find arguments that assert: • The earth’s geological features appear to have been fashioned by rapid catastrophic processes that affected the earth on a global scale. • Life on earth was suddenly created, not over billions of years. • The use of radiometric dating method is often grossly in error. • The fossil record shows that all present living kinds of animals and plants have remained fixed since creation. • Mutations and natural selection are insufficient to have brought about any emergence of living kinds from a simple primordial organism. • The universe has “obvious manifestations of an ordered, structural plan and design.” The universe and the solar system were suddenly created. If evolution is wrong why are our children being only taught it in our public schools? Numerous polls favored biology teachers teaching Darwin’s Theory of evolution, but also the scientific evidence against it. The final section of the book gets further into the “Action Plan” where church pastors and members, scientist groups, etc., could make an important difference if: • We all read about the subject and started the conversation; • We gave our views to the school boards and legislators who are the decision makers; • We initiate needed petitions in support needed legislation; and • We urge church pastors to create their own church schools and concerned families to start home schooling for their children.