Science & Religion
A New Introduction
Alister E. McGrath
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Science & Religion
A New Introduction
Alister E. McGrath
About This Book
The leading introductory textbook on the study of religion and the natural sciences, including new coverage of the latest topics in the field
Science and Religion provides students with a thorough introduction to the major themes and landmark debates in the interaction of science and religion. Incorporating history, philosophy, the natural sciences, and theology, this popular textbook examines how science and religion approach central questions and discusses the relationship between the two areas through the centuries. The authoritative and accessible chapters are designed for readers with minimal knowledge of science or theology.
Written by one of the world's leading authorities on the study of religion and science, this fully revised and updated third edition addresses contemporary topics and reflects the latest conceptual developments in the field. New and expanded chapters and case studies discuss Scientism, evolutionary theodicy, the Theory of Relativity, warranted belief in science and religion, the influence of science and religion on human values, and more. The most up-to-date introduction to this exciting and rapidly growing field, this textbook:
- Offers an engaging, thematically-based approach to the subject
- Provides historical context for major events in science and religion
- Explores scientific and religious perspectives on Creation and the existence of God
- Discusses models, analogies, and issues at the intersection of science and religion
One of the most respected and widely adopted textbooks in the field, S cience and Religion: A New Introduction, 3rd Edition is an ideal resource for college, seminary, and university students in courses in science and religion; church or community courses in the relation of science and faith; and general readers looking for an inclusive overview of the field.
Frequently asked questions
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Chapter 1
Science and Religion: Exploring a Relationship
Why Study Science and Religion?
Scientific truth is characterized by its precision and the certainty of its predictions. But science achieves these admirable qualities at the cost of remaining on the level of secondary concerns, leaving ultimate and decisive questions untouched.
The scientific method can teach us nothing else beyond how facts are related to, and conditioned by, each other. ⊠Yet it is equally clear that knowledge of what is does not open the door directly to what should be. One can have the clearest and most complete knowledge of what is, and yet not be able to deduce from that what should be the goal of our human aspirations.
It is not a matter of another year, another decade of work, another measurement, or another theory; at this moment, it seems as though science will never be able to raise the curtain on the mystery of creation. For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peaks; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.
- Neither science nor religion can lay claim to give a total account of reality. It is certainly true that some on each side have offered grand visions of their discipline being able to answer every question about the nature of the universe and the meaning of life â as, for example, in Richard Dawkins's notion of âuniversal Darwinismâ. These, however, are not regarded as representative by their peers. Nor is the notion of ânonâoverlapping magisteriaâ, developed by writers such as the late Stephen Jay Gould. This envisages that science and religion occupy wellâdefined domains or areas of competency, which do not overlap or intersect. No conversation is necessary â or possible. Science and religion are perhaps better thought of as operating at their own distinct levels, often reflecting on similar questions, yet answering them in different ways. There are indeed some scientists who declare they have displaced religion (evident in recent âscientific atheismâ), just as there are religious activists who claim to have displaced science (evident in modern American âcreationismâ). Yet these are merely extreme positions in a spectrum of possibilities. Most would suggest that science does not â and cannot â answer every question that we might have about the world. Neither does religion. Yet taken together, they can offer a stereoscopic view of reality denied to those who limit themselves to one discipline's perspective on things. The science and religion dialogue allows us to appreciate the distinct identities, strengths, and limits of each conversation partner. It also offers us a deeper understanding of things than either religion or science could offer unaided.
- Both science and religion are concerned about making sense of things. Although many religions, including Christianity, aim for the transformation of the human situation, most also link this with offering an explanation of the world and human beings. Why are things the way they are? What explanations may be offered for what we observe? What is the âbigger pictureâ which helps us to make sense of our observations and experience? Scientific and religious explanations generally take different forms, even when reflecting on the same observations. Although there is an obvious risk in this simplification, it is helpful to think of science asking âhowâ questions, where religion asks âwhyâ questions. Science seeks to clarify mechanisms; religions seek to explore questions of meaning. These approaches do not need to be seen as being in competition, or as being mutually incompatible. They operate at different levels. While some scientists hold that we can go no further than understanding how things happen, others argue that we need to answer what the philosopher of science Karl Popper termed âultimate questionsâ â such as the meaning of life. One of the most influential discussions of this point is found in the social psychologist Roy Baumeister's classic work Meanings of Life (1993). For Baumeister, the human quest for meaning focuses on a series of basic human needs â such purpose, efficacy, and selfâworth. Why am I here? Can I make a difference? Do I really matter? Science may inform the answers given to these questions, but it does not determine them.
- In recent years there has been a significant increase in awareness within the scientific community of the broader issues raised by its research, and the limits placed upon that community's ability to answer them. An obvious example concerns ethical questions. Is science able to determine what is right and what is wrong? Most scientists would affirm that their discipline is fundamentally amoral â that is, that the scientific method does not extend to moral questions.
Our failure to discern a universal good does not record any lack of insight or ingenuity, but merely demonstrates that nature contains no moral messages framed in human terms. Morality is a subject for philosophers, theologians, students of the humanities, indeed fo...