Science and Religion Contemporary Christian Thought February 6, 2012 Angelia Barnes Instructor: Professor Ira Reynolds North

Carolina Wesleyan College

Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Religion is the belief in and reverence for a supernatural power or powers regarded as creator and governor of the universe. The classifications of science and religion have characteristics or traits in common. They interact using conflict (stating the disciplines contradict and are incompatible with each other), independence (treating each as quite separate realms of inquiry), dialogue (suggesting that each field has things to say to each other about phenomena in which their interest overlap), and integration (aiming to unify both fields into a single discourse). The nature of science is based on the premise that our senses and extensions of those senses through the use of instruments can give us accurate information about the Universe. Like religion science is also engaged in searching for universal principles that explain the facts of nature. Science follows very specific rules and its results are always subject to testing and if necessary, revision. Science is a particular way of understanding the natural world. It extends the intrinsic curiosity with which we are born. Science also allows us to connect with the past with the present. The three basic questions science seeks to discover are as follows: Whats there? How does it work? How did it come to be this way?

Contrary to some popular and professional opinions, science is not morally neutral. What scientist study, the methods they use and the applications they make or intend all have profound moral implications.

The nature of religion can be found in some form in every culture around the world. Religion share the goal of tying people back to something behind the surface of life, a greater reality which lies beyond that infuses the world that we can perceive with our five senses. It has been the basic foundation of life permeating all aspects of human existence. Religious inquiry is something that virtually all humans have in common. In all corners of the world and in all eras of history, people have wondered about the meaning of life, how to make the best of it, what happens afterwards, and if there is anyone or anything "out there." In his book Redeeming Science (2006), theologian Vern Poythress states that all scientists-believe in God. This is true because scientific laws reflect the attributes of God. A degree of concord between science and religion can be seen in religious belief and experimental science. It is this doctrine of the contingency of divine creation that underwrites the empirical character of modern Western science (Ratzsch, 2009). The early pioneers of modern Western science- Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Boyle were all serious Christians. But there were some who challenged the thought of God being the divine creator. More recently, a central locus of alleged conflict has been the theory of evolution. Charles Darwin, one of the most important figures in the history of science was best known for his theory of evolution by natural selection. Although, evolutionary ideas had been common since at least the 18th century, what Darwin was able to do was to describe the process (natural selection) by which evolution occurred, as well present overwhelming arguments and clear evidence of his position. Evolution by natural selection is a process that is gathered from three facts about populations: 1) more

offspring are produced than can possibly survive, 2) traits vary among individuals, leading to differential rates of survival and reproduction, and 3) trait differences are heritable. Thus, when members of a population die they are replaced by the progeny of parents that were better adapted to survive and reproduce in the environment in which natural selection took place. Of course, both in Darwin's lifetime and still today, many religious people found themselves unable to accept Darwin's ideas. On the other hand, there are of course many religious people who did not find their faith to be an obstacle to consideration of evolutionary ideas. Among the scientific community, the idea of evolution was soon almost universally accepted. By the 1930s, Darwinian evolution by natural selection gradually emerged as the front-runner of the various evolutionary theories. Darwin's Theory of Evolution is a slow gradual process. Darwin wrote, "Natural selection acts only by taking advantage of slight successive variations; she can never take a great and sudden leap, but must advance by short and sure, though slow steps." Thus, Darwin conceded that, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down." Such a complex organ would be known as an "irreducibly complex system". An irreducibly complex system is one composed of multiple parts, all of which are necessary for the system to function. If even one part is missing, the entire system will fail to function. Every individual part is complete. Thus, such a system could not have evolved slowly, piece by piece.

Theory of Evolution Image

Another conflict or concord that caused a stir in the science and religion arena is the Big Bang theory. The Big Bang actually consisted of an explosion of space within itself unlike an explosion of a bomb were fragments are thrown outward. The galaxies were not all clumped together, but rather the Big Bang lay the foundations for the universe. The origin of the Big Bang theory can be credited to Edwin Hubble. Hubble made the observation that the universe is continuously expanding. Christians argued this theory and continued to stand on the belief that God alone is the creator of all things and creator of the universe. The Big Bang actually consisted of an explosion of space within itself unlike an explosion of a bomb were fragments are thrown outward. The galaxies were not all clumped together, but rather the Big Bang lay the foundations for the universe. Everyone at some point in time has grappled with the question of why we are here? Some have found refuge in the sheer philosophic nature of this question while others have taken a more scientific approach. These particular issues have taken questions to a higher level, concentrating not only on human existence but the existence of everything we know as real. Truth-seeking

is a moral imperative. To dismiss as untrue that which is simply unknown is both unscientific and un-Christian. As Solomon said, He who answers before listening is a shame and a folly to give advice before listening to the facts. (Proverbs 18:13) NLT Science does not claim to have all the answers. Its methods rely on evidence from reality and testing against that reality. And the ideas of science are always open to change as new evidence is acquired. Science does not claim to have all the answers. In the Christian worldview, nature is lawful (the creation of the Lawgiver), and thus capable of study. It reflects God and man has been given dominion over it, which demands both the study of nature (science) and the use of it for God-glorifying purposes (technology). According to some commentators, religion and science work together to present a fuller understanding of the world by mutually enlightening each other.

www.biography.com/charles-darwin http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/science http://plato.standford.edu/entries/religion-science Journal of Ecclesiastical History, Vol. 62, No. 1, January 2011.