Literature reviews: Science and Its Limits
Review of the book, Science and Its Limits. Published in Origins n. 54.
Review of the book, Science and Its Limits. Published in Origins n. 54.
Review of the book, Annie's Box: Charles Darwin, His Daughter, and Human Evolution. Published in Origins n. 53.
Both faith and reason are needed in a complete worldview, and finding a reasonable faith is a continuing process. Reason can suggest to the unbeliever that his worldview doesn't completely fit with reality, and to one who is weighing the evidence that science does not need to stand in the way. For the believer, reason and evidence serve to confirm a faith that is already present.
In two recent publications, Alister McGrath cites John Calvin in support of divine accommodation in a theory of origins. In order to evaluate the validity of McGrath's use of Calvin, it is necessary, first, to look briefly at the concept of divine accommodation and its use as a hermeneutical tool.
Literature Review
A review of Summer for the Gods. Published in Origins n. 51.
Origins may sometimes be a contentious issue in science and faith because of differing presuppositions about God's relationship to nature. An argument has been presented here that it is eminently reasonable to believe that direct supernatural action was involved in the origins of the universe, life, and humanity, and that a scientific process restricted to observable physical mechanisms is inadequate to discover and explain our origins.
What kind of relation should exist between science and religion? between nature and revelation? Should it be one of the conflicts or cooperation? The inspired writings present both views.
Historians of science have suggested that the Judea-Christian environment of western Europe and the belief in a monotheistic God were responsible for the development of modem science in that culture. Today students can still see that Christianity and physics are compatible and that similar assumptions underlie both.
There has been a long and arduous search for a plausible evolutionary mechanism that would produce complex organized life. We shall look briefly at the past two centuries of this search.
In this essay we will seek to find a balanced, practical approach to the relationship between science and God's Word.
Science and Scripture are built, according to Boyle, on the same epistemological features of revelation, reason, and experience but with different relative contributions from each.
A review of the book, A Balanced View of Science and Faith. Published in Origins v. 25, n. 2.
A review of the book, Mere Creation: Science, Faith & Intelligent Design. Published in Origins v. 25, n. 2.
Newton was an unusual person—absent-minded and generous, sensitive to criticism and modest. He faced a series of psychological crises. He had trouble maintaining good social relations. Yet, he was one of history’s rare giants—a brilliant physicist, a superb astronomer and mathematician, and a natural philosopher.
Review of the book, Scientific Theology. Published in Origins v. 24, n. 2.
Science and scripture are generally in agreement. Nonetheless, believing scientists will necessarily encounter tension between science and scripture. Ultimately, however, nature is a grand subject for study, and science, guided by scripture, can be an appropriate method for studying it. It is therefore perfectly appropriate, even desirable, for Adventists to participate in science.
Both faithd and reason are important in Christianity, and Christians should not neglect either. Published in Origins v. 23, n. 2.
Most science is conducted under the philosophical assumption of naturalism. A few scientists are developing an alternative paradigm, here called interventionism (generally called theism). Published in Origins v. 23, n. 1.
This descriptive analysis provides a comprehensive and wholistic view of Creation in the Book of Psalms.
Long ago, the Psalmist recorded a gem of inspiration: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." Nature calls us to recognize its Creator and nature invites us to probe its mysteries. Within the context of that call and that invitation, there need be no conflict between biblical Christianity and science, between faith and reason. A scientist can indeed be a Christian.