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Title: When Science Meets Religion : Enemies, Strangers, or Partners? by Ian G. Barbour ISBN: 0-06-060381-X Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 16 May, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.47 (15 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Nice Intro to the Subject of Science and Religion
Comment: This short 180 page book contains a summary of all the latest ideas coming out of the dialog of religion with science. It is respectfully and beautifully written. It is also intelligently written without losing clarity or using too much jargon. As a physicist I'd say Barbour got all the physics (and science) right, not something most writers in this area are able to do.
Barbour discusses the scientific and theological significance of several "hot" topics: the big bang and creation, the implications of quantum physics, Darwinian evolution and continuing creation, naturalistic challenges to theism, human nature (free will vs determinism, the nature of the "soul", body/soul and mind/brain dualities), and the theological implications of the fact that we live in a universe where both chance and law play major roles. In each chapter, Barbour discusses four ways of responding to these questions: conflict, represented by fundamentalists and scientific materialists, both of whom agree that a person cannot believe in both God and Darwinian evolution; independence (two languages, separate domains), dialogue, which invites a conversation between the two fields; and integration, which moves beyond dialogue to explore ways in which the two fields can inform each other, especially Process philosophy. Barbour sympathies lie with dialogue and integration, but I believe he is fair to all points of view. I also liked and approve of his use of "critical realism" in dealing with unseen realities like electrons and God.
I'd also recommend books by fellow scientist/theolgians and Templeton Prize winners (and critical realists) John Polkinghorne and Arthur Peacocke. Also, see David Ray Griffin's books for a process theology point-of-view. (Griffin is a follower of the famous philosopher Alfred North Whitehead.)
Rating: 5
Summary: A whirlwind tour of Ian Barbour's thought
Comment: To my mind, Ian Barbour writes more clearly about the relationship between Christianity and science than any other published author I'm acquainted with. He is fully aware that Christianity is not the only path to God and salvation, but he is most comfortable talking within the framework of his own Christian background, so this book is really about the relationship between Christianity and science, not religion in general and science. But that is okay, because he allows that other religious traditions can also be paths to God. It's just that to give the book more focus and relevance to its English-speaking audience, he discusses the Christian encounter with science. Barbour presents a remarkably well thought out survey of this topic, always making it clear where he personally stands on the issues, and why.
Barbour treats his subject matter in two-dimensional matrix format, with one axis portraying the degrees of cooperation between science and religion and the other axis the various branches of science. Barbour identifies four fundamental ways in which his topic is treated by interested parties. These are Conflict, Independence, Dialog, and Integration. He then outlines the major positions in each of these categories across the major branches of science: astronomy, particle physics, evolution by natural selection, neuroscience, and finally the natural world in general (as described by science).
Biblical literalists and scientific materialists are in irreconcilable conflict on the issues of science and religion. Barbour thinks we can do much better than that, and makes quick work of both sides of the issues dealt with at the Conflict level. Neither is Barbour much impressed by the next level, Independence. In virtually every one of his analyses, treating religion and science as if they are independent categories of being that do not bear on each other is seen to be intellectually, spiritually, and scientifically bankrupt.
Barbour perks up when he comes to discussing the ideas of scientists and Christians who are interested in constructive dialog and even better, integration. Dialog and integration blend into each other, as Barbour repeatedly shows. When both sides have open minds and are not dogmatic about their religious beliefs, it is apparently not that difficult to find many promising possibilities for integration. If the basis of religion is real (the experience of the divine), then it should not be surprising at all if the Ground of Being turns out to be thoroughly saturated and mixed up in the universe revealed by science. So why shouldn't it be a fertile area for thought that merits careful consideration?
Barbour seems to place himself close to the process theologians, who believe that there is awareness at all levels of organized complexity, and that there is a freedom inherent in this complexity that is outside of the powers of God to interfere with. The one theme however that kept coming up (because of the interference of classical Christian beliefs about the omnipotence of God) was how God was only lacking omnipotence because he voluntarily relinquishes it for the sake of freedom in the world. Process theologians seem to want to hold onto the ultimate omnipotence of God over matter. He could instantly rub it out if he decided he didn't like it anymore.
I personally would take one step further and say that God is inherently unable to control "brute matter" and it is not simply a matter of voluntary relinquishment of power. God can only influence "top down," by acting as a lure to conscious creatures. God is powerless against unconscious matter because of the very way he creates: in creating the fundamental particles, which have the lowest possible awareness of any wholeness regardless of complexity, he is by necessity giving up control over them, taking the risk that because they are ultimately from God himself they have within themselves the power to self-assemble universes and worlds such as the incredibly interesting one we live in. Then when self-conscious creatures such as human beings finally evolve, for the first time God has the possibility of self-consciously taking over the direction of evolution, through US, self-conscious, technological creatures.
But that is a different book than the one Barbour writes. The one he writes is a whirlwind tour through his own thought and powerful ways of looking at the problems of science vs. religion. Barbour's book covers an incredible amount of material in 180, short pages. If this book takes your breath away and leaves you with the feeling that there is a lot more of extreme interest to this subject than Barbour allows himself in this little primer, fear not. Barbour provides much more satisfying treatments of his thought in books like "Religion and Science, Historical and Contemporary Issues" and "Ethics in an Age of Technology." If after reading this book, you feel teased if not cheated, those two books will deliver the richness and depth that "When Science Meets Religion" by its very design, cannot provide.
Rating: 4
Summary: Process this . . .
Comment: When Science Meets Religion is the winner of the Templeton Prize for advancing religious understanding. As a humanist, this topic is always of interest to me, and I found Barbour's view on process theology most interesting. The typology of the book was such that four "topics" were discussed in each chapter with respect to the "view" being discussed: Conflict, Independence, Dialogue, and Integration. So, for instance Astronomy and Creation are "analyzed" from those four points, as are the other major sticking points between science and religion.
Barbour seems to treat each position with respect and objectivity and clearly states his own position so that the reader is not required to "guess" where he is coming from in his own thinking. For example, in chapter five (Genet6ics, Neuroscience, and Human Nature) Barbour states clearly the "I will defend an integral view of the person as a psychosomatic unity, which I believe is closer to both the biblical view and the evidence from contemporary science." And so it goes through all the major topics of the book. And, in the next to the last paragraph, we have this conclusion: "Finally, I find the concepts of process philosophy particularly helpful, but I am aware that a single coherent set of philosophical categories may not do justice to the rich diversity of human experience."
In the end, Barbour has not convinced me to leave off my Humanist views, but he has indeed given me the framework I need to understand the need for others to use a religious model to express their sense of unity with all the Cosmos. As he so eloquently explains, all models are limited and partial, and none gives a complete or adequate picture of reality. So it is just a matter of where you wish to put your faith when it comes to understanding your own place in that infinity. One can put faith in science eventually giving us answers to the major questions we have or one can put faith in religion explaining the mysteries. Whichever system one chooses, one must keep in mind that no one model fulfills all needs or answers all questions.
From the Foreword:
"Quantum Physics: A Challenge to Our Assumptions about Reality?
Classical physics was deterministic and reductionistic in assuming that the behavior of all objects could be exactly predicted from accurate knowledge of their smallest components. Quantum physics, by contrast, acknowledges an inherent uncertainty in the prediction of events at the atomic and subatomic levels. It is also holistic in showing that the behavior of larger wholes is not simply the sum of the behavior of their parts, but involves distinctive system laws. More over, the quantum world can never be known as it is in itself, but only as it interacts with the observer in a particular experimental system. Quantum physics thus suggests the openness of the future, the inter connectedness of events, and the limitations of human knowledge. Some theistic interpreters propose that God determines the indeterminacies left open by the laws of quantum physics. Advocates of Eastern mysticism say that quantum holism supports their belief in the fundamental unity of all things. The new physics has led scientists, philosophers, and theologians to exciting discussions about time, causality, and the nature of reality."
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Title: Science & Theology: An Introduction by John C. Polkinghorne ISBN: 0800631536 Publisher: Fortress Press Pub. Date: February, 1999 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Religion and Science by Ian G. Barbour ISBN: 0060609389 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 10 September, 1997 List Price(USD): $20.95 |
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Title: Faith, Science and Understanding by John Polkinghorne, John C. Polkinghorne ISBN: 0300091281 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Paths From Science Towards God by Arthur Peacocke, Peacocke ISBN: 1851682457 Publisher: Oneworld Publications Pub. Date: 01 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Belief in God in an Age of Science by John Polkinghorne ISBN: 0300099495 Publisher: Yale Univ Pr Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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