Discussing Science and Religion

Today, following on the heels of some creative interpretation of Pope Francis' recent remarks, I accidentally got dragged into a discussion about whether science and religion are intrinsically opposed to one another. It's a frustrating topic to discuss, because people who have actually educated themselves about the topic are few and far between. I'm under the impression that most people don't actually care, but there's a vocal - which is to say, completely obnoxious - minority on either side who think that science and religion are diametric opposites.

I literally took a four credit upper division course in college about how science and religion are complementary, not adversarial. There's a wealth of scholarship on this subject which is, nonetheless, ignored by both Christian and atheist alike. I could probably write a book about this whole topic, and someday maybe I will, but it won't be for a very, very long time if it happens at all. Regardless, I kind of think that an atheist buddy of mine, Kevin, might be interested in discussing it. Based on a recent discussion we had about global warming, I get the impression that he's somewhat reasonable, and that he understands that I'm somewhat reasonable. So, I'm presenting him, and anyone else who might jump in, with a list of some of the books that were on the reading list for that course.*

The Galileo Connection by Charles E. Hummel

Reason in the Balance by Phillip E. Johnson

Science and its Limits by Del Ratzsch

Science and Religion edited by Gary B. Ferngren

The following video is of a Spring 2012 debate presented by the Socratic Club at Oregon State University. The topic is "Is Christianity Anti-Science?".


So, I'm basically writing this so that I can link to it on Facebook to spur some cordial discussion on the topic. If you're just someone finding this by accident, I hope you find it useful and thought-provoking.

* I also want to give a plug for one of my all time favorites, How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill. This one wasn't on that particular reading list, but it's one of my favorites. It's about a bunch of Irish monks who preserved and then re-proliferated timeless literature, to include the likes of Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates, during the Dark Ages. It's also a great read. Yes, I realize that the Islamic world also played a role in preserving some of those classics. The Islamic case is obviously quite different from the Christian case, but these faith traditions' efforts to preserve science and knowledge, albeit in different ways and for different reasons, is conspicuous evidence against claims that religion is inherently anti-science.