In 1992 when the Western world was trying to celebrate Columbus’s discovery with great fanfare, there were many (legitimate) protests from the victims of that discovery and their sympathizers. The moral transgression (whether originally intended or not) in the adventurous accomplishments of Columbus et al. cannot be overlooked from our current framework, but few can…
In this forum on Science and Religion, we have had postings on Christianity and Science, Judaism and Science, as well as on Islam and Science. We can keep adding to the list: Buddhism and Science, Hinduism and Science, Voodoo and Science, etc. In each instance, the erudite exponent will demonstrate (at least to his/her) own…
Review ofBlackmore, Susan. The meme machine. Oxford, 1999. 264 p bibl index ISBN 0-19-850365-2 $25.00 Ever since theologians conceived of God as the ultimate cause of everything, formulating perhaps the first TOE (Theory of Everything), the reductionist urge has continued to tempt the human mind to explain the staggering complexity we see around, not just…
Attitudes of practitioners By and large, in the writings of theologians and scholars on science and religion, the following elements may be detected: (a) One tries to establish the concordances between science and the religion of one’s own affiliation/upbringing. (b) One tries to defend, justify, and/or interpret the religions tenets and doctrines. (c)…
Though some have cautiously kept science and religion apart, remembering the theme in Ecclesiastes that “To everything there is a season, and a time in every purpose under the heaven,” there have been, in recent decades, a spate of books that try to build bridges between the two. Of these, some seek to find science…
Soon after the emergence of modern science, William Cowper described Newton as the “sagacious reader of the works of God,” and Alexander Pope spoke like the Book of Genesis in his lines: “Nature and Natures laws hid in night: God said, “Let Newton be!” and all was light.” However, as modern science, with its esoteric…
1. Is the triumph of Western science and technology mostly due to a tradition that emphasizes critical thinking, or rather an attitude of belligerence and conquest (Lynn White, among others)? (a) I believe one of the serious conceptual confusions of the past two centuries (though based on justifiable historical appearances) is that science is “Western.”…
In the context of exploring the existence or otherwise of a purpose to (or in) the universe, it may be useful to define certain terms. I shall therefore attempt to clarify some of the controversies in the framework of the definitions below: Mechanism: will refer to the modus operandi of a complex system which functions…
With regard as to the future and success of the Science-Religion dialogue, I would submit the following:. No matter what our personal faiths and convictions are, we cannot ignore the following historically incontrovertible facts: 1. Every religious system in the world has enriched countless human beings, uplifted their perspectives, consoled them in times of stress,…