Science and Religion: Are They Compatible?Paul Kurtz In recent years a noticeable trend toward harmonizing the distinct worldviews of science and religion has become increasingly popular. Despite marked public interest, many leading scientists remain skeptical that there is much common ground between scientific knowledge and religious belief. Indeed, they are often antagonistic. Can an accommodation be reached after centuries of conflict? In this stimulating collection of articles on the subject, Paul Kurtz, with the assistance of Barry Karr and Ranjit Sandhu, have assembled the thoughts of scientists from various disciplines. Among the distinguished contributors are Sir Arthur C. Clarke (author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and numerous other works of science fiction); Nobel Prize Laureate Steven Weinberg (professor of physics at the University of Texas at Austin); Neil deGrasse Tyson (Princeton University astrophysicist and director of the Hayden Planetarium); James Lovelock (creator of the Gaia hypothesis); Kendrick Frazier (editor of the Skeptical Inquirer); Steven Pinker (professor of psychology at MIT); Richard Dawkins (zoologist at Oxford University); Eugenie Scott (physical anthropologist and executive director of the National Center for Science Education); Owen Gingerich (professor of astronomy at Harvard University); Martin Gardner (prolific popular science writer); the late Richard Feynman (Nobel Prize-winning physicist) and Stephen Jay Gould (professor of geology at Harvard University); and many other eminent scientists and scholars. Among the topics discussed are the Big Bang and the origin of the universe, intelligent design and creationism versus evolution, the nature of the "soul," near-death experiences, communication with the dead, why people do or do not believe in God, and the relationship between religion and ethics. |
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Page 57
... existence of unobservable parts of our own universe : that is , the past and the future , which we cannot observe but whose existence we deduce from the pres- ent . As we look out into space , we are looking backward in time , and we do ...
... existence of unobservable parts of our own universe : that is , the past and the future , which we cannot observe but whose existence we deduce from the pres- ent . As we look out into space , we are looking backward in time , and we do ...
Page 69
... existence . For example , we have no observations of people coming into existence . Here again , you merely have a change of things . An egg cell and a sperm cell change their state by combining . The combination divides , enlarges ...
... existence . For example , we have no observations of people coming into existence . Here again , you merely have a change of things . An egg cell and a sperm cell change their state by combining . The combination divides , enlarges ...
Page 70
... existence uncaused . If God created the uni- verse , he would contradict this scientific law in two ways . First , the scientific law says that the universe would come into existence because of its natural , mathematical properties ...
... existence uncaused . If God created the uni- verse , he would contradict this scientific law in two ways . First , the scientific law says that the universe would come into existence because of its natural , mathematical properties ...
Contents
An Overview of the Issues | 11 |
Are Science and Religion Conflicting or Complementary? Some Thoughts About Boundaries | 25 |
Cosmology and God | 29 |
Copyright | |
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