Science and Belief: The Big Issues

TEACH Journal of Christian Education Volume 7 | Issue 1 Article 16 2013 Science and Belief: The Big Issues Kevin de Berg Avondale College of Higher Education Follow this and additional works at: https://research.avondale.edu.au/teach Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation de Berg, Kevin (2013) "Science and Belief: The Big Issues," TEACH Journal of Christian Education: Vol. 7 : Iss. 1 , Article 16. Available at: https://research.avondale.edu.au/teach/vol7/iss1/16 This Reflections, Impressions & Experiences is brought to you for free and open access by ResearchOnline@Avondale. It has been accepted for inclusion in TEACH Journal of Christian Education by an authorized editor of ResearchOnline@Avondale. For more information, please contact . Reflections, Impressions & Experiences Science and belief: The big issues Stannard, R. (2012). Lion Hudson, Oxford. Kevin de Berg Associate Professor, School of Science and Mathematics, Avondale College of Higher Education, Cooranbong, NSW The subject of this book originally appeared as a twelve-episode series for the BBC. The author, Russell Stannard, is a physicist and licensed lay minister in the Church of England who, although finding no conflict between science and belief himself, allows the reader to make up their own mind after a stimulating discussion of the questions raised. There are eight major issues raised in the book— that relating to Genesis and Evolution, Intelligent Design, Morality, Creation, Anthropic Principle, Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Psychology, and Miracles. Broadly speaking the author’s approach is one that demonstrates an intimate knowledge of modern physics, which is not surprising, and one that is prepared to accept the major tenets of evolutionary theory. In fact the impression is left with the reader that scientific theory and practice can provide insight into Christian belief. Conservative Christians may find the book rather challenging from this perspective but the book does now represent the orientation of a significant proportion of the Christian church to the question of science and belief. However, regardless of one’s particular profession of belief, the book provides valuable information for contemplation. The chapter on Genesis and Evolution focuses on how a large proportion of biblical scholarship understands the language of Genesis. The author introduces the reader to the concept of ‘myth’ in a positive sense, to the concept of story or narrative, to the difference between the ‘how-type’ and the ‘why-type’ questions, and to some historical information that links the literal interpretation of Genesis with the Protestant Reformation. 62 | TEACH | v7 n1 Changes in the Roman Catholic understanding of biblical inspiration from the time of the Council of Trent (1540’s) to Vatican II in 1962 are also briefly outlined. The point of this chapter is to show, in the author’s opinion, that Genesis and Evolution are not on a collision course if properly understood. The Intelligent Design (ID) chapter amounts largely to a discussion of the arguments for and against evolution. While suggesting that ID is essentially a “God of the Gaps” type of argument, Stannard claims that, “ID is at least a step on the way towards acknowledging that evolution has taken place”. While some ID adherents might agree, others would disagree with this statement. Some common misconceptions of evolution such as the wholly unpredictable nature of evolution are discussed in terms of the emergence of complexity by a process known as ‘convergence’ which seems to be endemic to evolution. The author acknowledges the basic unfairness associated with evolutionary process, but also recognises that “the deep mystery of premature death, and indeed the other manifestations of life being unfair, has always been with us”. In this regard, an interesting observation is made that there appears to be an “indissoluble link between love and suffering…an example set by God himself”. The chapter concludes by pondering on the spiritual nature of human beings. Did this emerge through a process of evolution like that supposed to have occurred for our physical nature? Or was some other process involved? Here are some commonly held opinions on the question of morality that the author uses to begin a discussion of the topic: Opinion 1: Our sense of morality comes from God. Opinion 2: Morality comes from society and our parents and it’s ridiculous to say that if you’re not religious then you can’t be moral. Opinion 3: I think the sole reason that humans behave altruistically is because it’s an evolutionary advantage. Opinion 4: I think that science has nothing to do with morality. If it wasn’t given morality from religion then humanity would have no limits. Reflections, Impressions & Experiences Stannard proposes that the Genesis account and the evolutionary account of human beginnings both point to the inherent selfishness of the human character. “Thus Genesis sets the scene for all that is to follow: namely our need to repent and, by an act of the conscious will, re-centre our lives on God. But being naturally selfish is the same sort of conclusion one comes to from evolutionary theory. Far from discrediting the Adam and Eve story, in this respect at least, evolution serves to throw fresh light on an ancient insight into the intrinsic nature of the human character”. Altruism is discussed from the point of view of reciprocal altruism or enlightened selfinterest and altruism on behalf of close kin, that is, on behalf of those who share the same genetic material. The author then challenges us to think about a higher form of altruism such as helping those who are not of close kin and who cannot pay you back, that is, where there is neither a genetic advantage nor a self-interest advantage. The question is then asked: “Is this where religion comes in?” Creation is discussed in the light of modern cosmological ideas. This chapter gives the reader some interesting insights. If space-time originated at the Big Bang an interesting scenario arises as to the question about the cause of the Big Bang. Stannard expresses the scenario this way: “Now, for those seeking a cause of the Big Bang, this raises a problem. As we have seen, cause is followed by effect. But where the Big Bang was concerned, there was no before. Thus we cannot have a “cause”. Although the question, “What caused the Big Bang?” strikes us as a perfectly reasonable thing to ask, it is not. Our line of argument appears to lead to the conclusion that the question is meaningless”. Stannard distinguishes between the words “origin” and “creation” in attempting to understand God’s part in what came to be. “Origin” has to do with the methodologies and discoveries of science in relation to how things came into existence. “Creation”, the province of theology, is concerned with the question, “Why is there something rather than nothing?”, and this has to do with the past as well as the (...truncated)