The Lion Handbook of Science and Christianity

R.J. (Sam) Berry is Emeritus Professor of Genetics at University College, London, a former President of the Linnean Society, British Ecological Society, European Ecological Federation, Mammal Society, and Christians in Science. In 1996 he received the UK Templeton Award.

Contents:

1. The Nature of Things 

What We Don’t Know 12
“Proofs” for the Existence of God 14
Science and Its Strengths 21
The Sociology of Science 23
The Merton Thesis 24
Science 26
Scientism 27
Providence and Miracles 29
Positivism and Logical Positivism 33
Diverse Explanations 36
“God of the Gaps” 38
Evidence in Christianity 40
Christian Perspectives on Science 43
God: Immanence and Transcendence 44
Creation and the Beginning of the Universe 46
Worldviews 49
Belief Systems 51
Relationships between Science and Christianity 52
The “Two Books” 57
Science and Religion in the Modern Period 59
The Conflict Thesis 60
The Galileo Affair 62
Huxley v. Wilberforce: “Great Debate” or Historical Myth? 64
Values in Science and the World 67
The Bases of Values 68
So What for Philosophy, Science, and Religion? 69

2. Science, Faith, and the Bible
Reading the Bible, Reading the World 72
Science, the Bible, and Christian Theology 79
Psalm 19:1–6 81
Wisdom 13:1–7 81
The Role of Science in Biblical Interpretation 83
Ancient Cosmology 84
The “Spiritual Body” (1 Corinthians 15:35–57) 94
Conclusion 96
3. Physical and Earth Sciences
From Newton to Einstein: Relativity 99
God and Time 104
Quantum Theory: Subverting Common Sense 107
Chaos: Uncertainty at the Everyday Level 111
God’s Action in the Universe 114
Cosmology and the Origin of the Universe 117
Stephen Hawking and Quantum Gravity 120
Anthropic Balances, Design, and Many Universes 122
The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) 126
The History of the Earth 129
Dating Methods 133
The End of the Universe and New Creation 135
Historical Understanding of the Age of the Earth 136
Theological Perspectives on the Age of the Earth 138
The Biblical Future 140

4. Life Sciences
Life on Earth 145
Origin of Life 147
Creation in the Bible 148
The Origin of Life 149
Darwin and Evolution 151
“Days” in Genesis 152
Theological Issues about Evolution 160
Human Evolution 163
Was Adam an Individual? 168
On the Creation of Woman 170
Historic Fall? 171
Creation Care 174
Environmental Theology 175
Teleology 181
Intelligent Design 184
Creationism 188

5. Humanity and Humanness
Nothing but Molecules and Cells? 193
Rivalry between Theories at Different Levels: The Example of Schizophrenia 196
The Naturalistic Approach to Humanness 202
Human Ancestry 203
Modern Human Origins 204
Brain and Mind 205
The Soul and the Question of Dualism 211
Artificial Intelligence and the Soul 217
Determinism and Freedom 219
The Evolution of Religion 222
The Origins of Religious Belief 223
Genes for Religiosity 226
Conclusion 226

6. Science, Ethics, and Christianity
Christian Ethics 231
Ethics and the Practice of Science 232
Technology, Biotechnology, and Environment 233
Ethics and Risk 234
Nuclear Power 237
Biofuels: Striking the Balance between Land for Food and Land for Fuel 240
GM Crops 242
Nanotechnology and the Environment 246
Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis 250
DNA Sequencing and the Human Genome Project 254
The “Moral Status” of the Early (Pre- Implantation) Human Embryo 260
Nanotechnology and Health 263
Human Enhancement 265



GLOSSARY 268
Significant People and Events 270
Further Reading 275
Index 281
PICTURE ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 288