Science and Religion, from Avery Cardinal Dulles

Avoiding the knee-jerk, thoughtless reactions too often displayed on this issue--that's the great virtue of Avery Cardinal Dulles's current First Things article, "God and Evolution." He summarized it well in his closing paragraph:

"The recent outburst of atheistic scientism is an ominous sign. If unchecked, this arrogance could lead to a resumption of the senseless warfare that raged in the nineteenth century, thus undermining the harmony of different levels of knowledge that has been foundational to our Western civilization. By contrast, the kind of dialogue between evolutionary science and theology proposed by John Paul II can overcome the alienation and lead to authentic progress both for science and for religion."

I found only one unfortunate passage in the article. It's an entirely true statement, but its placement leads to misleading implications:

"As a matter of policy, it is imprudent to build one’s case for faith on what science has not yet explained, because tomorrow it may be able to explain what it cannot explain today. History teaches us that the 'God of the gaps' often proves to be an illusion."

I'm not personally aware of any person who has built his or her case for faith "on what science has not yet explained." Far more common is an experience of this nature:

"To believe in God is natural, and the belief can be confirmed by philosophical proofs. Yet Christians generally believe in God, I suspect, not because of these proofs but rather because they revere the person of Jesus, who teaches us about God by his words and actions. It would not be possible to be a follower of Jesus and be an atheist."

There are some of us who have been led toward faith also by philosophical or historical evidences, but it is Jesus Christ who actually draws persons toward himself. The "God of the Gaps" argument is often misunderstood, especially in context of the Intelligent Design argument. Naive reliance on gaps as evidence for God is imprudent, just as our author has said; it's also (in my experience) not easy to find among thoughtful writers on the subject.

Other than that, the article stands as a model of thoughtfulness on a subject where simple sloganeering is too often the norm.

Hat Tip: One Eternal Day

Posted: Thu - September 13, 2007 at 01:13 PM |

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Science and Religion, from Avery Cardinal Dulles

Thinking Christian by Tom Gilson