Tag Archives: Science and Religion

God and Science Do Mix

Just published at BreakPoint: God and Science Do Mix, beginning, In a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that is replete with unintended irony, cosmologist Lawrence Krauss says, “Science and God Don’t Mix.” With all due respect for a man who has contributed significantly to what we know about the universe, on this point Krauss is wrong…

August 21, 2009 – 10:50 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in New Atheism, Origins and Science | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Melanie Phillips on “The Secular Inquisition”

From Melanie Phillips today comes possibly the most intellectually aware statement I have seen from any journalist on the Intelligent Design controversy, including this: While materialist fundamentalists can deal with religious believers by scoffing they are in a separate domain altogether from the real ie scientific world, the suggestion that science might itself arrive at …

May 5, 2009 – 10:29 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science | Tagged , , , | Comments (29)

“The Latest Face of Creationism in the Classroom”

This entry is part 1 of 8 in the series Is ID Creationism?

Glenn Branch and Eugenie C. Scott write in a Scientific American article dated today, Creationists who want religious ideas taught as scientific fact in public schools continue to adapt to courtroom defeats by hiding their true aims under ever changing guises Such is the expected stance from leaders of the National Center for Science Education, …

December 16, 2008 – 10:46 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science | Tagged , , , , | Comments (31)

Confusing Science With Religion

From the comic strip Partially Clips, via Language Log. “[The scientist] knew that he could say yes or no, and the reporter would print whatever answer he gave. But he also should be grateful for any kind of media interest in his field, even if treating scientists like oracles of knowledge this way is probably …

August 26, 2008 – 1:07 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science | Tagged , | Comments Off

Postscript to the Series, “Darwin’s Gift?”

This entry is part 5 of 5 in the series Darwin's Gift?

Having written a four-part series on Francis Ayala’s Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion, I was already in strong disagreement over what Ayala called a “gift” to religion in Darwinism. Now I’m reading his monograph for the AAAS, “The Difference of Being Human,” and have found even more reason to disagree with him on this. The …

May 30, 2008 – 10:16 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Ethics, Origins and Science | Tagged , , , , | Comments (8)

“The Skeptical Inquirer”

One of the podcasts I enjoy listening to is the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe, a science-oriented, religiously skeptical discussion conducted out of the New England Skeptical Society. The shows run long, so I can’t listen to all of them, but I’ve heard a couple of them, featuring Michael Shermer and John Rennie. You can …

May 29, 2008 – 5:55 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in New Atheism | Tagged , , , , | Comments (60)

“Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion” Part 4

This entry is part 4 of 5 in the series Darwin's Gift?

Book Review In this, my fourth and final post on Francisco Ayala’s book Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion, I wish to examine very briefly his views on knowledge as related to science and religion. I am addressing the same primary audience that he does in his book: believers in God. For the sake of …

May 17, 2008 – 10:52 am | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science, Thinking Christianly | Tagged , , , | Comments (12)

“Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion” Part 3

This entry is part 3 of 5 in the series Darwin's Gift?

University of California, Irvine biologist Francisco Ayala writes in his book Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion (pages 174-175), Scientific knowledge cannot contradict religious beliefs, because science has nothing definitive to say for or against religious inspiration, religious inspiration, religious realities, or religious values. There are Christian believers, however, who see the theory of evolution …

May 14, 2008 – 10:04 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science, Thinking Christianly | Tagged , | Comments (1)

“Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion” Part 2

This entry is part 2 of 5 in the series Darwin's Gift?

Book Review In his book Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion, Francisco Ayala suggests that evolution supplies the answer to a serious theological conundrum. I alluded to this in my first post on this book: Things that Seem Wrong About the World: When I was studying theology in Salamanca Darwin was a much-welcomed friend. The …

May 13, 2008 – 10:43 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science, Thinking Christianly | Tagged , , , | Comments (13)

“Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion” Part 1

This entry is part 1 of 5 in the series Darwin's Gift?

Book Review Francisco Ayala wants us to understand and appreciate what he considers to be Darwin’s Gift to Science and Religion. The author of a recent book by that name, Ayala certainly has a claim to knowledge on the issues: he trained as a seminarian in Spain, and is now an evolutionary biologist at the University …

May 12, 2008 – 7:34 pm | By Tom Gilson | Posted in Origins and Science | Tagged , , , | Comments (10)