The Dawn Treader's Musings on Science and Religion
Over at the blog of our co-blogger, The Dawn Treader, he has begun (maybe finished) a series reviewing some of the ideas found in the newly published book by C. John "Jack" Collins entitled Science and Faith: Friend or Foe? The book has received a favorable rating over at Amazon with an average rating of five stars. One commentor who really liked the book wrote:
Dr. Collins has his undergraduate and first graduate degree from MIT, and his Ph.D. is from the university of Liverpool. Professor Collins produced an excellent balanced book on Intelligent Design (ID), which unlike most books in this area he looks at both the science of ID and the implications of this field for theology. Chapter 20 "Cultural Wars and Warriors" is an excellent refutation of the foolish claims of Eugene Scott and her organization. Collins shows why ID is critical for theology and why Fundamentalist Darwinism is lethal for theism. In chapter 17 he answers some common objections to ID, and shows why professional science organizations, such as the National Association of Biology Teachers (of which I am a member, even though I teach biology at the college level), are so hostile to this world view. As a scientist, the most useful part of the book was from page 217 to the end. The first part covered theology which I did read very carefully, due to lack of interest and knowledge in this area. The 2nd half was well worth the price of the book and highly recommended.
The Dawn Treader apparently found the book to be pretty good as well, and has decided to examine more closely some of the ideas found therein. As he puts it:
I am going to ransack and browse read Collins book. Reading all 347 pages would be a mistake. I already agree with his argument that Christians ought to be sound critical thinkers in theology, philosophy and science. I already love science and my career is in technology. I would be thrilled if my children pursued scientific careers. No need to be persuaded by Collins about his main argument. I am more interested in gleaning thoughts from a brilliant mind on selected areas of interest.
Thus far (maybe in total?), he has written:
- (1) A brief description of the book in a post entitled Science and Faith: Friends or Foes?: Scan Results;
- (2) An examination of the claim by many critics that science is a purely materialistic claim and that theism stops scientific inquiry in a post entitled God Did It: Is It Really A Science Stopper?;
- (3) An examination of the alternative adopted by many Christians where God ordained evolution as his means of creation in a post entitled Is Theistic Evolution Really A Biblical Option?; and
- (4) A look at randomness and chaos theory from a theistic viewpoint in a post entitled Ultimate Reality: Randomness or Order?
The Dawn Treader is always thoughtful and entertaining. I recommend reading through his musings arising from what appears to be a very fine book.
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