Science and Religion

Most Christian writing is about how to be a Christian, which is quite as it should be because following Jesus is hard and we need all the help we can get.  This set of essays on the other hand is about understanding how science applies to religion in general and Christianity in particular: it can only help day to day living by removing the impediment to belief that comes from the widely held assumption that science has disproved religion.  It is important to show that a religious belief can be rational and need not be in conflict with what we understand about the world around us.

But if we wish to demonstrate the rationality of belief we must be prepared to accept the authority of science and rational thought.  This is quite threatening to many Christians who feel, quite rightly, that this authority will call into question many cherished beliefs and may bring the whole edifice of religion tumbling down.  The way to tackle this is not to ignore the problem but confront it head on.  In particular it is important to refine the arguments against Christianity, rather than demolish straw men.  We believe that God is served by truth and has given us rational thought as a means of coming to it.  However, there are things we cannot hope to understand and rationality should not be pushed too far.  If we have a completely logical explanation of anything, it will be less than the whole truth about reality.  These essays are mainly about clarifying issues and may answer some questions, but the truth is greater than anyone can put into words.

If you are an atheist, or even a Christian, happening upon this web site with your mind already made up, all I can say is, farewell.  Life is too short to spend time on fruitless argument.  But if you are prepared to read with an open mind, I would hope to convince that rational belief is possible even if you do not go along with all my conclusions.

Contents

The God of our ignorance
What is religion?  Better answer this question before going much further.  In one sentence, this essay says that religion is about reality, as science is, but religion deals with those things where the scientific method does not work, principally, the values and goals we live by.
What's wrong with reductionism?
What is science?  An easier question to answer than what is religion, but the difficulty lies in understanding how scientists go about their jobs and the significance of what they discover.
Disputed territory
In previous years and right up to the present day, the conflict between science and religion focussed on the theory of evolution.  Some religious people have countered with a theory of Intelligent Design, bad science, but bad religion too.  Understand the science and the conflict goes away.
Science affecting religion
But there are scientific and rational grounds for thinking that some religious ideas are simply wrong.  They need modification in the light of what we now understand of our own nature and of the world around us. A religious understanding of the soul and of heaven and hell must be related to the science of consciousness and how our minds and bodies work.