Can religious beliefs survive in the scientific age?
Are they resoundingly outdated? Or is there something in
them of great importance, even if the way they are
expressed will have to change in the new scientific
context? These questions are among those at the core of
the science-religion dialogue. In The Big Questions in
Science and Religion, Keith Ward, an Anglican minister
who was once an atheist, offers compelling insights into
the often contentious relationship between diverse
religious views and new scientific knowledge. He
identifies ten basic questions about the nature of the
universe and human life. Among these are: Does the
universe have a goal or purpose? Do the laws of nature
exclude miracles? Can science provide a wholly
naturalistic explanation for moral and religious
beliefs? Has science made belief in God obsolete? Are
there any good science-based arguments for God? With his
expertise in the study of world religions, Ward
considers concepts from Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism,
Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and Christianity, while
featuring the speculations of cosmologists, physicians,
mathematicians, and philosophers. In addition, Ward
examines the implications of ancient laws and modern
theories and evaluates the role of religious experience
as evidence of a nonphysical reality. Writing with
enthusiasm, passion and clarity, Keith Ward conveys the
depth, difficulty, intellectual excitement and
importance of the greatest intellectual and existential
questions of the modern scientific age. The diversity of
views provides the general reader as well as opinion
leaders with unbiased information in the
science-religion field. |
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