Chapter 10: Science and Religion
Essential terminology
Anthropic principle
Big Bang
Evolution
Intelligent Design
Irreducible complexity
Quantum singularity
Key Scholars
Charles Darwin (1809–1882)
Arthur Peacocke (1924–2006)
John Polkinghorne (1930–)
Richard Swinburne (1934–)
Keith Ward (1938–)
Richard Dawkins (1941–)
Stephen Jay Gould (1941–2002)
Stephen Hawking (1942–)
Michael Behe (1952–)
Belief in God and modern science
Why modern theories of gravity?
The ‘how’ and ‘why’ oversimplification
‘God of the gaps’ thinking
The modern scientific worldview
Science and religion: friends, enemies or simply different?
NOMA
COSMOLOGY
IS GOD THE BEST HYPOTHESIS TO EXPLAIN THE EXISTENCE OF THE UNIVERSE?
CAN THE ORIGINS OF THE UNIVERSE EXPLAINED?
Does the universe exist by chance?
Is it possible to produce a complete understanding of everything? An atheist approach
Memes
GUT: ‘Grand Unified Theory’.
An argument for belief in God: the theist view
Richard Swinburne’s design arguments
The anthropic principle
CREATIONISM AND EVOLUTION
The origins of the problem with evolution
EVOLUTION
Reasons why Creationists reject the theory of evolution
Creationist beliefs
The main different types of Creationism
Intelligent Design
Irreducible complexity
RESPONSES TO THE CREATIONISM AND EVOLUTION CONTROVERSY
The decline of traditional Creationism
Modern intelligent design arguments against evolution
Other possible explanations of apparent orderliness and design
David Hume and Design in Universe
Why is Intelligent Design so popular amongst religious believers?