Episode 82. We've come to the end of this course and we can now consider the question of whether or not a possible peace can exist between science and religion. Let me close with some course conclusions. Conclusion number 1, it is regrettable, but science and religion warfare continues to be a common understanding today. It is held by both religious and nonreligious people. For example, we noted in the introduction of this course that Richard Dawkins rejects any possibility of a peaceful relationship between science and religion. In quote 1 he states," Are science and religion converging? No, converges only when it suits. To an honest judge, the alleged marriage between science and religion is a shallow, empty, spin-doctored sham." Dawkins claims in the subtitle of his article, that illogical thinking is the only thing joining science and religion together. But I have one question for you and I am certain that you're equipped and ready to answer it. Is Dawkins correct? Conclusion number 2, I believe that there are some very serious problems with science and religion warfare. Let me explain my opinion. To begin, I believe that the warfare relationship is deeply entrenched in simple black and white dichotomies such as science versus religion and evolution versus creation. Second, the so-called warfare between science and religion is steeped in crude conflations. Examples are the blending of science and atheism and then claiming that this is the view of all scientists. Another is the merging of religion and young Earth creation and then asserting that this is the position of all Christians. The third problem that fuels science, religion, warfare is concordism. Many people, both religious and nonreligious, assume the Bible has scientific facts, but as we've seen throughout this course, the Bible is not a book of science. Please turn back to the very first diagram I introduced on page 1 of the handouts. Now that you've completed this course, will you agree with me that the warfare relationship fails? At the beginning of this course, I introduced the two foundational principles of Science and religion. The metaphysics physics principle and the message incident principle. In my opinion, these two concepts can lead us toward a peaceful relationship between modern science and religious faith. But I must emphasize, this is not the only approach. It is a way to a healthy and fruitful relationship. Please turn to page 5 in the handouts. The metaphysics physics principle is a philosophical concept. A common problem with many atheists and agnostics is that they conflate science with the ultimate beliefs. They also assume that the philosophical beliefs about the world are scientifically provable. But according to the metaphysics physics principle, everyone, including atheists and agnostics, has to take a step of faith to arrive at the personal beliefs. Therefore, to use my mantra, we need to separate our religious and philosophical beliefs from our science and don't conflate them together. In the light of the metaphysics physics principle, we can fully appreciate Charles Darwin when he stated in quote 2, "It seems absurd to doubt that a man or woman may be an ardent theist and an evolutionist. " In one short sentence, Darwin destroys the science versus religion and evolution versus creation dichotomies. He also destroys the conflation of science and atheism and the conflation of religion and young Earth creation. Please turn again to page 5 in the handouts. The message incident principle is the second foundational concept in science and religion. It is a hermeneutical principle. A common problem among Christians is that they often use the Bible like a book of science and they fail to recognize that scripture features and ancient science. Again, to use my mantra, we need to separate the inerrant spiritual truths from the incidental ancient science and don't conflate them together. In quote 3, Galileo uses Cardinal Baronius' famous saying and it makes perfect sense in the light of the message incident principle. "The intention of the Holy Spirit in Scripture is to teach us how one goes to heaven and not how heaven goes." In this way, Galileo destroys concordism and the idea that the Bible is a book of science. Please turn to page 35 in the class handouts. For me, the key to developing a peaceful relationship between my christian faith and my evolutionary science is to embrace a non-concordist hermeneutic. More specifically, it is to recognize that God accommodated in the Bible and allowed the biblical writers to use the science of the day by accepting a non-concordist hermeneutic and the principle of accommodation. The Bible will never conflict with modern science and especially with the evolutionary sciences. Conclusion number 4; In light of the ideas presented throughout this course, we are now ready to consider the two divine books of God in a complementary relationship within an evolutionary creation. In the introduction of this course, we saw that one of the best examples of someone who accepts the two divine books is Sir Francis Bacon. He was a devout Christian and also a founding father of modern science. Bacon fully accepted the Bible as the book of God's words and for him, the wonderful natural world was the book of God's works. Let's see if we can update this belief in two divine books within the context of a creation that has evolved over billions of years. Please turn to page 29 in the class handouts for our final diagram in this course. This diagram is an integration of the metaphysics, physics principle and the message incident principle. It acknowledges a reciprocal exchange of information between scripture and the evolutionary sciences. First, the book of God's words reveals inerrant spiritual truths. The Bible tells us that God created the universe and life, and that the creation is ordained, sustained and reflects intelligent design. Second, the book of God's works reveals scientific facts. The evolutionary sciences offer us overwhelming evidence that the universe and life evolved through a self-assembling natural process over billions of years. As well, science offers breathtaking evidence of nature's beauty, complexity and functionality which for most people like me, points to intelligent design and an intelligent designer. Let me summarize my personal views of science and religion as someone who is both a Christian theologian and an evolutionary biologist. First and foremost, I love Jesus and I follow His teachings, I also love the Bible. Scripture reveals who created us. In my opinion, it is the God of Christianity who made us in His image. I love the evolutionary sciences, they reveal how we were created. It is through an evolutionary process. From my point of view, if we accept the revelations in these two divine books, I believe we can enjoy a peaceful relationship between science and religion. But what do you think? Do you agree with me? Is peace possible between science and religion? Finally, to close this episode and this course, I want to thank you for taking the time to explore the various ways to relate science and religion. I never get tired of teaching this course. The reason is because students in every class open my eyes to marvelous new insights into how they view a peaceful relationship between their scientific discoveries and the religious beliefs. So thanks again, it's been a blessing having you in my course. End of episode.
