Science and Faith

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Physics and Faith

Can we find "rumors" of God in modern physics and astronomy? Can we learn something about God through science (“natural theology”)?

From Dec. 15, 2002 to Feb. 2, 2003, we explored some of the implications of discoveries in modern physics and astronomy -- relativity theory, the big bang, quantum cosmology, the anthropic principle, the nature of the quantum wavefunction, quantum entanglement, chaos theory -- for theology and our faith.

Sessions	Downloads*
Sessions	PDF Format	Rich Text	MS Word
1. Views of the Relationship Between Science and Theology	Overheads (55KB) Handout (47KB)	Overheads (52KB)	Handout (162KB)
2. Rumors of a Designer, Creator and Sustainer. Part I. The Laws of Physics. The Big Bang	Overheads (61KB)		Overheads (55KB)
3. Rumors of a Designer, Creator and Sustainer. Part II. Quantum Cosmology. The Anthropic Principle	Overheads (53KB)		Overheads (48KB)
4. Rumors of a Designer Creator and Sustainer, Part III. The Ground of Physical Being in Quantum Physics	Overheads (66KB)		Overheads (65KB)
5. A Universe of True Becoming	Overheads (33KB)		Overheads (51KB)
6. Physics, The Fall. and the Final Things	Overheads (38KB)		Overheads (47KB)
*To download an overhead set or handout, click and hold (Macintosh) on the link in the bright blue box under the desired format, or right-click (Windows) the link and choose "Save Target As" or "Save Link as." Information on the format of the downloadable files can be found here. Presentations were by David Monyak. Any errors, awkward phrasings, poorly expressed ideas, problems in documentation, and / or opinions are solely his responsibility.

Belief in God in an Age of Science. John Polkinghorne. Yale University Press. New Haven 1998

God, Creation, and Contemporary Physics. Mark Worthing. Fortress Press. Minneapolis. 1996.

Quantum Cosmology and the Laws of Nature. Scientific Perspectives on Divine Action. Second Edition. Robert John Russell, Nancey Murphy, and C. J. Isham, editors. Vatican Observatory Publications and the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences, Berkeley, 1996. Distributed by University of Notre Dame Press

Quarks, Chaos and Christianity, John Polkinghorne, Crossroad, New York, 1997

Religion and Science. Historical and Contemporary Issues. Ian Barbour. Harper. San Francisco.1997

Religion and Science. History, Method, Dialogue. W. Mark Richardson and Wesley J. Wildman, editors. Routledge, New York and London, 1996

Science and Religion: An Introduction. Alister E. McGrath, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford, 1999.

Science and Theology: An Introduction. John Polkinghorne, SPCK / Fortress Press, London / Minneapolis, 1998

The Faith of a Physicist. John Polkinghorne. Fortress Press. Minneapolis. 1994.

The Mind of God. The Scientific Basis for a Rational World. Paul Davies. Touchstone. New York. 1992