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--Center for the Study of Science and Religion Newsletter

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Contrary to prevailing opinion, the roots of modern science were planted in the ancient and medieval worlds long before the Scientific Revolution of the seventeenth century. Indeed, that revolution would have been inconceivable without the cumulative antecedent efforts of three great civilizations:Greek, Islamic, and Latin.With the scientific riches it derived by translation from Greco-Islamic sources in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the Christian Latin civilization of Western Europe began the last leg of the intellectual journey that culminated in a scientific revolution that transformed the world.The factors that produced this unique achievement are found in the way Christianity developed in the West, and in the invention of the university in 1200. A reference for historians of science or those interested in medieval history, this volume illustrates the developments and discoveries that culminated in the Scientific Revolution. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

For the Layman
I read this and wrote a paper about it for a Humanities course.A good book to compare it to is Rodney Starks' _For the Glory of God_, which takes Grant's ideas about science a bit too far.

Grant provides an all encompassing theory on how science emerged.I don't think the topic could be explained any better without some new archeological find or manipulation of the facts.

The most interesting parts in my opinion involve the comparision of Western European culture to that of China, Byzantium, and the Islamic Middle East.Why didn't they develop science first?Find out why inside.

For laymen and people without a doctorate in history who want to read this for enjoyment (or for curricular activities), reading the first two and the last chapters will give you a good approximation of Grant's thesis.Only do this if you have a good general knowledge of history from 600 BC to 1700 AD.

Do you believe in progress?
A very profound, solid and informative book! Grant, one of the best connoisseurs of medieval science, takes a long overdue step against the conservative mainstream in the field of the history of science; i.e. he corrects the absurd fairy tale of the invention of modern science through "great heroes" like Galileo, Descartes, Newton etc. by showing the great merits of medieval thinkers: The roots of modern science were planted in the medieval world long before the alleged "Scientific Revolution" of the seventeenth century.

This fundamental insight was recently confirmed through the book of Ulrich Taschow: "Nicole Oresme und der Frühling der Moderne", ISBN 3-936979-00-6, see Amazon german ("Nicole Oresme and the spring of modern age"). Taschow supplements his very interesting examinations of history of science through a psycho-historical approach including a new theory of evolutionary consciousness. In medieval thought the basic elements of Modern Age were anticipated by means of "self-fulfilling prophecies" - for Taschow a psycho-historical principle of consciousness. Grants emphasis of the medieval "thought experiment" as essential step into modern science Taschow similarly uses as one of the essential functions of the modern consciousness, etc. In different languages both authors speak of the same things.

So I think it is no chance that two totally different ways and methods, Grants and Taschows, led to the same results! In this respect it would be very interesting to know Grants "beliefs" in the structure of historical processes. Obviously he is no follower of the conservative theory of linear, cumulative progress... (or?)

For people which are interested in deeper questions and answers concerning the origins of Modern Science and Modern Western Culture beyond the commonplaces of classical history I strongly recommend both books, Grants and Taschows.
G. Balther, Cologne ... Read more

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In the early part of the twentieth century, a visionary named Ernest Holmes began a journey of exploration and research that profoundly affected thinkers throughout America. His work, based on the teachings of the great philosophers, the sacred wisdom of both Eastern and Western traditions, and the empirical nature of science, offers a philosophy of religion and psychology emphasizing the limitless potential of the human mind. Now, for the first time, The Science of Mind appears in paperback to coincide with the seventieth anniversary of Ernest Holmes's founding of the Religious Science movement.This book contains the fundamentals of Holmes's teachings and is a primary resource used by teaching centers and spiritual healers worldwide. Its universal principles apply to people of all spiritual backgrounds as they describe a higher level of existence attainable through the use of Nature's forces and the power of God. While imparting an unrivaled technique for living, Dr. Holmes's classic guide speaks clearly to a complex world caught in transition and searching for guidance.Amazon.com Review
The Science of the Mind was originally published in 1926 by the founder of the worldwide Religious Science movement. It was completely revised in 1938 by Ernest Holmes and Maude Allison Latham; this 1997 edition is the 1938 version with an added introduction by Jean Houston and a one-year study program that breaks the weighty tome into digestible bits. Using creative techniques, Holmes guides the student in easy-to-follow steps toward mastering the powers of the mind to find purpose in life. His explanations of how to pray and meditate, heal oneself spiritually, find self confidence, and express love have helped millions change their lives for the better. The Science of Mind is one of those spiritual classics that belongs on the bookshelf of anyone who wishes a life for themselves free of compulsion and negativity. --P. Randall Cohan ... Read more

Customer Reviews (94)

The Science of Mind
Ernest Holmes had a wonderful insite to the soul and how the universe functions with God.This is a philosophy and religion of the science of Spirit.

Science of Mind paperback
VERY, VERY MISLEADING.The paperback is heavily edited and much is taken out from the hardcover issue.My beef is that there is no mention that the paperback is any different than the hardcover.I feel very deceived.

HORRIBLE Kindle version
I own and have studied SOM using "The Science of Mind" (the definitive edition) published by Tarcher/Penguin
As soon as I received my Kindle, I went straight on Amazon to download the textbook as I constantly re-read and refer to it and thought how great it would be to have it in my Kindle instead of carrying the bulky book version.

BEWARE: This version contains a different glossary.

Doesn't contain the "Meditations".

I am not even sure it contains all of the "Meditations for self-help" (the ones contained in this version are full of typos and odd symbols, distracting to read while trying to connect to the meaning.

Doesn't contain any of the Metaphysical Charts

This version would be completely useless for SOM classes and I am very frustrated with having purchased an abbreviated version.I have not had the time to compare the paper version to the Kindle version as far as other chapters are concerned.I got too frustrated with not finding one of the Meditations I really needed at the moment.I might contact Amazon for a refund on this purchase, not for the money spent, but out of principle.

I hope that the Kindle version of "This Thing Called You" will be better as that book is amazing as well.

Not the 1938 edition!
From glancing at the index and the intro, I can see this is not the 1938 edition. It is the 1926 edition. It is set up as a series of lessons. This is absent from the 1938 edition. While it is an interesting read, it is far from what we as Religious Scientists call"the textbook."

NOT the 1938 edition
The item description for this book says it is the "1938 edition with a foreword by Jean Houston". It is NOT! It is the original 1926 edition, which is not at all the same book! It is interesting in its own right, but if you're looking for The Science of Mind "textbook", this isn't what you want. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (11)

enjoyable to read, useful generalizations and fascinating details
This book becomes essential for students, and anyone interested, to get a picture of the development of scientific thinking in Europe. Lindberg shows mastery in reasoning from the particular to the general and viceversa. Although the book focuses on western science, it does not forget to mention the great influences from the islamic world. This is a must-read in history of science.

An excellent survey overall -- with occasional lack of detail
David Lindberg has without doubt successfully accomplished what he endeavored to do: write an excellent survey of the history of science in the ancient world and the Middle Ages.In fact, his was the only book I could find out there that covered this topic well -- it is a small corner of an esoteric field, to be sure, but an immensely interesting one nonetheless!

Lindberg's book is beautiful in its writing, far-reaching in its expanse, and cohesive in its coverage of the themes of the history of science.He writes in a manner that is scholarly yet friendly, even casual at times.His brush is a broad one the paints the big picture of how the ancient thinkers (the Greeks in particular, and to a lesser extent the Babylonians and the Romans) and the medieval philosophers -- both Christian and Muslim -- viewed the natural world around them.Lindberg does everyone justice, insisting time and again -- as he should -- that "science" thousands of years ago should not be compared to what we think of as "science" today, if only because the ancient and medieval thinkers asked questions about their world that were so fundamentally different from the ones we ask about ours.The book particularly shines when discussing Aristotle, the Muslim scholars and the Scholastics, true high points in the book.Lindberg successfully connects and relates the overarching themes in the history of science, making the book an immensely interesting and comprehensible work.

Though in painting with broad strokes Lindberg paints a fantastic big picture, in doing so he sacrifices detail. For example, the book, except for a few notable instances, is rather devoid of details about individual thinkers, and the reader learns little about their lives or the world in which they lived.In addition, the book is organized around themes within the history of science, and so little attention is paid to chronology, leaving the reader at times to flounder without direction in the stream of history.Understandably, if these issues had been addressed, then the book would have been massive, and would have lost its charm as the "big picture" survey ofhistory of science that it is.

I have not come across a work that addresses the central problems of early history of science so marvelously as Lindberg's does.Incidentally, this book is complemented wonderfully by an audio course from the Teaching Company, "The History of Science: Antiquity to 1700," by Lawrence Principe.With these two works, you will feel fully immersed in scientific thinking of the time.

Not too difficult or boring...
So far (I'm only half-way through) this book is very clear and direct. It covers the BEGINNINGS of science, so don't expect any discussion of Newton or anything recent.It only goes up to the 1500s.Obviously, then, a lot of the "science" is not very accurate. But the point of this book is not to learn science, but to learn the history of the study of science.If you're a PROFESSOR reading this review and considering using this book as a textbook, I suggest that you do what my professor did and give supplementary readings of primary sources (actual passages from Aristotle, Galen, etc.)

First Rate Survey
This is a first rate survey of Western science from the Classical period to the eve of the Scientific Revolution.Arranged chronologically, Lindberg summarizes an immense amount of scholarly literature in a very well written text.Lindberg makes a consistent and successful effort to avoid anachronistically looking back at developments of the point of view the emergence of modern science.History of science is presented here with a strong effort to situate it in the context of contemporary intellectual and general history.Lindberg deals also with some historiographic issues related to prior interpretations of history of science.This is all quite difficult to do in a survey book and Lindberg carries this off very, very well.Each chronological period has a discussion of major developments and enough general history to make the context intelligible.Topics of greatest significance, such as Aristotle's system or Medieval physics, get excellent coverage. Some persistent themes are the importance of the Aristotelian system, the interaction between Platonic and Aristotelian ideas, the complex interaction between the Classical heritage and Christianity, the particular importance of the Islamic world as the heir and transmitter of Classical knowledge, and the importance of mathematical concepts.Lindberg does very well as showing the achievements of Classical and Medieval science while discussing why its underlying assumptions were different from the modern science that emerges in the 17th century.The footnotes and bibliography are excellent and constructed with an eye to providing a good guide into the literature for interested readers.This book is a real nice combination of informed scholarship and pedagogy.

The Begiinings ofWestern Science: The European....
I have read a number of publications by David Lindberg starting with his dissertation at U. Chicago.This book, like his other publications, is well wrttten, understandable and useful.I recommend this book to the scientific audience as a fine resource for us all. It brings together a great scholarly exposition of the history of modern science, which in large measure has European origins. ... Read more

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Clifford A. Pickover bridges the gulf between logic, spirit, science, and religion in his arguably most compelling creation. Through science, history, philosophy, science fiction, and mind-stretching brain teasers, he unfolds the paradox of God like no other writer. Asserting that a supernatural God is not beyond the domain of science, Pickover provides glimpses into the infinite, altering how we might consider God and the universe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (17)

So whose God is constrained by logic
As I understand it, anthropomorphism is giving human qualities to animals. I don't know if there is a word for constraining God by assigning human limitations to him/her/it (language fails us again). Perhaps it is typical of humans that we impose ourselves everywhere in the natural (and supernatural) world. This is such an impudent self-centredness which is certainly underlying everything in this book.

Despite this, this is such a fascinating book, exploring a lot of logical issues around the ideas of omniscience and omnipotence. It really does get the mind working! The story of the Garden of Eden and our interpretation of it has been an interest of mine for some time. But here were new insights, new speculations. Pickover doesn't shy away from 'suggesting' that perhaps priests have oppressed the people through such stories. He also dosen't shy away from the terrible things narrated in the Old Testament especially apparently, reportedly, at the hand of God. How could a loving caring God behave like this - often almost genocidally? And how could a loving caring God allow 'Man' to behave in the awful ways that 'Man' has?

If logic dominates we humans - do this and you will cause that - then the logical inconsistencies described in this book DO demonstrate how omniscience and omnipotence are impossible for we HUMANS. But why constrain God with logic? In my mind God is higher than constraints such as physical laws and logic.

Pickover's worst book to date
Actually, this effort can not be appropriately called a book. It can be more appropriately described as a collection of random thoughts.
When Pickover tries to really dig into the problem he posed to himself, his efforts end up either being shallow or degrading into rumblings about mathematical formulas. No significant advance in the matter is ever reached.
Almost all of his premises can be seen, by any mildly intelligent person, as false from the beginning, which turns any effort in reading through the entire book a Herculean task.
I have read almost every book Pickover wrote to this date and enjoyed them very much, which prompted me to buy this one mostly because his name was on the cover... Suffice to say that I won't be making that mistake twice.

A Book That Invites Mental Participation
Does Cliff Pickover provide an answer to humanity's questions about the nature of God? Absolutely not. What he does in this book is much more important. He encourages his readers to think for themselves. By creating a series of paradoxical riddles that continuously entangle themselves in catch-22s, Pickover demonstrates how little we actually understand about a hypothetical "omniscient" being. Can we ever understand God from a human point of view? I don't know, but this book encourages us to at least try. That in itself is a valuable gift.One word of warning:if you are a passive reader, looking for a few hours of lazy entertainment, don't buy this book. However,if you want mental stimulation and a nice potent cerebral workout,definately read this book! It really doesn't matter if one believes in God or not when reading this book. The thought processes evoked by the book are worth the price itself.

Book Review: The Paradox of God
Can God create a rock so heavy that He cannot lift it?

Clifford A. Pickover addresses this question and numerous others in his book The Paradox of God and the Science of Omniscience. Not content with examining well-known problems that arise when we think of a literally existing omnipotent being, Pickover pulls together difficult brainteasers from statistics, philosophy, time-travel along with theology and questions about free will. He demonstrates that being able to predict the future might actually be a disadvantage in practical situations and explains why your brain perceives things that apparently haven't happened yet.

This is the second book I've read by Pickover, the first being Time: A Traveler's Guide. Pickover is creative and entertaining, and someone accessible to all- neither a Jehovah's Witness or a positive atheist is likely to be offended by his treatment of the touchy subject matter. His approach isn't to solve the problems for us or even explain what he thinks are the answers. Pickover simply explains the paradoxes, presents the opinions of great thinkers, and tells an amusing story.

The book can get annoying at times, however. Pickover has a lot of trouble sticking to the same subject for more than a few pages, making me wonder just who was hired to edit this thing. If you want some in-depth treatment of the nature of knowledge, Pickover's frequent tangents on irrelevant tangents will likely frustrate you. Personally, I would have liked a chapter on what purpose or meaning an omnipotent being could find in life.

But when Pickover wants to make a point, he explains this clearly enough that math failures like me can understand. My favorite example is in the last chapter, 'Some Final Thoughts,' where he uses game theory and a though experiment involving a square room and a lever to predict the conditions that a person will resist or succumb to temptation, even if we grant full free will.

So if you're looking for an intelligent entertaining read that you can pick up and put down whenever you like, I highly recommend The Paradox of God.

Bring an Open Mind and Plenty of Aspirin to Explore God
What does biology, physics, the Bible, and Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" have in common? They are part of Clifford A. Pickover's subject material used to explore the paradoxes of God and the science of omniscience. Pickover, a professional puzzler and inventor, will bend your mind like a wet noodle, so please bring an open mind and more importantly, plenty of aspirin when reading "The Paradox of God and The Science of Omniscience."

Pickover will convince you without a doubt about point A, but then be equally convincing with a contradicting point B. The book is bursting at the seam with paradoxes concerning God's nature. An interesting notion is that omniscience has its disadvantages. One example the author cogently dissects is a game of chicken with an omniscient being. If you enjoy ruminating on such notions, then this book will quickly enthrall and delight with the numerous permutations the author diverges on to grasp a fuller understanding of God. However, if the aforementioned leaves you in the doldrums, harking back to a time when you were forced to sit through the requisite Philosophy 101 college class, then this treatise will have you running for the hills.

The point of the author's writings is to challenge the definitions of God and the universe. The effect may be shattering as one's paradigm slowly shifts. Pickover seems to enjoy being the provocateur; his tone is gleeful at times. Pickover states, "The mere asking of these questions stretches our minds." He leads discussions via the Socratic method, but definitive answers are lacking as questions quickly multiply. However, one absolute is this: a gem of a read for anyone vaguely interested in God.

Bohdan Kot ... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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What Religious Science Teaches
Aside from the texbook feel of the work it still is very good and clear. ... Read more

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The doctrine of intelligent design is often the subject of acrimonious debate. Seeking God in Science cuts through the rhetoric that distorts the debates between religious and secular camps. Bradley Monton, a philosopher of science and an atheist, carefully considers the arguments for intelligent design and argues that intelligent design deserves serious consideration as a scientific theory.

Monton also gives a lucid account of the debate surrounding the inclusion of intelligent design in public schools and presents reason why students' science education could benefit from a careful consideration of the arguments for and against it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

ID: So easy, even an atheist can do it! Or is it?
The concept of an atheist providing an objective evaluation of the arguments for and against Intelligent Design is certainly intriguing. Monton, however, fails to deliver. Whether through naïveté or deliberate obtuseness, he gives ID the benefit of the doubt in every case, accepting it at face value. Even so, he finds the overall argument for ID ultimately to be unconvincing.

The following excerpt from Monton's argument (that "Intelligent Design is NOT Inherently Theistic") illustrates the depth of his credulity: "...the Discovery Institute definition simply says that : `The theory of intelligent design holds that certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection,' without specifying whether that intelligent cause is natural or supernatural."(p 57) So, the intelligent agent who is responsible for elements of our cosmos and for origin of life on earth isn't necessarily God, or even supernatural? Gimme a break!

Monton quotes Barbara Forrest as follows: "ID creationists continue their campaign to de-secularize public education and, ultimately, American culture and government, thereby undermining foundational elements of secular, constitutional democracy." He then says: "My personal opinion is that Forrest is making this into too much of a culture war," and that her evidence and that of people like her is tenuous (p 12). Either he didn't actually read Forrest's book, which he references, or he didn't grasp its import. Forrest is a philosopher who has followed ID as a cultural phenomenon for years: she knows whereof she speaks.

Additionally in footnote 4, he quotes from the Wedge document: "The proposition that human beings are created in the image of God is one of the bedrock principles on which Western civilization was built. Its influence can be detected in most, if not all, of the West's greatest achievements, including representative democracy, human rights, free enterprise, and progress in the arts and sciences." He again displays either ignorance or naïveté by saying: "...it doesn't sound like the Discovery Institute is on the level of the Taliban."

Here's what the Discovery Institute actually means: Human beings were created in the image of God by special creation in accordance with the literal Genesis creation account. The United States is the only real Western civilization. Our founding fathers were Christians who founded the US as a Christian nation with laws based on biblical moral values. Separation of church and state in the US is fraudulent. Everything positive in the West is the result of Fundamentalist religious influence. The Wedge goes on to say that a little over a century ago materialism set in and eventually took over, and "The cultural consequences of this triumph of materialism were devastating.""Discovery Institute's Center for the Renewal of Science and Culture seeks nothing less than the overthrow of materialism and its cultural legacies." That is, subsequently, all cultural practices, including science, must be based on Fundamentalist religious principles. Sounds Taliban-ish to me.

Monton says: "Even if the intelligent design movement is now focused on getting intelligent design taught in public schools, this isn't an essential component of the intelligent design movement" (p 15) He couldn't be more wrong. It's not the only element, but it is essential to the Wedge, and the Wedge IS doctrine for the intelligent design movement. Just Google "Jesus prayer opens Texas textbook meeting" to see that the Wedge is still active.

I could continue on with many more examples, but I'll close with two observations:

1) Monton's theistic arguments against atheism, such as fine tuning, are not, per se, arguments for Intelligent Design: they support theistic evolution as well

2) Those who still don't understand why Intelligent Design is not science should read Forrest's "Methodological Naturalism and Philosophical Naturalism: Clarifying the Connection (2000)

A balanced and critical evaluation on ID from an atheist, suprising and refreshing!
A bravo book from a first-rate philosopher!

The first chapter on how Intelligent Design should be understood shows Monton's critical mind and academic honesty.
His clarification and refinement on ID is a good move, it makes ID's stance clearer and the discussion on ID more well focused. He has provided a "definition" of ID which best capture the idea in the mind of the ID proponents, an even better "definition" than the official one.

I also enjoy reading his treatment on the palusible arguments for ID, including the fine-tuning argument, which he thinks is a good argument, though not strong enough to turn him to be a theist; the kalam cosmological argument, the argument from DNA, from irreducible complexity and the argument from stimulation. I especially like his treatment on Craig's Kalam cosmological argument and I look forward to Craig's response.

The part on the scientific status of ID is also well written. It is suprising to see an atheist defending the scientific status on ID (more accurately, Monton's stance is that there are no good arguments showing that ID is not science, but not that ID is science. He thinks, and I agree, that whether ID is science is comparatively unimportant, the more important issue is whether ID is true.

This book has shown us a very good defense of ID, which I find even more convincing than William Dembski's. I strongly recommend this book to those who are interested in the Intelligent Design, no matter you are an ID proponent, or an opponent.

Refreshing
Seeking God in Science is a refreshing and fair-minded exploration of intelligent design (ID) arguments. Unlike the many ideologically-driven detractors of intelligent design, Monton refuses to set up a straw man, poison the well, or dismiss ID as unscientific. In the noble tradition of William Rowe, Bradley Monton writes as "a friendly atheist"--one who seriously and honestly considers claims that challenge atheism. As such, this book is a welcome breakthrough.

However, I take ID arguments in cosmology and biology to be, in fact, intellectually successful, not just worth considering seriously. That is, they establish the existence of a non-material designer. On this, see, for example, "The Design Revolution" by William Dembski and "Darwin's Black Box" by Michael Behe.

Not one sided...
Dr. Monton does a very good job of splitting this touchy topic right down the middle.His warm and humorous,yet very intelligent style is an enjoyable read.It's a very tough topic to take on, but Dr. Monton does a great job applying the latest scientific and philosopical views. There are very few books that offer both sides of the intelligent design story.

Monton is a Creationist!
I have greatly appreciated Monton's work on the philosophy of time and was quite intrigued to see him weigh in on the ID debate. The debate over ID is one that is wrought with ignorance and polemics, instead of careful arguments, making it incredibly difficult to figure out what on earth ID is actually all about. This state of affairs is the fault of people who will call someone like Monton a creationist because he defends ID, as well as the proponents of ID who--in my opinion--fail to adequately explain what ID is.

Monton does a good job at carefully defining ID and then examining the arguments for and against it. If you are looking for a good critical introduction to ID, Monton's book is a great place to start. Along the way you will also learn some of the basics for critical thinking. ... Read more

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In Stages of Thought, Michael Barnes examines a pattern of cognitive development that has evolved over thousands of years--a pattern manifest in both science and religion. He describes how the major world cultures built upon our natural human language skills to add literacy, logic, and, now, a highly critical self-awareness. In tracing the histories of both scientific and religious thought, Barnes shows why we think the way that we do today.

Although religious and scientific modes of thought are often portrayed as contradictory-one is highly rational while the other appeals to tradition and faith-Barnes argues that they evolved together and are actually complementary. Using the developmental thought of Piaget, he argues that cultures develop like individuals in that both learn easier cognitive skills first and master the harder ones later. This is especially true, says Barnes, because the harder ones often require first the creation of cognitive technology like writing or formal logic as well as the creation of social institutions that teach and sustain those skills. Barnes goes on to delineate the successive stages of the co-evolution of religious and scientific thought in the West, from the preliterate cultures of antiquity up to the present time. Along the way, he covers topics such as the impact of literacy on human modes of thought; the development of formalized logic and philosophical reflections; the emergence of an explicitly rational science; the birth of formal theologies; and, more recently, the growth of modern empirical science.

This groundbreaking book offers a thorough and persuasive argument in favor of the development of modes of thought across cultures. It will serve as an invaluable resource for historians of religion, philosophers and historians of science, and anyone interested in the relationship between religion and science. ... Read more

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"Religious doctrine, far from stifling modern science, was the chrysalis in which it grew." -Hans W.Frei (Yale University)
The thesis here is that "belief in divine creation was a major presupposition in the emergence of natural science in seventeenth-century England."The book is in part based on the author's Ph.D. thesis, which he received at Harvard University.The book is well-respected and routinely cited by historians of science. ... Read more

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The Science Delusion offers a counterpart to the wave of aggressive anti-religionism exemplified by Richard Dawkins' 'scientific' critique of The God Delusion. Its aim is not to defend any specific religious faiths, but to show how what we call 'science' is as much based on irrational and dogmatically unquestioned beliefs as the most 'fundamentalist' religion.By cutting through the common myths and delusions that make up our idea of 'science', as well as those that science itself is founded upon, philosopher Peter Wilberg lays down a 'heretical' challenge to the quasi-religious authority that the modern scientific world-view wields in today's globalised Western media and culture. In contrast to the unthinking debate between secular atheists and religious theists, he argues that the question of God's reality does not depend on the existence or non-existence of a supreme being 'with' consciousness - but can be answered through a new understanding of God as consciousness. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Intellectual dishonesty
Yet comes another author who commits an intellectual dishonesty. Treating science as theory is fair, but to acknowledge the concept of god and the presence of god is ludicrous. It is heartbreaking to know a person who has been educated to the highest level and still believes in the supernatural.The tenacity of irrationality is written all over the author and his book. ... Read more

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For centuries, humankind has tried to navigate between scientific and spiritualconceptions of reality often without much success. In the resultant confusion scientists philosophers and theologians have pondered and argued-yet the separation remains. Norman Friedman correlates the quantum physics of David Bohm with the Perennial Philosophy described by Aldous Huxley and the spiritual insights of the channelled entity known as Seth to show how a single reality emerges from seemingly contradictory perspectives-a brilliant synthesis. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

take your pick
A synopsis of the writings of one of the all-time great physicists, David Bohm, sets the tone for the synthesis of what seem to be radically different forms of knowledge.It takes concentration to stay with what Bohm has put forth, but if the effort is forthcoming, the results are more than worth it.Wholeness and the implicate order are the bottom line.

Wholeness and the implicate order are repeated in physics, philosophy, and the psychic.All three say essentially the same thing.We are used to structuring our reality based on agreement.When several people agree that something happened, there is consensual validity.Consensual validity means that we believe what happened actually happened, it's real.This belief is our reality.We can end up at the end of this book with a consensual world view which is quite different from what we held before reading this book.

Many of us take physics pretty seriously and use physics to help us structure our reality.In other words, we give credibility to what physics has to say.However, psychic phenomena are often not given the same credibility.Weird psychic phenomena such as "channeling" are more often than not dismissed out of hand.So we make judgements about what we accept as credible and what we do not as we construct our reality.

This book presents us with the task of re-evaluating our judgements regarding what we accept and what we reject in the construction of our reality.The question is: What do we do when both physics and the psychic say the SAME THING??Do we continue with our acceptance of physics and rejection of the psychic even though they both say the same thing?Do we bag physics and go for the psychic?Do we say that this is too confusing to make any sense out of?Or.Do we opt for consensual validity and accept that both physics and the psychic are real?

It is fascinating that we can go both ways.We can use physics to understand the psychic.Or.We can use the psychic to understand physics.Either way.Take your pick.We end up at the same place!For those who prefer mathematics, go for David Bohm.For those who prefer the psychic, go for "Seth".For those who prefer eastern philosophy, go for Ken Wilber.Everybody ends up at the same place.And WHAT a place it is!It's whole, not segmented.It's unified, not divided!It's infinite, not limited!It continually changes, it's not fixed!We're all together, not separated!

So here we have a book, written by an engineer, which is spiritually up-lifting in a way which is difficult to match.

a book that found me
i bought this book from a street vendor in new york where ordinarily there are never books and ordinarily i never walk. i had a feeling the book was finding me as much as i was finding it. i point this out because this does not occur with books which cannot impact you.

i won't ignore the gaps or issues others have raised regarding the text. what matters is that, a year later, i remember the unmistakeable sense of there being a higher unity of things than we typically experience or conceive. friedman interrelates david bohm's quantum mechanics (implicate and explicate order), jane roberts' seth seances and the perennial philosophy.

i do not believe seth is a spirit but roberts' muse. i am not hanging on every word like a fish on a hook. but we see emerging the idea that our science, our philosophy and our faith ultimately point to a singular reality we develop towards without knowing it.

friedman was a millionaire in industry before he wrote either of his books (the hidden domain). this is a man who wanted more than what the daily world offered. and this is what he found.

A very frustrating read
I bought this book after reading the other two excellent reviews. Well, it was a big waste of money for me. The book was not written in a clear, easy to follow manner. It should be rewritten in half the number of pages. Rather go for "From Science to God" by Peter Russell.

A Must Read
A must read.Answers many questions that are repeatedly raised in other bokks on simular topics. Freidman does not waste paper....he provides insights to the last line of the last page...
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Opens the mind so wide it creates a permanent draft inside !
Where to start ? To get 5 stars, a book must really satisfy many criterias, and this one certainly does.

Its author, Mr. Friedman, deserve among others to be recognized as a brillant pedagogue. The topic iscomplex but the text is clear and the simple words well chosen, like in hisother excellent book: The Hidden Domain.As a reader you are able to thinkfully about the concepts expressed, without wasting any concentration onsentences analysis.Depending on your learning style, you may prefer likeI did the tape version: it lets you think with your eyes closed.

You mayhave enjoyed David Bohm's unusual interpretations of our world through hismaster knowledge of quantum physics.You may have been puzzled by JaneRoberts connection with thestrange entity Seth.In Bridging Science andSpirit, not only do you get a summary of the most important andphilosophical aspects of the above, you are also launched into suchpowerful explanations of the physical roots of our world that some wildimagination may be needed to fully grasp them.

This book makes you thinkand almost not believing yourself the potentials of what your mind istrying to visualize: this is why I found the book outstanding. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Perfect To Share
I've been a student of the Science of Mind philosophy ever since that pivitol Sunday morning I walked into the Simi Valley Church of Religious Science in Simi Valley, CA, some 25 years ago, and listened to Dr. Dennis Merritt Jones for the very first time.My soul resonated instantly with this spiritual philosophy and the positive energy of his church.Dr. Dennis is a wonderful teacher and what I learned from him changed the direction of my life 180 degrees for the better.I was thrilled when Dr. D. wrote How To Speak Religious Science and I found it to be a great way to share this wonderful teaching in a very concise nutshell format to give friends and family a sense of why my life works as well a it does.This little book is a perfect way to introduce the Science of Mind philosophy in a format that makes it easy for anyone to understand and then almost effortlessly assimilate many of the Science of Mind principles immediately.I couldn't offer a higher recommendation for any book than I do for this one.

Excellent
I think thi is an essential read for people just introduced to the science of mind philosophy by Ernest Holmes

How To Speak Religious Science
The book is very helpful, brief, clear and informative. I would recommend it to anyone that is a member of Religious Science or who is curious about it. ... Read more

Product Description
"Science and Religious Anthropology" explores the convergence of the biological sciences, human sciences, and humanities around a spiritually evocative, naturalistic vision of human life. The disciplinary contributions are at different levels of complexity, from evolution of brains to existential longings, and from embodied sociality to ecosystem habitat. The resulting interpretation of the human condition supports some aspects of traditional theological thinking in the world's religious traditions while seriously challenging other aspects. Wesley Wildman draws out these implications for philosophical and religious anthropology and argues that the modern secular interpretation of humanity is most compatible with a religious form of naturalistic humanism. This book resists the reduction of meaning and value questions while taking scientific theories about human life with full seriousness. It argues for a religious interpretation of human beings as bodily creatures emerging within a natural environment that permits engagement with the valuational potentials of reality.This engagement promotes socially borne spiritual quests to realize and harmonize values in everything human beings do, from the forging of cultures to the crafting of personal convictions. ... Read more

Product Description
In this timely work, Russell, philosopher, agnostic, mathematician, and renowned peace advocate, offers a brief yet insightful study of the conflicts between science and traditional religion during the last four centuries. Examining accounts in which scientific advances clashed with Christian doctrine or biblical interpretations of the day, from Galileo and the Copernican Revolution, to the medical breakthroughs of anesthesia and inoculation, Russell points to the constant upheaval and reevaluation of our systems of belief throughout history. In turn, he identifies where similar debates between modern science and the Church still exist today. Michael Ruse's new introduction brings these conflicts between science and theology up to date, focusing on issues arising after World War II.

This classic is sure to interest all readers of philosophy and religion, as well as those interested in Russell's thought and writings. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A Quick History Lesson
Of the books I've read by Russell so far I think he is the easiest on religion here. I see two reasons for this. One, he never talks about sexual repression which is the subject that consistently gets him riled up about the church, and two, at the time this was written (1935) he was optimistic that the days of Christianity fighting progress were behind us and saw the real threats coming from the state. He was keenly aware that the governments of Russia, Germany and, to a lesser extent, his own Britain were throwing their citizens' freedoms under the bus. His later work shows that he later abandoned the optimism he had towards Christianity, but the important thing to remember is that he was pretty darn optimistic here.

The nice thing about the book is Bertrand doesn't particularly take a stand on whether or not religion and science are incompatible. Indeed his optimism about the future of Christianity suggests that at the time of this writing he thought that they could coexist. The first half is really just a history of instances when the church determined that science was incompatible with its teachings. The first few chapters are each dedicated to a specific scientific discovery the the church ardently opposed, often with the power of the state and serious threats against the scientists involved. This included discoveries like that the sun was the center of the solar system, that the earth was not a mere 6,000 years old and that the strata of rocks not only pointed to a very, very old earth, but did not show any evidence of a worldwide flood. He briefly mentions evolution, but doesn't seem to realize just how troublesome it would continue to be to many religious people.

Later chapters move away from the structure of relating the history of science being repressed by the church. This is of course because the church no longer had the power or, in Russell's opinion, the inclination to directly oppose science. Instead he focuses on religious schools of thought (not necessarily Christian) that are ideologically incompatible certain scientific thought. There's a chapter on determinism and the threat it poses to the doctrine of damnation (though it should be mentioned that Russell makes it clear that right now there is no way to know if determinism does in fact describe the movements of all things). Then he discusses mysticism and cosmic purpose. Sadly, because these two concepts really describe countless subsets of belief I found the chapters insufficient to really address them completely.

He finishes off with a chapter addressing the popular criticism of science that it doesn't say anything about morality. He did an excellent job talking about how, while technically true this doesn't mean that dependence on science will lead to immorality. Quite the contrary. He dismisses the idea of intrinsic morality and a conscience as illusions covering up the fact that morality is learned. Ultimately he ends up breaking down exactly what subjective morality is. He's 100 percent in step with The Ethics Of Spinoza though he more fully addresses the real world effect of a world where each person has their own personal morality which may in some ways contradict his fellows'. If nothing else that chapter alone deserves a read as it is the most complete and concise treatment of community and ethics I have come across.

The reason I made a fuss at the beginning of this review about Russell's relatively lenient attitude toward religion here and the fact that he himself does not declare religion and science incompatible is because of the introduction that was given to this book. It was written by Michael Ruse and by the time I had finished it I was certain that he hadn't read a word of Russell prior to getting the gig writing his intro. And after reading the book I'm not sure Ruse ever got around to reading this one either. He seems to think that it is Russell that asserts science and religion cannot coexist when Russell only recounts instances in which religion sees science as incompatible with itself, mostly in the past. To make matters worse Ruse doesn't seem to have a clue what either Russell or Spinoza thought of ethics, though that doesn't stop him from claiming that without religious morality Hitler's actions cannot be considered immoral. This is of course ludicrous since the entire basis of both Russell's and Spinoza's "good" is the fulfillment of the well-being of the individual and his community. It doesn't take a genius to know that the Nazis acted to annihilate the well-being of millions of people for the benefit of a few. I was stupefied that someone so ignorant of Russell and his ideas was given the task of writing his intro, it's really quite shameful. I've never come across such a poorly researched introduction before in my life.

A Quality Look at the History of Religion and Science
Bertrand Russell reflects on the conflicts of science and religion by outlining the history of each.Although Russell is a renowned critical thinker and agnostic proponent of science, his presentation is closer to a historical account rather than a one-sided argument.He finds faults and praise for both science and religion and views their respective conflicts in relation to the thought process of societies at their respective time periods.

Religion has been mainstream for at least two millenniums and as Russell points out it has only been in the last two centuries that science has gained considerable influence.For two thousand years even Aristotle's views on falling objects was considered unquestionably valid until simple scientific experiments proved his faulty lines of reason.The history of religion has also evolved throughout the ages, but unlike science there are no definitive tests that influence the lines of reason, there are only common accepted beliefs and faiths.Russell asserts it is this difference that is as the core of the conflict of between science and religion; a clash made most famous by Galileo's persecution for his pronouncement that the earth was not the center of the universe.

Russell's' philosophical views are as relevant today as in the early parts of the 20th century when this piece was written.He capably conveys the importance of looking back into history to better grasp the integrity of our own views.Anyone with an interest in these subjects will find Religion and Science worthwhile and enjoyable.

Content and heading do not match
There is no doubt that Bertrand Russel is one of the greatest philosophers of the 20th century. However, I was dissapointed in his book titled Religion and Science. Because my expectation was to learn in detail about the various battles between religion and science throughout history. Bertrand Russel talks about them briefly in the beginning of the book then devotes a major part of his book to a deep philosophy of science. In the beginning he skims over Galileo's conviction by the church for claiming that the Earth revolves around the sun not the other way around, Darwin's theory of Evolution versus Intelligent Design held by religious creationists, that Christianity deemed slicing of human cadavre for the study of anatomy a sin and in contrast with scientific psychological methods religion dealt with insanity through exorcism, claiming that the person was possesed. Although he had written this book in the 1930's those or similar conflicts between religion and science have been continuing since then and still do currently in the beginning of the 21st century.

All these are fine but the title and introduction of the book promise a much more detailed treatment of these subjects which is lacking. Bertrand Russel's analysis of the philosophy of science is no doubtbased on his profound knowledge of the subject. But the language he uses is too heavy and difficult to comprehend. It is a pity that great thinkers are not always great communicators ; they often do not have good writing skills. Great ideas should be communicated with a simple language to the general public. Otherwise the general public is deprived of their good ideas or has to learn about them not from the originator of the ideas but from other authors who have better writing skills. Albert Einstein also attempted to write a book about his theories of relativity for the general public but with such long sentences and bad writing that most people have to learn about his theories from better writers. I wish Bertrand Russel had written this book with a simpler structure. Being complicated is not a virtue, being simple is a virtue. I recommend a book by Edward de Bono named Simplicity that explains this point very well.

"Religion and Science" as opposed to "Religion vs. Science"
This book is the culmination of lengthy and grueling contemplations. It really reveals the author's depth of knowledge.

Religion and science are two major aspects of life. Religion (or to worship something more superior and powerful) has been around since the day humankind was created. In every epoch, in every land, human beings felt a need to believe in something which they can seek refuge when they are in need of protection, relief, solace and peace of mind. Whether you believe in a religion or not, it plays, perhaps, the biggest role in our lives everyday. Science, on the other hand, is the grand sum of all the endeavors that mankind expended in search of unraveling the mysteries of the universe.

In my opinion, the author could have named the book "Christianity and Science" as well, because he refers to other religions very briefly. I am sure he was not unaware of them, but to name a book with such a generic name, it entails a comprehensive treatise of all major religions. Although there are many common denominators among them, there are as well many stark contrasts. Furthermore, the historical development of major religions exhibit different features, distinct approaches and methodologies.

Having been raised in a Christian environment, it is not unusual for the author to bring forth such a book. At that time, the Islamic civilization was (and still is) in a state of decline and inertia. The concept of "religion and science" should be discussed in a forum with participants from all major religions. Hence, one will be able to produce a comprehensive treatise.

As for this book specifically, the chapter "Demonology and Medicine" is especially striking and includes very powerful stories. The outstanding difference between today's Western civilization and the Medieval Europe is characterized very successfully.In the latter chapters, the evolution of scientific thought in West is discussed with very illustrative examples. The notion of "relativity" in the sense that every human being perceives the Universe from a different angle with different assumptions and premises is argued and scrutinized very logically, effectively. This book really makes you ponder over the Universe in which you live, from many perspectives, with the ideas that shape it.

Personally, science and religions are not archnemeses. They are very powerful tools, which go parallel to each other, to perceive and comprehend the secrets of life.

Overall, a very powerful book for those who are not afraid of thinking!

Comments on 2 CD Audio...
Hard to believe that this Book (here in CD Audio Format) was written was back in 1932! Most of it is as current and relevent now as then. The CD is broken down in to several parts, including RELIGION AND THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD,RELIGION AND DISEASE,RELIGION AND EVOLUTION, RELIGION AND MYSTICISM. Always very polite and a bit understated, the CD begins commenting on Copernicus and Galileo, scientists contradicting the dogma of their times. Then onto Church responses to disease including 1600's Plagues, and Smallpox. The blame was put on demons and devils, not germs aor viruses. His comments on the Smallpox outbreak in 1880's Montreal are worth the price of the CD. Evolution and biology are discussed, and Russll has some interesting thoughts on mysticism. Very worthwhile in this CD format! ... Read more

Product Description
The field of "religion and science" is exploding in popularity among academics as well as the general reading public. Spawning an increasing number of conferences and courses, this field has shown an unprecedented rate of growth in recent years. Here for the first time is a single-volume introduction to the debate, written by the leading experts. Making no pretense to encyclopedic neutrality, each chapter defends a major intellectual position: at the heart of the book is a series of "pro" and "con" papers, covering each of the current "hot topics" (such as evolution versus creation, naturalism versus the supernatural). In addition to treatments of questions of methodology and implications for life and practice, the Handbook includes sections devoted to the major scientific disciplines, the major world religions, and the main sub-disciplines in this exciting and ever-expanding field of study. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Too much, lacks focus
Leave this book for the libraries.It has some helpful info, but overall it's a mess. In two other words: academic sprawl.A far better handbook is Campbell and Looy's Science and Religion Primer, A.

A tour de force
This massive, impeccably crafted edited volume represents the very best thinking in science-and-religion so far, with two exceptions (which I shall come to in a moment). The original essays featured show that science-and-religion is a field of inquiry which has truly come of age and is of immense relevance to broader academic discussions. The first part consists of relatively brief introductions to the field as seen from the standpoint of particular religious traditions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, etc.). Especially interesting are those from a Buddhist and Hindu perspective, as they do not often feature in Western discussions. It is clear, however, that both religious traditions have sophisticated perspectives to offer and at least one impressive research program in the form of scientific studies of meditation.

The second part deals with particular issues in science-and-religion, such as evolution, cosmology, etc. Here there are not many new reflections on offer, as they aim to provide a general map of different issues to take into consideration. The third part is considerably more interesting, as we examine the contributions which specific disciplines can make to the discussion, such as philosophy of science, history, systematic theology, etc. It is here where the interdisciplinarity of the field becomes most evident. Religion-and-science is truly all-encompassing, and the best work in the future will have to draw on all these different disciplines. Part four highlights some particular approaches to the discussion, including naturalism (a remarkable essay by Owen Flanagan), post-modernity (Nancey Murphy), etc. Part 5, by far the longest of the book, features extended debates over the more prominent ideas and positions in science-and-religion, including divine action, panentheism, emergentism, intelligent design, etc. The final part includes perspectives on value issues in religion and science.

It will be clear from this whirlwind summary that one cannot possibly do justice to the rich arguments and scholarship presented in this volume. All the essays are well worth reading, except unfortunately for the two I mentioned above, by William Provine and Peter Atkins respectively. In stark contrast to the careful, wide-ranging research and nuanced discussion featured in the other essays, all Provine and Atkins can offer is the same old rhetoric dating back to Huxley and Haeckel about how science and religion are incompatible and how evolution has disproved God. These essays should never have made it into this volume. Surely more sophisticated proponents of atheism could have been summoned, such as Taner Edis whose book "The Ghost in the Universe" is one of the best defenses of the idea that modern science is most consonant with an atheistic worldview (though even he fails to make a persuasive case that theism is unlikely).

Several individual essays stand out as primus inter pares. Philip H. Wiebe is undoubtedly the most articulate proponent of the evidential value of religious experience in contemporary philosophy of religion, and unlike many other authors he has read extensively in the neuroscientific and biological literature. His essay on "Religious experience, cognitive science and the future of religion" is worth the price of the book (which is admittedly a hefty $160; thank heavens for research libraries!). Robin Collins essay on contributions from the philosophy of science also stands out. He presents a novel argument against reductionism from quantum mechanics and defends a view of the religion-and-science relationship which he calls Theistic Non-Reductive Intelligibility (TNRI) which certainly merits further consideration. Owen Flanagan's essay on naturalism is very insightful, especially in his conclusion that the only tenet common to all varieties of naturalism is the rejection of super-naturalism. If this is the case it is hard to see how one could debunk, say, religious experience without begging important questions. At the same time it makes naturalism a much harder 'target' for theistic apologetics, which I see as a good thing. Theism would be better served, as John Haught and William Jaworski have pointed out, by providing a comprehensive, intellectually attractive and scientifically informed alternative to naturalism, rather than simply trying to refute naturalism per se. Finally, Michael Silberstein in his essay on emergentism makes extremely important points about the project of natural theology.

All in all, then, a feast for the mind. For those who are interested in science-and-religion questions, either from long experience or for the first time (although the book presupposes a college education; the essays are rigorous and demanding), I cannot recommend it highly enough. ... Read more

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In recent years a noticeable trend toward harmonizing the distinct worldviews of science and religion has become increasingly popular. Despite marked public interest, many leading scientists remain skeptical that there is much common ground between scientific knowledge and religious belief. Indeed, they are often antagonistic. Can an accommodation be reached after centuries of conflict?

Among the topics discussed are the Big Bang and the origin of the universe, intelligent design and creationism versus evolution, the nature of the soul, near-death experiences, communication with the dead, why people believe in God, and the relationship between religion and ethics.

In this stimulating collection of articles on the subject, the editors have assembled the thoughts of scientists from various disciplines. Included are works by such distinguished authors as Sir Arthur C. Clarke, Richard Dawkins, Richard Feynman, Kendrick Frazier, Martin Gardner, Owen Gingerich, Stephen Jay Gould, James Lovelock, Steven Pinker, Eugenie Scott, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Steven Weinberg, and many other eminent scientists and scholars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Excellent, well reasoned, rational arguments confirming that which all

Excellent, rational, well reasoned arguments, addressing the root cause for the past and ongoing "war" between science and religion; i.e. that war that only exists between the rational methodology of science - seeking the understanding of the physical world - and that of the irrational psuedo science - anchored in fundalmentalism - now masquerading with its new monica: "creation science".

Forensic Buff
This book is too complex for me. Maybe someday I will pick it up again.

One-sided
I am not a Christian but I still was offended by the one-sidedness of this collection of essays, most of which first appeared in Skeptical Inquirer.The volume is titled "Science and Religion: Are They Compatible?" but a more honest title would be something like "Scientists' Views of Religion: How to Leave it Behind". Out of the 39 essays, I counted barely a handful that defended religious views.There is a place for such a collection, but editors should have been more honest about their bias. That said, the essays did provide insight into the 'science overcomes religion' perspective.Especially helpful was Gould's essay presenting his famous 'non-overlapping magisteria' argument (that religion and science are not incompatable because they preside over entirely separate domains of values vs facts), and a rejoinder by Dawkins.

A good primer on the science/religion debate
Nearly all the essays in this collection are either transcripts of papers read at a "Science and Religion:Are They Compatible?" conference or reprints of essays that originally appeared in either the "Skeptical Inquirer" or "Free Inquiry."As such, they're addressed to an educated, nonprofessional audience.But for the most part, they're rigorously argued pieces that challenge the reader to take a close look at the relationship between scientific and the religious worldviews.

The minority opinion among the authors, most famously expressed in Stephen Jay Gould's essay (pp. 191-203) defending his NOMA (nonoverlapping magisteria) thesis, is that science and religion aren't incompatible because they ask separate questions, science dealing with facts and religion with values.Paul Kurtz argues (pp. 351-59) for a different kind of compatibility, one that recognizes that religious language is aesthetic but wholly mythical, and thus offers no serious challenge to religion.But most of the authors collected here tend to agree to one degree or another with Jacob Pandian's ("The Dangerous Quest for Cooperation between Science and Religion") suggestion that academic departments of religion be renamed "departments of superstition (p. 171), or Steven Weinberg's ("A Designer Universe?") claim that he's "all in favor of a dialogue between science and religion, but not a constructive dialogue.One of the great achievements of science has been, if not to make it impossible for intelligent people to be religious, then at least to make it possible for them not to be religious.We should not retreat from this accomplishment" (p. 40).

The overriding reason for dismissing the truth-value of religious claims is the authors' commitment to methodological naturalism, and the merits of that methodology is defended again and again in their essays.Part I uses the method to deny the cogency of design and cosmological arguments for the existence of God.Part II uses the method to criticize ID and creationism.Part III offers the most explicit defenses of naturalism found in the volume.Part IV focuses on the NOMA thesis.Part V applies the naturalist/physicalist method to questions of after-death existence.Part VI offers natural history explanations for the popularity of religious belief.Part VI offers essays that find great meaning and purposefulness in looking at the world through the lens of methodological naturalism.

As one would imagine, the quality of the articles is uneven--the contributions by Feynman and Lovelock, for example, are so flimsy that one wonders why they were included in the first place--but overall quite good.Especially noteworthy are the essays by Victor Stenger on the anthropic principle, Quentin Smith on big bang, Dennett on scientific method, the debate between Gould and Dawkins on NOMA, and Morton Hunt on the biological roots of God-belief.Editor Paul Kurtz's introduction to the collection is excellent.

My only reservation about the collection is that none of the authors really do a critical meta-analysis of methodological naturalism.An argument could be made that such an inquiry is outside the volume's scope.But it seems to me that an essay devoted to an explicit scrutiny of the strengths and limitations of naturalism as a method--and perhaps also a comparison of it methodological to ontological naturalism--would've been helpful.

Outstanding collection
This is an all star collection of essays by some very eminent scientists and others, including Richard Dawkins, Steven Weinberg, Richard Feynman, Stephen Jay Gould, Steven Pinker, James Lovelock, Daniel Dennett, etc.Thrown in for "balance" or fairness are essays by some others who espouse views decidedly not congenial with those of Editor Paul Kurtz, who is the founder of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal.

Most noticeable among the latter is William A. Dembski a mathematician and a well known proponent of Intelligent Design.I want to start with his essay which is entitled, "Skepticism's Prospects for Unseating Intelligent Design."

Immediately in the title we see employed one of the familiar tactics of the now discredited creationists, namely a statement presented slyly as "a given" about something that is in fact untrue.Dembski has skeptics (or actually evolutionary biology) attempting to "unseat" Intelligent Design.This is bit like the tail trying to wag the dog.The main thrust of Dembski's argument is that more Americas believe in design than in evolution.This "counting heads" sort of argument is obviously not science.It is an attempt to politicize science, to make what is true dependent upon what a majority of people think is true.

Dembski writes, "To allow an unevolved intelligence a place in the world is, according to skepticism, to send the world into a tailspin.It is to exchange unbroken natural law for caprice and thereby destroy science." (p. 91)

This is insincere since what Dembski really is saying is "To allow God a place..."Science would be glad to allow God a place in the world if it were somehow established that God exists.So far, after many, many centuries of trying, no one has been able to provide any evidence that God exists.Furthermore if God should become scientifically manifested, the skeptic's world would not be thrown into a tailspin.Rather skeptics would have a little less to be skeptical about!

What Dembski is really asserting here is the simple statement "If God exists, then skeptics think science will be destroyed."It's really laughable how the euphemistic expressions for God that the Intelligence Designers contort themselves into tend to turn their prose into babblelese.

Dembski finishes with some bogus claims for ID, some satirical "action points" for skeptics, and then returns to his main theme: "Poll after poll indicates that for most people evolution does not provide a compelling vision of life and the world." (p. 97)

Well, science move aside!The people have voted!Reminds me of the bumper sticker, "God said it.I believe it.That settles it."

More typical of the profound thought and expression in the book is the brilliant essay by Steven Weinberg entitled, "A Designer Universe?"This essay includes the famous statement: "With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil--that takes religion." (p. 40)

Another nice Weinbergian expression is this as a kind of comment on the idea that God gave humans free will as a way to account for evil in the world while maintaining an all powerful and benevolent God: "It seems a bit unfair to my relatives to be murdered in order to provide an opportunity for free will for Germans, but even putting that aside, how does free will account for cancer?Is it an opportunity of free will for tumors?" (p. 38)

Still another is this as a counter to the idea of God the Designer: "if...you believe in a God who is jealous, or loving, or intelligent, or whimsical, then you still must confront the question `Why?'" (p. 38)Consequently, such a God is not the entire answer and really begs the question, "Who designed him?"

This point is generalized by asking "Why is this theory compelling and not another?Why quantum mechanics and not Newtonian mechanics?"Weinberg concludes, "So there seems to be an irreducible mystery that science will not eliminate." (p. 33)This mystery, this uncertainty, is what creationists would like to eliminate.But I believe the mystery is part of the human condition and something to revel in, not something to sweep under the rug with authoritarian certainty.

Another outstanding essay is by Victor J. Stenger, "Anthropic Design: Does the Cosmos Show Evidence of Purpose?"He concludes with this beautiful view of the cosmos: "The hundred billion galaxies of our visible universe, each with a hundred billion stars, is but a grain of sand on the Sahara that exists beyond our horizon, grown out of that single, original bubble of false vacuum.An endless number of such bubbles can very well exist, each itself nothing but a grain of sand on the Sahara of all existence.On such a Sahara, nothing is too improbable to have happened by chance." (p. 45)


One of the most straightforward and appealing statements in favor of science is this from David A. Shotwell in his essay "From the Anthropic Principle to the Supernatural": "If you admit the supernatural into your calculations, anything goes.That is why a supernatural explanation is useless to a scientist, however pious he may be on Sundays.It provides no direction for research, suggests no testable hypotheses, and gives no reason to expect one result rather than another...." (p. 49)

I'm running out of space, but be sure and read Daniel Dennett's profound and witty homage to science entitled "Why Getting It Right Matters: How Science Prevails."Here's a quote: "Alongside our tools for agriculture, building, warfare, and transportation, we have created a technology of truth: science." (p. 156)

Here's another about "a standard of truth [from Plato] to be aspired to by all truth seekers."This standard is "heavily relied upon, even in matters of life and death--by the most vigorous opponents of science.(Or do you know a church that keeps track of its flock, and their donations, without benefit of arithmetic?)" (p. 157)
... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

An excellent and extremely readable book
The best up-to-date critique of neuroscience that I've seen. Clear and convincing, I'm using this book in a Philosophy of Religion class that I'm teaching at Dominican University of California.

OK but over priced for a paperback
It was nice to read a recent work by John Hick.It contains some interesting and thoughtful ideas. The price, however,is too high for this paperback. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A collection of better-than-average SF stories that mix the theological with the technological
I've long wanted to teach an undergraduate course on religious themes in science fiction, so when I chanced upon this anthology at the library I was very excited. After completing its 12 stories and one poem, I am less excited, but only because a few of the stories seem a bit dated. In his introduction to the anthology, editor Mayo Mohs (who was the religion editor for Time magazine) explains his criteria for selecting the stories contained herein: "All, in one way or another, have to do with religion, religious myth, conscience or that inestimable beyondness about life that we call the transcendental" (p. 12) In my estimation, the best of the stories were those that did not necessarily wear their religion on their sleeves, that suggested theological and philosophical ideas rather than telegraphing them to the reader.

My personal favorites included: "The Word to Space," a wry story in which a Jesuit is called upon to confound a planet of religious zealots whose interstellar broadcasts comprise little more than hyperdogmatic screeds; the centerpiece of the collection, "Prometheus," by Philip Jose Farmer, in which an adventurer-turned-monk inadvertently introduces a race of sentient avians to language, and with it, theology; John Brunner's chilling "The Vitanuls" which extrapolates the implications of a Hindu cosmology of rebirth in a world that has conquered death; and "Balaam," in which a rabbi and a priest find themselves reprising the roles of that famous Moabite and his donkey. Also included in the collection is Arthur C. Clarke's famous "The Nine Billion Names of God," a story which leaves me cold because of its inaccurate descriptions of Tibetan religion (i.e., Tibetans, who are Buddhists, don't have one name for God, let alone nine billion) but which is also a classic of religiously themed SF.

I really enjoyed this collection, and would love to find a copy to add to my home library. Too bad there aren't more anthologies like this. ... Read more

Product Description
Alister McGrath believes that it is religion, not science, that will reawaken our wonder and respect for the natural world and save us from ecological disaster. In this book, he aims to reposition religion, and Christianity in particular, as the way in which we can truly rediscover the beauty of nature. He argues that science has abused and exploited our environment and, by ridiculing religion, has destroyed our sense of wonder in nature. This is a vigorous defence of religion's relationship with nature, from a writer with doctorates in both Divinity and Molecular Biology from Oxford University. It includes an attack on Richard Dawkins and other scientists who claim religion has no modern day relevance. ... Read more

Product Description
The science-and-religion dialogue has become an established part of the wider cultural conversation about the respective roles of science and religion within democratic societies. By reflecting on the matrix of science, religion and politics, this volume constitutes a major contribution to the science-and-religion dialogue. It is not only required reading for philosophers, scientists and theologians, but will be of interest to all those engaged in the larger cultural conversation about the relationship between science and religion. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Religion studies science.
Science has been studying religion for a long time. I am most familiar with anthropological and sociological studies that date back one hundred years or more. What this volume represents is both a respect for and awareness of those scientific studies, while at the same time introducing the study of science by religion and philosophy. The results of scientific study of religion are not finally definitive, merely contributions to a larger inquiry.

At one time and for some philosophers still, the model for rationality was physics. Insofar as religion appealed to rational inquiry, then, it was measured by its approximation to the strictures of physics. In addition to now having grown accustomed to the power of physics, and its own rational failings, philosophical and religious inquirers are dissatisfied with that traditional model by itself.

As a consequence, the discipline of the academic study of religion by trained religio-philosophical professionals has developed conceptual standpoints that challenge science at its best. Hence the mutuality of science and religion now generates a wide-ranging discussion and debate. To be sure, the topics here are more closely related to the idea of religion and the idea of science than the practice of either. For both it is as practice rather than theory where the rubber hits the road.

While the title cites a distinction between science and religion as between explanation and belief (and the essays do present clear commentaries on those topics) the thrust of the discussion addresses religion in public life. The emergence of study of religion in public institutions has set limits that are only in process of formation. In a core essay by Thomas Schmidt, one of the editors of this volume, he offers the rule of thumb that in public life both religion and science avoid "comprehensive metaphysical doctrines about the good life or nature (...) for the sake of continuing cooperation among citizens."

Several essays identify the application of such a limit, in exactly the terms of "comprehensive metaphysical doctrines," as those apply to science. With the significant growth of religious studies in public institutions of higher education, the distinction emerges between teaching religion and teaching about religion, the former is taboo and the latter acceptable. A clarification of the concepts for allowing teaching about religion becomes possible via the discussion of religion and science. If universities can teach religion the way they teach science, objections become moot. The authors make clear that such a task is not simple because the traditions of science, since the Enlightenment, and religion both converge and diverge radically.

The authors represent Anglo-American and German universities, and their citations demonstrate the breadth of work being done on the topic. ... Read more