Science Meets Religion

Science Meets Religion
http://www.sciencemeetsreligion.org

SMR BLOG | Harmony | Q&A: Evolution | Q&A: Philosophy | Q&A: Physics | Q&A: Theology | Quotations | Bibliography | LDS

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My reasons for seeing the universe as meaningful lie in what I perceive as its built-in necessities. Monod stressed the improbability of life and mind and the preponderant role of chance in their emergence, hence the lack of design in the universe, hence its absurdity and pointlessness. My reading of the same facts is different. It gives chance the same role, but acting within such a stringent set of constraints as to produce life and mind obligatorily, not once but many times. To Monod's famous sentence "The universe was not pregnant with life, nor the bisosphere with man," I reply: "You are wrong. They were." -- Christian de Duve (Catholic biologist), Vital Dust: Life As A Cosmic Imperative, Basic Books, New York, 1995, pg. 300.

The complete list of quotes is available here.

A website dedicated to the search for harmony between science and religion

Approach

The objective of this website is to collect high-quality, authoritative information on topics in the intersection of science and religion, and to present this information in a rigorous, well-documented manner. Topics include the philosophy of science, Judeo-Christian theology, biblical scholarship, creationism, intelligent design, modern physics, big bang cosmology and social issues, organized into more than 80 separate articles (not including an additional 100+ articles in the blog). These articles are updated periodically as new research results and scholarship become available. Detailed references are given in all cases, and all references are listed in an extensive bibliography.

Material on this site is provided for research and education purposes only. No advertisements are permitted, nor are any solicitations to support any organization -- scientific, academic or religious. Most of the material is representative of and targeted to a broad spectrum of Judeo-Christian thought. Indeed, the vast majority of these issues are common to a wide range of religious denominations. Where theologians or religious leaders are quoted, their affiliation is indicated when possible. At the request of several LDS friends, I have also included a selection of information specifically of interest to LDS readers, placed on a separate section of the website.

Outline of Available Material

SMR blog (over 100 items). This blog features philosophical musings, interesting quotes and essays, all in the general realm of science and religion. New items are posted every three or four weeks.
The Search for Harmony: A Summary Essay. This article summarizes the conclusions of the three Q&A sections below, and sketches some promising directions for finding an honest common ground between science and religion.
Q&A: Evolution, Creationism and Intelligent Design (26 articles). This section discusses evolution, creationism, intelligent design, geological ages, DNA, fossils, evolutionary novelty, irreducible complexity, speciation, probability, the origin of life, and related topics.
Q&A: Philosophy (20 articles). This section discusses scientific controversies, atheism, determinism, naturalism, postmodernism, the history of the science-religion conflict, social studies and related topics.
Q&A: Physics and Cosmology (14 articles). This section discusses modern physics, cosmology, the big bang, the multiverse, cosmic coincidences, the cosmological constant paradox, Fermi's paradox, computer science and related topics.
Q&A: Theology (23 articles). This section discusses biblical scholarship, God as a scientific hypothesis, God-of-the-gaps theology, natural law and theology, the "war" between science and religion and related topics.
Quotations. This links to a collection of interesting quotations on the topic of science and religion by respected scientists, theologians and religious leaders.
Bibliography (approximately 800 items). This links to a comprehensive bibliography of all works cited in the articles above.
LDS pages (14 articles). This section of the website includes material specifically of interest to LDS readers (the other material above is targeted to a more general Judeo-Christian audience).

Editorial Information

This site is compiled and edited by David H. Bailey of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory (recently retired) and the University of California, Davis: Research website. The editor's published works include six books and over 200 technical articles, not including those on this site, ranging in topics from high-performance computing, computational mathematics, mathematical finance and computational biology.

Disclaimer: Material on this site does not necessarily reflect views of the editor's research institutions, funding agencies, religious affiliation or any other organization. Also, inclusion of material (articles, quotations, excerpts) on this website does not necessarily indicate that the editor endorses that material. Where authors are indicated, those authors are themselves responsible for the contents.

Acknowledgments: The editor wishes to acknowledge many useful comments and contributed material from numerous friends and colleagues, including Glenn Branch, Brent Dalrymple, Peter Hess, Mark Isaak, Duane Jeffery, Kenneth Miller, Steven Peck, Eugenie Scott and others.