Science & Religion

"Science and Religion: A New Introduction is now into its third edition and is an excellent introduction to the whole field of science and religion." - Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Volume 73, Number 1, March 2021

Alister E. McGrath is Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion and Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, UK. He is the editor of the Ian Ramsey Centre Studies in Science and Religion and the author of many influential works, including Dawkins' God: From the "Selftsh Gene" to the "God Delusion."

Preface to the Third Edition ix 1 Science and Religion: Exploring a Relationship 1 Why Study Science and Religion? 2 The Chessboard: The Diversity of Science and Religion 5 Ian Barbours Four Models of the Relation of Science and Religion 7 Conflict 8 Independence 9 Dialogue 10 Integration 11 Four Ways of Imagining the Relation of Science and Religion 13 Science and Religion Offer Distinct Perspectives on Reality 13 Science and Religion Engage Distinct Levels of Reality 14 Science and Religion Offer Distinct Maps of Reality 15 The Two Books: Two Complementary Approaches to Reality 15 2 Getting Started: Some Historical Landmarks 19 Why Study History? 20 Inventing the Warfare of Science and Religion 21 The Essentialist Fallacy about Science and Religion 24 Dispelling Myths about Science and Religion 25 The Importance of Biblical Interpretation 28 The Emergence of the Medieval Synthesis 29 Copernicus, Galileo, and the Solar System 31 Newton, the Mechanical Universe, and Deism 38 Darwin and the Biological Origins of Humanity 43 The Big Bang: New Insights into the Origins of the Universe 50 3 Religion and the Philosophy of Science 57 Fact and Fiction: Realism and Instrumentalism 58 Realism 59 Idealism 61 Instrumentalism 62 Theology and Debates about Realism 64 Explanation, Ontology, and Epistemology: Research Methods and the Investigation of Reality 65 A Case Study in Explanation: Nancey Murphy on NonReductive Physicalism 68 What Does it Mean to Explain Something? 70 Ontic and Epistemic Approaches to Explanation 71 Religion and Explanation 73 Philip Clayton on Explanation in Religion 75 How Do We Decide What is the Best Explanation? 76 Logic of Discovery and Logic of Justification 77 Inference to the Best Explanation 79 A Case Study: Darwin and Natural Selection 81 Theory Choice and Religion 82 Verification: Logical Positivism 84 Falsification: Karl Popper 86 Theory Change in Science: Thomas S. Kuhn 89 4 Science and the Philosophy of Religion 95 Science, Religion, and Proofs for Gods Existence 96 Traditional Philosophical Arguments for the Existence of God 98 Thomas Aquinass Five Ways 99 The Kalam Argument 102 A Case Study: William Paleys Biological Argument from Design 103 The Ambiguity of Proof : Justification in Science and Theology 108 Gods Action in the World 111 Deism: God Acts Through the Laws of Nature 112 Thomism: God Acts Through Secondary Causes 114 Process Theology: God Acts Through Persuasion 116 Quantum Theory: God Acts Through Indeterminacy 118 Miracles and the Laws of Nature 120 David Humes Critique of Miracles 121 Keith Ward on Miracles 123 Wolfhart Pannenberg on Miracles 124 Natural Atheology? Evolutionary Debunking Arguments against God 125 Natural Theology: Is God the Best Explanation of our Universe? 128 A Metaquestion: Creation and the Uniformity of Nature 133 5 Models and Analogies in Science and Religion 143 The Use of Models in the Natural Sciences 145 The Kinetic Model of Gases 148 Complementarity: Light as Wave and Particle 151 Analogical Reasoning: Galileo and the Mountains of the Moon 153 Using Scientific Models Critically: Darwins Principle of Natural Selection 155 The Use of Models and Metaphors in Christian Theology 158 Thomas Aquinas on the Analogia Entis (Analogy of Being) 159 Ian T. Ramsey on the Model of the Divine Economy 160 Arthur Peacocke on the Theological Application of Models and Analogies 162 Sallie McFague on Metaphors in Theology 163 Using Religious Models Critically: Creation 164 Using Religious Models Critically: Theories of the Atonement 167 Models and Mystery: The Limits of Representation of Reality 169 Ian Barbour on Models in Science and Religion 173 6 Science and Religion: Some Major Contemporary Debates 179 Moral Philosophy: Can the Natural Scien