***<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
I\u2019m still slowly working my way through prior entries on my blog.\u00a0 Here are a quintet of quotations that I found and that I think merit being shared yet again:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The first three fit very closely together, and they are very much in the spirit of a conference that I would one day love to convene.\u00a0 The theme would be \u201cscience and religion,\u201d but it would be about neither defending religion from supposed challenges of science nor about using scientific arguments to buttress religious claims (though both of those are valuable things to do).\u00a0 Instead, it would be about the practice of science as itself a spiritual act and an inspiration.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the context of religion is a great background for doing science. \u00a0In the words of Psalm 19, \u2018The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork.\u2019 \u00a0Thus scientific research is a worshipful act, in that it reveals more of the wonders of God\u2019s creation.\u201d<\/b> \u00a0(Arthur Leonard Schawlow, Stanford University; 1981 Nobel laureate in physics)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have found there is a wonderful harmony in the complementary truths of science and faith. The God of the Bible is also the God of the genome. God can be found in the cathedral or in the laboratory. By investigating God\u2019s majestic and awesome creation, science can actually be a means of worship.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 (Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., former leader of the Human Genome Project and recently retired director of the National Institutes of Health)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Christian faith allows us to see further and deeper, to appreciate that nature is studded with signs, radiant with reminders, and emblazoned with symbols of God, our creator and redeemer.\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 (Formerly an atheist, Alister McGrath currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford. He earned three doctorates at Oxford \u2014 a D.Phil. in molecular biophysics, a D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) in theology, and a D.Litt (Doctor of Letters) in intellectual history.)<\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
At the conclusion of his classic essay \u201cThe Will to Believe,\u201d the famed Harvard philosopher and psychologist William James (1842-1910) cites the English writer, lawyer, and judge Fitzjames Stephen, from that author\u2019s Liberty, Equality, Fraternity<\/i>, 2nd ed. (London, 1874),\u00a0353. \u00a0It\u2019s a nice summary of the position in which humans find themselves\u00a0with regard to secular public arguments for and against religious faith:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think of yourself? What do you think of the world? . . . \u00a0These are questions with which all must deal as it seems good to them. They are riddles of the Sphinx, and in some way or other we must deal with them. . . . \u00a0In all important transactions of life we have to take a leap in the dark. . . . \u00a0If wc decide to leave the riddles unanswered, that is a choice; if we waver in our answer, that, too, is a choice: but whatever choice we make, we make it at our peril. \u00a0If a man chooses to turn his back altogether on God and the future, no one can prevent him; no one can show beyond reasonable doubt that he is mistaken. \u00a0If a man thinks otherwise and acts as he thinks, I do not see that any one can prove that he is mistaken. \u00a0Each must act as he thinks best; and if he is wrong, so much the worse for him. \u00a0We stand on a mountain pass in the midst of whirling snow and blinding mist through which we get glimpses now and then of paths which may be deceptive. \u00a0If we stand still we shall be frozen to death. \u00a0If we take the wrong road we shall be dashed to pieces. \u00a0We do not certainly know whether there is any right one. \u00a0What must we do? \u00a0\u201cBe strong and of a good courage.\u201d \u00a0Act for the best, hope for the best, and take what comes. . . . \u00a0If death ends all, we cannot meet death better.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
One might, I suppose, consider it a case of what\u2019s called \u201cdecision-making under conditions of uncertainty.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s another quotation that I found while going through past blog entries.\u00a0 It comes from\u00a0William D. Phillips, who won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to \u201claser cooling,\u201d a technique that is used to slow the movement of gaseous atoms in order to better study them:<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
While . . . media attention goes to the strident atheists who claim religion is foolish superstition, and to the equally clamorous religious creationists who deny the clear evidence for cosmic and biological evolution, a majority of the people I know have no difficulty accepting scientific knowledge and holding to religious faith. . . .<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nWhy do I believe in God? As a physicist, I look at nature from a particular perspective. \u00a0I see an orderly, beautiful universe in which nearly all physical phenomena can be understood from a few simple mathematical equations. \u00a0I see a universe that, had it been constructed slightly differently, would never have given birth to stars and planets, let alone bacteria and people. \u00a0And there is no good scientific reason for why the universe should not have been different.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\nMany good scientists have concluded from these observations that an intelligent God must have chosen to create the universe with such beautiful, simple, and life-giving properties. \u00a0Many other equally good scientists are nevertheless atheists. \u00a0Both conclusions are positions of faith. . . . \u00a0I find these arguments suggestive and supportive of belief in God, but not conclusive. \u00a0I believe in God because I can feel God\u2019s presence in my life, because I can see the evidence of God\u2019s goodness in the world, because I believe in Love and because I believe that God is Love.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Posted from Ko Olina, Oahu, Hawaii<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 *** \u00a0 Two new items from the astoundingly prolific Jeffrey Mark Bradshaw went up today on the website of the Interpreter Foundation: \u00a0 Old Testament Commentary: Genesis 11 Overview: The Tower of Babel \u00a0 Old Testament Commentary: Genesis 12-17: The Covenant of Abraham \u00a0 *** \u00a0 And this is worthy of mentioning here, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[9221,27881,909,27887,295,9433,27890,5154,1649,1230,743,27884,243,26563,12548],"class_list":["post-94089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alister-mcgrath","tag-arthur-leonard-schawlow","tag-faith","tag-fitzjames-stephen","tag-francis-collins","tag-james","tag-james-fitzjames-stephen","tag-nobel","tag-nobel-prize","tag-reason","tag-religion","tag-schawlow","tag-science","tag-william-d-phillips","tag-william-james"],"yoast_head":"\n
Supportive, but Not Conclusive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\" *** Two new items from the astoundingly prolific Jeffrey Mark Bradshaw went up today on the website of the Interpreter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2022\/02\/supportive-but-not-conclusive.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Supportive, but Not Conclusive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\" *** Two new items from the astoundingly prolific Jeffrey Mark Bradshaw went up today on the website of the Interpreter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2022\/02\/supportive-but-not-conclusive.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sic et Non\" 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![\"Brother](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/186\/2016\/09\/Sir_James_Fitzjames_Stephen.jpg\")
<\/a>