Christianity and science Flashcards
Nullius in Verba
Motto of first royal institute of science
means everything should be tested
“on no ones word”
survival of the fittest
those who possess the traits at increase chances of survival, pass them to their children
Darwin’s observation in the Galapagos
Each bird had a slightly different beak based on the most common food on their island
Paley saw this as evidence of a designer
Sophisticated word for adaptation
microevolution
why do fundamentalists reject evolution
it means God formed man in one day. this is impossible as evolution contradicts this
George Lemaitre
Roman Catholic priest who discovered big bang theory
Steady state theory
that the universe has always been
Epicurean hypothesis
If the universe is infinite. it will eventually take every possible shape
monkeys and typewriters
Why did lemaitre discover the Big Bang
He knew there was a creator, so he went looking for him
Redshift effect
the light we perceive changes colour based on distance
further away, more red
closer, more purple
Cosmic microwave background radiation
Light left over from the Big Bang
However, it is invisible
Why do fundamentalists have an issue with the timeline of the BBT
Astronomy suggests the universe is 13.7b years old
Bible says earth was made in 6 days
there have only been 6000 years since earths creation, not 4.5b
God of the gaps
God is the answer to scientific questions we do not know about
Examples of God of the gaps
thunder and lightning- used to think it was God’s anger, now we know its meteorological phenomena
Orbits- used to think it was God, now we see it is gravity
HADD
Hyperactive agent detective device
We automatically assign agency to everything
when we dont understand something, we assume there is an intelligence behind it
Problem with God of the gaps
if God is part of scientific explanation, he should be detectable through science
but hes not
Flew’s parable of the gardener applied to God of the gaps
No test could ever reveal God as he is at an epistemic distance
therefore, religious statements about God die the DOATQ
How does Tillich describe God
Being itself, not a being
Tillich’s criticism of God of the gaps
GOTG argument misunderstands the nature of God
God is not a temporary answer to scientific mysteries, but the necessary condition for existence
Dawkin’s observation of God of the gaps
one day, science will progress so far that there will be no need for God
Polkinghorne on God of the Gaps
God intervenes at the quantum level.
God’s action is undetectable to humans
Since quantum physics affect the universe, God is active but undetectable
Why does polkinghorne say God likely exists
Intelligibility of the universe
Anthropic principle- DQP and DQR
