christianity + science Flashcards
What’s empiricism?
All knowledge starts from sense experience
What’s rationalism?
All knowledge starts w the processes of human thought
What is deism?
Belief in an intelligent but impersonal creator: creates the universe then leaves it to its own devices
What does deism offer explanation for?
Predictable nature of the universe; can’t be easily challenged bc science either
What limitation does John Polkinghorne point out w deism?
Christian God is personal; ppl can interact w prayer - so where would a personal God be in deism?
What is existentialism?
Humans create their own reality through choices they make - the world isn’t fixed + handed to them
Why was Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’ controversial?
Suggested natural selected could explain the appearance of design by God + make the idea of God unnecessary
What does Karl Rahner argue about evolution?
Humans are made wholly by evolution + God
Evolution works by natural laws of chem, bio etc - these were authorised by God
What do some Christians believe about God’s role in the Big Bang (1)?
God caused the Big Bang that created the universe
What do some other Christians believe about God’s role in the Big Bang (2)?
the Big Bang happened wo need for a Creator, as a spontaneous event where the universe simply came into existence
What are the 2 implications quantum theory gives religion?
- God influences events at a quantum level
- The ‘Many Worlds’ interpretation (multiverses)
How does neuroscience challenge religion?
All human experiences (incl. religious ones) can be explained in terms of brain activity
What’s an e.g. of a moral dilemma w modern medicine?
Should a large amount of money bc spent on expensive treatment for 1 patient if the same resources can be used for simpler treatments that benefit multiple patients
What is an example of Christians being justified in seeking indefinite life extension?
The possibility of merging human biology w robotic systems; uploading a human mind into a comp. environment
What’s an issue w evolutionary ethics? Give an example
The drive to produce a ‘super race’ e.g. the contributing factor in the Nazi holocaust
What is ‘God of the Gaps’?
Less+less scope for ‘God’ to be used as an explanation for what we don’t understand - ‘God’ retreats further into gaps in our knowledge
Give an example of the God of the Gaps in play?
Lightning/thunder was believed to be anger of the Gods but we now know its a common meteorological phenomena
What happens when we use God to fill in gaps in our scientific knowledge? What’s the issue w this?
God becomes an explanatory hypothesis; part of the scientific explanation
If this were true then we’d be able to look for God w microscopes, telescopes etc bc this is absurd
What does Flew’s parable of the Gardener show?
Belief in God is unscientific bc we can’t test the existence + the theist will always maintain belief
What does it mean for God to be a part of the scientific creation of the world?
We should be able to test this scientifically but there’s no convincing evidence so his existence fails as a scientific hypothesis
How does Paul Tillich apply to the God of the gaps responses?
If God is a being among others, there’s less room for him
But God is immanent + transcendent; not just a thing in the world but the means by which the whole world exists
How does John Polkinghorne respond to God of the gaps?
God intervenes at a quantum level
How does Wiles respond to the God of the gaps?
God is active all the time, everywhere, in and beyond universe
What did the Church of England think of Darwins theory of evolution?
Claimed it was a way of turning humans into beasts
Evolution challenges the idea that humans were created in God’s image
What do liberal Anglicans say about Darwin’s theory of evolution?
Evolution was the way God designed the world; God initiated the evolution of species by natural selection
What do Christians who take an interventionist approach to Darwins theory of evolution say?
Natural selection isn’t needed bc when he wants, God intervenes directly
What is a response to the Big Bang theory regarding evidence?
Provides evidence that there was a beginning of the universe
If the universe was used, there must’ve been a First Cause (Aquinas’ Third Way)
What does the ‘fine tuning’ argument for the Big Bang suggest?
For us to survive, everything has to be so specif. acc. (gravity, distance from sun) smth (God) must’ve fine-tuned constants
What’s an argument against the fine-tuning argument?
The multiverse theory says there are a colossal no. of universes which began w the Big Bang
What did the official position of the Catholic Church say about the Big Bang?
The theory didn’t conflict w the Catholic idea of creation
Atheists = uncaused
Christianity = will of God
What are Creationists? What do they reject?
Evangelical Christians - reject scientific accounts of the origin of the universe
What are the 2 types of creationists?
Six day (young earth) creationism
Progressive (old earth) creationism
Intelligent design creationists
What do six day (young earth) creationists believe?
Follow a literal reading of the Genesis; creation occurred in 6 days bet 5000 + 10000 yrs ago
All humans descend from Adam+Eve + God created all species as we see them now, not through evolution
What do progressive (old earth) creationists believe?
The age of the Earth+universe is given correctly by science; but Darwinism is abandoned for the fact that species’ just appeared by Gods will; Adam was the first man to have a soul
What does intelligent design creationism argue?
Gives creationism scientific support
What did John Polkinghorne believe?
Religion + science can coexist but they clash when religion makes claims that depend on evidence that can be scientifically be examined e.g. the Big Bang
What are John Polkinghorne’s 3 books?
Science+creation: search for understanding
Science+providence: God’s interaction w the world
One World: interaction of science+theology
What is Polkinghorne’s main premise in Science+Creation?
The world is intelligible (understandable) when it might easily not have been
What is the Anthropic Principle?
Cosmological constants are fine tuned to produce humans
What does Polkinghorne say about multiverses in Science+Creation?
Multiverse theory suggests given enough universes, some must be ordered by chance
What does Polkinghorne say about natural theology in Science+Creation?
Uses insights of science to reach a clearer understand of the world; works alongside revelation from scripture
What does Polkinghorne conclude in Science+Creation?
The rationality of the universe is a reflection of the rationality of the creator
Evaluate Polkinghorne’s assessment of the multiverse theory in Science+Creation?
In String Theory, it’s a math. inference; Big Bang is treated as a quantum particle in superposition, meaning it exists in all configurations
Evaluate Polkinghorne’s idea of the Big Bang in terms of radiation?
Penrose says radiation from the Big Bang shows signs of an earlier cycle of the universe
What does Polkinghorne say in Science+Providence?
Providence is God’s caring/nurturing of us~w/o God doing this, he has no content - so he’s personal by influencing event t a quantum level
What’s a weakness of Polkinghorne’s ideas in Science+Providence?
The problem of evil: why didn’t God intervene in the holocaust, Black Death etc
What’s the main problem w Polkinghorne’s idea’s in Science+Providence?
Evidence: we can say that God influences events at a quantum level but how do we prove it?
What does Whitehead say in Polkinghorne’s ref. to him in One World?
- Analogy bet. activities of science+theology
- Both are concerned w understanding the universe
What is genetic engineering?
Uses enzymes to transfer pieces of DNA from 1 organism into the DNA of another organism so organism w added DNA becomes genetically modif.
What does the Catholic Church say about GE?
Qualified approval to GE in plants+animals not least to feed the hungry
