The Believing ScientistElegant writings by a cutting-edge research scientist defending traditional theological and philosophical positions Both an accomplished theoretical physicist and a faithful Catholic, Stephen Barr in this book addresses a wide range of questions about the relationship between science and religion, providing a beautiful picture of how they can coexist in harmony. In his first essay, "Retelling the Story of Science," Barr challenges the widely held idea that there is an inherent conflict between science and religion. He goes on to analyze such topics as the quantum creation of universes from nothing, the multiverse, the Intelligent Design movement, and the implications of neuroscience for the reality of the soul. Including reviews of highly influential books by such figures as Edward O. Wilson, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Francis S. Collins, Michael Behe, and Thomas Nagel, The Believing Scientist helpfully engages pressing questions that often vex religious believers who wish to engage with the world of science. |
Contents
Retelling the Story of Science | 3 |
EVOLUTION | 6 |
Evolution without Tears | 25 |
The Devils Chaplain Confounded | 32 |
Mismeasure of Man | 42 |
The Design of Evolution | 46 |
Chance by Design | 54 |
Debating Darwin | 64 |
Thomas Nagel on the Human Mind | 106 |
Matter over Mind | 110 |
Theories of Everything | 115 |
Modern Physics the Beginning and Creation | 123 |
Physics the Nature of Time and Theology | 137 |
Fearful Symmetries | 159 |
The Human Genome in Human Context | 168 |
The Idol of Science | 177 |
The End of Intelligent Design? | 69 |
MIND AND SOUL | 75 |
Physics and Free Will | 77 |
Does Quantum Mechanics Make It Easier to Believe in God? | 86 |
Faith and Quantum Theory | 91 |
A Mystery Wrapped in an Enigma | 101 |
Prophet of Pointlessness | 183 |
The Scientific Case for God | 189 |
From Myth to History and Back | 203 |
Crackpots and the Einstein Myth | 209 |
Direct Quotations | 220 |
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