RELG 340 - Science and Religion
Module 4
Module Learning Objectives and their relationships to Course Learning Objectives
Upon successful completion of this Module, you will be able to :
- Describe and discuss the views of a physicist on the Science and Religion dialogue. (CLO A)
- Describe and discuss some of the theories of cosmology and the origin of the universe. (CLO B)
- Describe and discuss how a physicist formulated a religious response to current scientific theories. (CLOs F & G)
Readings
- Quarks, Chaos, & Christianity : Introduction, chapters 1, 2, & 3
- Notes for this Module
InterNet Links for this Module
- Biographies of people mentioned in the readings
- Links for this Module
- Other useful articles can be found by using Search Engines such as GoodSearch
- Remember - always cite your sources
Reading Report 4
- From the Forward : What is Dr. Polkinghorne's view of the relationship between Science and Religion
- From chapter 1 : According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what sorts of things can science tell us
- Dr. Polkinghorne uses the example of a bubble-chamber to illustrate interpretation of scientific facts. From your own experience, give an example of another "scientific fact" which depends on interpretation
- What were the events leading to the discovery of Neptune, and how might this warn us about being careful when interpreting scientific "facts"
- What did Huyghens, Young, and James Clerk Maxwell demonstrate about the nature of light
- What did Max Planck and Albert Einstein demonstrate about the nature of light
- What does Dr. Polkinghorne say scientists really want to do (see page 19)
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what is the aim of the religious quest
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what is one great difference between scientific knowledge and religious knowledge and their consequences
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what "slips through the meshes of the scientific net"
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what are two general characteristics of religious experience
- How does Dr. Polkinghorne relate to members of other religions (see pages 25-26)
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what different types of questions are asked by science and by religion
- How did science deal with the problem of the nature of light
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what should science teach us
- Try to explain or describe, or give an example of, Heisenberg;s Uncertainty principle in your own words
- How does Dr. Polkinghorne use the nature of electrons to illustrate the Nature of Jesus Christ
- What are four significant consequences for science to the way that Abrahamic faiths (Jews, Christians, Muslims) think about creation
- What did the early scientists say about "two books of instruction"
- From chapter 2 : According to Dr. Polkinghorne, if there is a God, what two kinds of clues to God's existence might we be given
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what are the different areas with which science and religion are concerned
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what are two big questions which science raises, but does not have the power to answer
- What surprising thing did Paul Dirac say about equations
- What did Einstein say about "the only incomprehensible thing in the universe", and what further questions does that raise
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what are the two indispensable roles of stars in making life possible
- What was Fred Hoyle's reaction to the discovery of how carbon atoms might be formed
- Describe the sequence of events necessary for the creation and dispersion of the elements (eg carbon, iodine) necessary for life
- What did Paul Davies write about science leading to God
- What is Dr. Polkinghorne's reaction to Davies' remark
- From chapter 3 : What do physicists mean by "background radiation"
- In simple terms, what was the importance of the discovery of "cosmic ripples"
- How does Dr. Polkinghorne answer the questions "What's been going on?" and "What does it all mean?"
- How does Dr. Polkinghorne answer Stephen Hawking's question of "What place then for a creator?"
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, which is the more important question - that of origin in time, or that of what has been happening in cosmic history. Why is this.
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, how did "chance and necessity" influence the formation of galaxies and stars
- How does Dr. Polkinghorne express the dilemma faced by the Creator
- What are the "two extreme pictures of God's relationship to creation that are unacceptable to Christian theology"
- What is "moral evil", and what is the "free-will defence"
- How does Dr. Polkinghorne describe "physical evil" - give at least three examples where human wrong-doing makes a situation worse
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, why did God not make a "magic world" with no evil in it
- What is the "free process defense" as put forward by Austin Farrer
- According to Dr. Polkinghorne, what is one of the main reasons for him being a Christian
- How does Dr. Polkinghorne view Genesis, chapters 1 & 2
Use MSWord or a text editor such as Notepad to prepare and save your work, then submit it as one document.
Discussion Board 4
Thread - Whom would you most like to have been :
Thomas Young, James Clerk Maxwell, Max Planck, Paul Dirac?
Choose whom you would most like to have been, write an account of his life, and say why you chose him rather than any of the others.
Replies to 2 of your classmates' threads - If possible, choose Threads which deal with different people.
What are your thoughts about the people chosen, and their influence on the dialog between Science and Religion?
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
