RELG 340 - Science and Religion
Course Notes for Module 3
Practicing Science, Living Faith : Foreword, Preface, Introduction, chapters 8 & 10
- p.2 - irenic
- Irenic, pronounced ir-AY-nik, means "trying to make peace", from the Greek "eirene" (peace)
- p.2 - Gifford Lectures
- The Gifford Lectures were established in 1885 by Lord Gifford, to provide lectures on Natural Theology in the four Universities in Scotland. They have been held every year since 1888, with the exception of the WWII years 1942-1945. For more details, see the Links Page
- p.3 - dimensions
- The authors are using the word "dimensions" here in a rather loose way.
"Dimension" when used in a scientific context is usually restricted to quantities such as length, mass, time, etc. - p.7 - C. P. Snow
- C. P. Snow, 1905-1980, was a physicist who wrote a series of best-selling novels, and also a lecture on the gulf between science and society. For a biography of C. P. Snow, see the Biography Links page
- p.7-8 - list of scientists
- Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, Laplace, Darwin, Einstein, Bohr, Heisenberg, Turing, Watson, Crick, Kekule - Biographies can be found through the Biographies page
- p.142 - The Open University
- The Open University was one of the first online Universities. It is also dedicated to providing higher education for anyone who wants it - many of the lectures are free. Originally the lectures were given on TV; many of them are now available on YouTube.
- p.142 - Reader
- In the British University system, "Reader" is one of the highest academic positions. Because the number of Professors in a department is restricted, and no new Professors can be appointed while the "old" Professors are in the department, younger academics who merit a professorship may be appointed as "Reader"
The academic scale goes : Assistant, Assistant Lecturer, Lecturer (several grades), Senior Lecturer, Reader, Professor, Chair.
Pay-scales and the establishments of Professorships and Chairs are set by a parliamentary department, not by individual universities. - p.143 - the Apostles' Creed
- I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:, And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord: Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary: Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell: The third day he rose again from the dead: He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty: From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead: I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
- p.148-149 - The doctrine of the Assumption of Mary
- The "assumption" of Mary can be seen as a reaction against the predominant Western thought of a "male" God. Similar over-reactions are the gnostic teaching that the Holy Spirit is in some sense "feminine", or the concepts of "Sophia" and "Gaia"
To my mind, God is beyond human limitations of sexuality. (See Luke 20:34-36) - p.158 - Parsifal and the Salmon
- In some versions of the medieval story of Parsifal, the innocent young man Parsifal finds a salmon cooking on a spit over a fire. He takes some to eat, and burns himself, but gets a taste for salmon which keeps him searching for the rest of his life.
- p.173 - aphasia and dysphasia
- Aphasia results from damage to the parts of the brain which are responsible for processing language. People with aphasia may speak in long sentences that have no meaning, with made-up words, or may omit words. They generally have difficulty in communication - either in speaking or in comprehending language.
Dysphasia refers to less severe types of aphasia - there is impairment of the power of expression by speech, writing, or signs, or impairment of comprehension of spoken or written language. - p.191 - from the head of Zeus
- This refers to the Greek myth of the birth of Athena, goddess of wisdom : She was not born in the normal way, but one day Zeus, the chief of the gods at that time, had a terrible head-ache. His head split open, and out came Athena, as an adult, in full armor with shield and spear.
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
