A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
Foreword by Stephen C. Meyer
Part I: Science and Faith
- What Are Science and Faith — and Are They Compatible?
William A. Dembski - How Do We Understand the Relationship Between Faith and Reason?
Joseph M. Holden and Christopher T Haun - Has Science Refuted Miracles and the Supernatural?
Richard G. Howe - Is Christianity at War with Science?
Michael N. Keas - Does Science Conflict with Biblical Faith?
David Haines - Did Christianity Help Give Rise to Science?
John A. Bloom - Can a Christian Be a Scientist (and Vice Versa)?
David Haines and Frank Correa - What Is the Biblical and Scientific Case for a Historical Adam and Eve?
Fazale Rana - On Science and Scientism: What Insights Does CS Lewis Offer?
Terry Glaspey - How Has Evil Been Done in the Name of Science?
Richard Weikart - How Can We Use Science in Apologetics?
Jay W Richards - What About the Historical Relationship Between Christianity and Science?
H. Wayne House
Part II: Science and Design
- What Is the Evidence for Intelligent Design and What Are Its Theological Implications?
Stephen C. Meyer - Is Our Intuition of Design in Nature Correct?
Douglas Axe - What is Intelligent Design and How Should We Defend It?
Casey Luskin - What Is the Positive Case for Design?
Casey Luskin - Why Does Intelligent Design Matter?
William A. Dembski - Have Science and Philosophy Refuted Free Will?
Michael Egnor - Can Materialism Explain Human Consciousness?
Michael Egnor - Does the Big Bang Support Cosmic Design?
Brian Miller - How Does Fine-Tuning Make the Case for Nature’s Designer?
Hugh Ross - Do We Live on a Privileged Planet?
Guillermo Gonzalez - How Do Solar Eclipses Point to Intelligent Design?
Guillermo Gonzalez - How Does the Intelligibility of Nature Point to Design?
Bruce L. Gordon
Part III: Science and Evolution
- Did Life First Arise by Purely Natural Means (Abiogenesis)?
Walter L. Bradley and Casey Luskin - What Are the Top Scientific Problems with Evolution?
Jonathan Wells - How Does Irreducible Complexity Challenge Darwinism?
Michael Behe - Can New Proteins Evolve?
Douglas Axe - Does the Evidence Support Universal Common Ancestry?
Casey Luskin - Can Universal Common Descent Be Tested?
Paul Nelson - Does the Fossil Record Demonstrate Darwinian Evolution?
Günter Bechly - Do Fossils Demonstrate Human Evolution?
Casey Luskin - Is Evolutionary Psychology a Legitimate Way to Understand Our Humanity?
Denyse O’Leary - Does Darwinism Make Theological Assumptions?
Cornelius Hunter - How Has Darwinism Negatively Impacted Society?
John G. West - Do Scientists Have the Intellectual Freedom to Challenge Darwinism?
John G. West - Is Darwinism a Theory in Crisis?
Jonathan Wells
Part IV: Hard Questions on Science and Faith
- Is Science the Only Means for Acquiring Truth?
David R.C. Deane - Is Theistic Evolution a Viable Option for Christians?
Jay W. Richards - Will Intelligent Machines Rise Up and Overtake Humanity?
Robert J. Marks II - Can Panspermia Explain the Origin of Life?
Guillermo Gonzalez - Does the Multiverse Refute Cosmic Design?
Bruce L. Gordon - What About Human Exceptionalism and Genetic Engineering?
Wesley J. Smith - How Should Christians Think About Origins?
Richard G. Howe - How Should We Think About the Age of the Earth?
David Haines - How Have Christians Helped to Advance Science?
Henry “Fritz” Schaefer III - How Can We Make Sense of Natural Evil?
William A. Dembski - Should Christians Embrace Human Enhancement Science and Technology That Extends Mental and Physical Limitations?
Miguel Angel Endara
Appendix: List of Important Thinkers in the History of the Natural Sciences Who Were Religious (David Haines)
Summary Note:
This book consists of 48 chapters, each of which puts forth an answer to a particular question. Each answer is concise, usually running around 10 pages. In order to give a picture of the type of material the book contains, the following summary presents a sample selection of the book’s chapters. Given the nature of the scientific issues explored, some of the book’s chapters contain relatively technical concepts and material.
Summary
Q #1 What are Science and Faith—and Are They Compatible?
Modern science and orthodox Christianity are completely compatible. Many top-tier scientists today are believers, and historically the rise of Western science was led by believers. We should adopt a minimalist approach to both faith and science, where we avoid taking strong positions on debatable issues. Science studies the natural world, seeking to understand it through evidence, experiment, observation, and reason. Faith is commitment that requires personal ownership; the content of one’s faith needs to be thought about deeply and sincerely accepted. The Christian faith is about truth, whereas science is a fallible human enterprise that seeks to approximate the truth (finding along the way that its theories and conclusions are provisional and often altered).
Methodological naturalism arbitrarily predetermines that the supernatural is not detectable, and that science can only examine natural causes and effects. However, when naturalism is shown to be incapable of explaining phenomena, it is irrational to reject the idea that there is a supernatural agent at work (e.g., an intelligent designer to explain the features of design in the world that naturalism cannot account for). In contemporary culture, many have turned science into an idol, and they give the pronouncements of scientists an authority beyond the actual merit of their claims. Fundamentalism is as much an issue in science as it is in religion; too much in both faith and science is driven by ideological agendas. The best-established science and the core doctrines of the Christian faith are deeply compatible. Science arose in a Christian environment, and faith and science continue to render each other mutual aid. Faith is not reducible to intellectual assent to propositions; it is a living relationship with Christ. . . .
[To continue reading this summary, please see below....]The remainder of this article is premium content. Become a member to continue reading.
Already have an account? Sign In