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Pseudo Sciences
Pseudo Sciences
Eugenics
Phrenology
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The Science Wars
The Science Wars
The "Faith" versus "Science" Narrative
The "Faith" versus "Science" Narrative
Is Science Incompatible with Faith?
Interestingly the question of Rationalism versus Faith as a means of knowing or world and God was one of the central arguments of the Middle Ages. Numerous philosophers, monks, theologians and scientists debated this topic; giving rise to different religious orders such as the Franciscans and the Dominicans, as well as the modern University and education systems.
However often in our modern context the underlying question is about "Evolution" versus "Creation", and this can quickly get messy.
God of the Gaps?
God of the Gaps?
Some have argued that the more that science discovers the less need there is for the concept of "God". In this conception, the notion of God is used to explain the unexplainable.
This conception of God is rarely the definition of God used by Theistic philosophers and rather emerges from Enlightenment characterizations of religious thought. As a result it is often accused of being a "straw man argument" in these debates.
The question that then dominated parts of the Middle Ages as well as the Modern era is which means of "knowing" held primacy; Faith, Science, or is this a false dichotomy?
Francis Collins and the Language of God
Francis Collins and the Language of God
Francis Collins was the lead researcher on the Human Genome project and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science in the United States. He was appointed as the head of the National Institute of Health in the United States and is currently serving as the Science Advisor to President Joe Biden.
Collins is a Christian and argues that belief in science and God are not incompatible though in his book The Language of God he articulate how he once thought that they were, owing to the influence of people such as Ham (below), and he had been a convinced atheist.
Collins argues that things such as pattern, design and beauty are either assumed or removed by science, and that these should nonetheless be part of the human experience. He is a strong critic of Intelligent Design, arguing that one does not need to read science through faith or vice versa, and that the two can inform and coexist.
Fundamentalism: Answers in Genesis
Fundamentalism: Answers in Genesis
Ken Ham is a pastor and founder of the Answers in Genesis organization. The organization examines scientific discoveries from the perspective of a particular Biblical interpretation - namely that the world was created by God in 6 24 hour days.
As a result Ham challenges numerous methods of radiological and strata dating used to examine prior natural phenomenon. Further he challenges most evolutionary models and transitional fossil records.
Ken Ham famously debated Bill Nye in 2014 where Creationism was the central tenant of the debate.
While Ham is generally considered an outlier, he makes some interesting points about how we understand scientific knowledge in relation to things that we cannot directly verify - especially those in the past.
Some of these controversies emerge in Christian circles around the concept of Hermeneutics. Hermeneutics are not exclusive to Christianity, but instead refers to the process, information and considerations needed in interpreting language and literature.
For example Genesis 1 in the Bible (the source of the creation story) is written as poetry within a Ancient Middle Eastern Context. Within this the word "yom" is used to describe the 6 "days" of creation. This word could be used in the context of 24 hour days, but it could also be used to refer to "eras" or "ages". Which interpretation is correct, and on what basis should be determine that?
Diverging Perspectives:
Science and Faith (Biologos) and Unbelievable (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0p2OAXVoo9M1Z126B3fe3w)
The Role of Science
The Role of Science
Often, both sides of the argument acknowledge the utility of science as a tool by which to understand our world, the issue becomes more nuanced where Fundamentalism sees divine inspiration as having prior claim to reality, and science as revealing these established facts.
To be clear, this is not the majority view within Christianity, and relies on a very specific view of scripture, God and the world. However, within this view - faith comes before reason - and faith is based on a specific understanding of scripture.
For example "yom" in Hebrew/Arabic (the original languages of the Old Testament) can be translated to mean "time" - so some Christians, Jews and Muslims would interpret the creation story through the view that God created the world in 6 "time periods" or "ages". Others, such as Ken Ham (the founder of Answers in Genesis) argue that this is a gross misreading and that "yom" refers to a 24 hour day - which it can be used as. (Think of when we say, 'how is your day?') Ham argues that Jesus himself used the term this way, and that therefore the world is roughly 5000-6000 years old. All scientific theory and discovery is soon through this lens.
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