Mysterious reality - God, the world and ourselves.
Contrasting perspectives on the interaction between science, faith and reason in the light of Richard Dawkins - the God Delusion.
A discussion/debate introduced by Dr Martin Drummond and Prof Nick Brewin and chaired by the Revd Dr Patrick Richmond.
(Each presenter will talk for about 15 minutes followed by 15 minutes of discussion and debate. A brief synopsis from each speaker is set out below.)
Monday 16th June 19:30 – 8:45 Trinity Meeting Place, Holy Trinity Church, Essex St. Norwich NR2 2BJ
Martin Drummond: God may not evolve, but our understanding of him (?) certainly does. As usually conceived he incorporates (a) an uncreated creator; (b) the source of morality; (c) a personal interlocutor; (d) existence itself, the ding an sich that is occasionally revealed in mystical experience. There is no logical connection between these that I can see, but I am interested in the possibility that a, b, and c, which mean nothing to me, are somehow included in d, which does. I am not keen on the notion of images of God, whether graven or intellectual; I would argue that it is the relationship between the heart and the intellect that has to be got right. In considering the universe and our place in it, I believe that insufficient attention is given to scale, leading to all kinds of confusion and misunderstanding. At the level of particle physics the appropriate language is mathematics, but as complexity increases, through chemistry and biology and beyond, higher level languages are necessary. Nevertheless, mathematics recurs at these higher levels because knowledge is pattern recognition, and mathematics is the science of pattern. But there are other domains of truth and knowledge where science is feeble and mathematics lame, such as history and the psychology of the self; here data selection is inevitable, and pattern is imposed rather than inherent. Mystical experience is a different kind of truth again, absolutely real, a part of our biology, and goes beyond language, but can be recognised when expressed in theistic terms. However, I would argue that matter is the substrate of spirit, which is not a separate substance but a term in a higher level language.
Nick Brewin: I will review a book by John Suggit, entitled – Mysterious Reality – which was written as a theologian’s response to Richard Dawkins' "The God Delusion". The book first considers the position of a number of militant atheists, Dawkins, Nietzsche and Lucretius, arguing that the role of organised religion in creating systems of rules, regulations and dogmas has often (inevitably) led to abuses that are contrary to the underlying philosophical and ethical principles of the religion itself. After a brief discussion on the nature of “truth” this book follows the thinking of Teilhard de Chardin and touches on the evolutionary creation of life, fine tuning in the universe and the emergent properties of higher order systems which seem to be based on quantum probabilities, chance and necessity. The book then turns to the evolution of self-consciousness, culture, philosophy and religion during the last ten millennia of humankind. Through the application of rational thought, the philosophers of Ancient Greece established four cardinal virtues that are widely regarded as the common basis for humanitarian values:- prudence, justice, temperance and courage. The argument then takes a step of faith through St Paul’s re-interpretation of the Greek’s “unknown God” as being equivalent to the Christian (and Jewish) concept of God - the spirit in whom we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). The life and example of Christ the Servant King is presented as the ultimate example of altruism and selfless love and the template for human behaviour both individual and collective. Much of the “modern” theology presented in this book is based on the mysterious concept of God as Spirit. It stresses the link between faith and reason (which embraces all scientific pursuits) rather than being based on the magic and superstition (Deus ex Machina) that characterised much religious language in the Middle Ages.
Contact: Prof Nick Brewin, Secretary, Science Faith Norfolk
07901884114 sfnorfolk1@gmail.com