Religion and the Physical Sciences (Greenwood Guides to Science and Religion Series)

by Kate Grayson Boisvert

Overview

Many people may think that the modern physical sciences - physics, chemistry, astronomy - and religion have little to do with each other. There are, however, many points that these two areas intersect. This volume in the Greenwood Guides to Science and Religion will cover the impact of religion and spirituality on some of the great scientific debates of the last 100 years - the origin of the universe, the nature of matter and energy, the quest for a TOE (theory of everything), and the current debates over multiple universes, the anthropic principle, and other aspects of theoretical physics that are borderline philosophy. Debates on these topics are common in popular works, and the author places all of these debates in a context that the average reader can understand.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313038150
Publisher:	Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated
Publication date:	04/30/2008
Series:	Greenwood Guides to Science and Religion Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	986 KB

About the Author

KATE GRAYSON BOISVERT is an instructor in astronomy at Los Medanos College and a consultant at the Center for Theology and Natural Sciences.

Table of Contents

Illustrations     xi
Series Foreword     xiii
Acknowledgments     xxi
Chronology of Events     xxiii
Introduction: Physical Science and Religion in the Twentieth Century     1
Scientific and Religious Thought-Early Twentieth Century     2
Scientific and Religious Thought-Mid-Twentieth Century     5
Scientific and Religious Thought-The Latter Twentieth Century     8
The Growth of the Science and Religion Dialogue in the Latter Twentieth Century     14
The Beginning of the Universe: Scientific and Religious Perspectives     29
Discovering the Beginning and Our Place in the Universe     30
Philosophical and Religious Reflections of Scientists     40
Religious Views of the Origin of the Universe     51
The Nature of Matter and Energy and the Quest for a Final Unified Theory     63
Quantum Theory: The Revolution that Shook Physics     64
The Journey into the Atom and the Forces of Nature     71
Unified Theories     75
Inflation, Quantum Cosmology, and Multiple Universes     79
Philosophical and Religious Reflections on Quantum Theory     81
Philosophical and Religious Implications of Quantum Theory     85
The Fundamental Constituents ofReality-Religious Perspectives     94
Quantum Cosmology and Creation from Nothing     97
Cosmic Evolution: Reflections of Scientists     101
Cosmic Evolution at the Millennium     103
Philosophical and Religious Implications Seen by Scientists     113
Life and Intelligence in the Universe     131
Twentieth-Century Developments     131
Philosophical and Religious Implications Seen by Scientists     137
Chance, Necessity, and Design in Life's Origin     137
Extraterrestrial Intelligence, Human Significance, and God     148
Religious Implications of Search and Discovery     151
Cosmic Evolution: Christian Religious Perspectives     159
Creationism     160
Intelligent Design     166
Theistic Evolution     168
The Cosmology of Meher Baba     193
The Message of God Speaks     195
Creation and Evolution     196
The Process of Reincarnation     203
Involution and Realization-The Final Stages     205
Directionality, Divine Purpose, and the Problem of Evil and Suffering     210
Comparison to Science and Other Religious Perspectives     213
The Future According to Science and Religion      229
The Future According to Science     229
The Future According to Religion     237
The Future of Science and Religion     252
Primary Sources     255
Bibliography     293
Index     307