Science versus Religion?

By Gregg Sapp -- Library Journal, 7/15/2006

According to a crop of provocative new books, science and religion are the two major cultural forces in the world today, although they collide at least as often as they complement each other. Four of the following books explicitly address the thorny issues of how to teach natural science where it appears to conflict with religious scripture. Not surprisingly, all four have sometimes vastly different perspectives. The fifth title, Jeremy Campbell’s The Many Faces of God, also fits into the discussion through its analysis of how God has been viewed over time through the lens of science.

God may be invariable, but human perceptions of God are not. In particular, the meanings of the qualities of God—omnipotence, transcendence, and benevolence—change as cultures change, and thus images of God reflect these variations. Campbell (The Liar’s Tale) commences his scholarly investigation in the 17th century, roughly through the influences of Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton on images of the Judeo-Christian God, and continues with many departures backward and forward in time, through the entanglement of theology with 20th-century technology. An ongoing theme is how science limits perceptions of how God works and what he can do. Marked by an obtuse style and a tendency to digress, this heady academic discourse is recommended only for academic philosophy and history of science collections.

When the head of the Human Genome Project calls the genetic code “the language of God,” he deserves to be taken very seriously. In a discussion that is both broadly ecumenical and scientifically incontrovertible, Collins entertains propositions both for and against the existence of God and biblical authority, as well as the moral implications of bioethics. He personalizes the narrative by recounting his own journey from atheism to faith, portraying it as much an intellectual quest as a spiritual one. His excellent discussion of intelligent design seeks not to debunk the theory, but rather to cite its limitations and to show how a scientific worldview transcends them without, in his opinion, conflicting with faith. Finally, he talks about his vision of “BioLogos,” or science and religion in harmony. An essential read, equally for readers of religious or secular persuasions.

Roughgarden, a Stanford biologist and author of Evolution’s Rainbow, sees no conflict between biblical accounts of creation and the biological principles of evolution that she has taught for 30 years. Her strategy is to discuss general theories of evolution, such as species change and random mutation, even the origins of sexual orientation, then to compare these ideas to relevant passages in Scripture, which she interprets to either complement each other or at least not to contradict. At the same time, she vigorously debunks both intelligent design and secular selfish gene philosophies. Roughgarden’s persuasiveness depends on how much the reader concurs with her scriptural interpretations, and so her book is probably better suited for a religion collection than for popular science reading.

Silver (molecular biology & public affairs, Woodrow Wilson Sch. of Public & International Affairs, Princeton Univ.; Remaking Eden: How Genetic Engineering and Cloning Will Transform the American Family) offers no concessions or olive branches to spiritualist opponents of biotechnology, both those of the fundamentalist, right-wing persuasion and their oddly antithetical brethren on the Left, deep environmentalist and New Age secularists. The author gleefully eviscerates the motley preachers, pundits, philosophers, and politicians who, he argues, hinder science on the basis of a vague belief that biotechnology trespasses where mere mortals dare not go. Silver’s ruminations run the gamut, from cloning and genetically engineered plants to the existence of a human soul, but his skepticism, while harsh, is also uplifting in its exaltation of science. His critics will be begging for equal time, and readers may find themselves alternately cheering or arguing with the author from one chapter to the next. Highly recommended.

Written in the form of an open letter to a generic Southern Baptist minister, “a literalist interpreter of Christian Holy Scripture,” Wilson’s (Nature Revealed) latest book seeks a common ground from which both scientists and persons of faith can confront a common threat: the ravages to nature—especially the loss of biodiversity—caused by humanity. Although he concedes that religious readers will disagree with him on many points, this does not prevent Wilson from devoting most of his book to examining the scientific evidence (much of which is drawn from his own research) for species loss and the causes. Southern Baptist ministers would be better judges of how successfully he answers their concerns, so if this book is taken at face value, it is not for general readers and hence an optional purchase for environmental collections.