When Science Meets Religion: Enemies, Strangers, or Partners?

by Ian G. Barbour

The Definitive Introduction To

The Relationship Between

Religion And Science

∗ In The Why Did the Big Bang Occur?

∗ Quantum A Challenge to Our Assumptions About Reality?

∗ Darwin And Is Evolution God′s Way of Creating?

∗ Human Are We Determined by Our Genes?

∗ God And Can God Act in a Law-Bound World?

Over the centuries and into the new millennium, scientists, theologians, and the general public have shared many questions about the implications of scientific discoveries for religious faith. Nuclear physicist and theologian Ian Barbour, winner of the 1999 Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion for his pioneering role in advancing the study of religion and science, presents a clear, contemporary introduction to the essential issues, ideas, and solutions in the relationship between religion and science. In simple, straightforward language, Barbour explores the fascinating topics that illuminate the critical encounter of the spiritual and quantitative dimensions of life.

Genres: Science, Religion, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Spirituality, Theology, Academic

263 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 12, 2000

Reviews

[Alan Fuller · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author offers four views of science and religion through conflict, dialogue, independence, and integration. The fields of astronomy, evolution, quantum physics, genetics and neuroscience are looked at. Barbour concludes;

"In summary, I believe that Dialogue and Integration are more promising ways to bring scientific and religious insights together than either Conflict or Independence. In responding to the problems presented by the monarchial model of God, I find exciting new possibilities in the use of specific ideas in recent science to conceive of God as designer and sustainer of a self-organizing process and as communicator of information. I am sympathetic with the theme of God’s self-limitation."

The ideas might be a bit dated since the book was published in 2000. For instance, the relation of Neanderthals to modern humans.

[Zach Brandt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros:
- Great framework (conflict, independence, dialogue, integration)
- Helpfully notes how fundamentalist Christians and atheists often approach the subject in the same way
- Good comments on naturalism

Cons:
- Doesn’t seem super concerned to tether his religious views to revelation
- Not everyone is gonna agree with where they get situated in his framework

[Marit Nygård · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read it for uni; very tough read, especially being an atheist haha - but very interesting! Would recommend if you want to get a very broad overview of the ways people reason

[Ben Holloway · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbour's introduction to the relationship between science and religion is a masterpiece of taxonomy. Barbour effortlessly categorizes the ways in which we relate science and religion--conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration--and proceeds to exemplify each approach in response to various flashpoint between science and religion: cosmology, quantum theory, creation/evolution, and human nature. His eye for a concise quote makes this a source book for the various views on offer.

Barbour's book is not without weaknesses. He treats two views with somewhat unbalanced derision. First, if a view holds to any form of determinism, Barbour tends to dismiss it out of hand. He is especially dismissive of the view that determinism is compatible with theism.

Second, Barbour displays a highly pejorative attitude toward "creation science," which holds to any view other than evolution. This leads to some specious argumentation. For example, Barbour argues that creation science is a "threat to both religious and scientific freedom." His reason? People driven who are seeking certainty find it in biblical literalism. Some people seeking certainty are driven to Islamic fundamentalism and Islamic fundamentalism is clearly a threat to religious and scientific freedom. Of course, the conclusion that those who are biblical literalists are a threat to freedom of religion doesn't follow. The argument is plainly invalid. Furthermore, he ends the paragraph by suggesting that in order to protect the freedom of scientists, they should be "protected" form the views of creation scientists. Sounds a little like restraining the freedom of those scientists!

[Sheila · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in the year 2000, Ian Barbour’s When Science Meets Religion might already be partly out of date, but its arguments stand the test of time, and one can only hope present arguments about the enmity of science and religion might become as out of date (but still relevant) as Galileo’s revolution in world-view, as presented early in this book.

The author divides faith-and-science arguments into four types—conflict between the different ideas, independence (therefore no place to argue), dialogue, and integration. Each major “conflict” is then viewed through these four lenses, leading the reader from creation and the Big Bang, through the uncertainties of quantum physics, and then to today’s most frequent argument—evolution! There’s more, of course, with neuroscience and the question of self, identity, nature and nurture, and whether our “selves” are anything more than the way we make sense of our surroundings.

The arguments are systematically presented and analyzed, making the book a slow, dense, and very well-reasoned read. No simple answers are offered. But many directions are followed to their logical conclusions. Many topics and areas are covered, from cosmology to philosophy, mind to matter, robot to sentience, theism to deism and more. Familiar names appear, and the background is mostly Christian, though other beliefs take their place among the arguments. A fascinating read!

With lots to offer, the arguments remain relevant in 2020, and the book is a enjoyable, serious presentation of both where and how faith and science intersect.

Disclosure: A friend gave me a copy and thought I’d be interested. She was right!

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one; however, lots of menutia. Don't get bogged down in it. As I tell my students, a critical thinker goes for the throat. Get to the gist of it. Those questions, points, concerns, things that apply or affect the most. Who cares about dates and terminology and individual confrontations. What can you get from this book that will help you with you to see why you are here, where you came from and where you're going. Another good book to read in this regard is A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly regarded by many reviewers and experts on the subject.

[Lynn Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book but it got into a lot more depth on the science side than I cared to read or explore. I like the basic premise of the book, which is that science and religion should not be enemies or strangers but partners. I'm a Christian who was raised by parents without a high school education in a small Arkansas town and church which had very simple beliefs. I was brought up to believe in the literal interpretation of the bible. However, since then, my knowledge (and hopefully wisdom) has grown and my faith in God is not threatened by theories of evolution. I don't think everything had to be created in six 24-hour days but could have happened over millions or billions of years because time is not a factor to God. The creation of everything through the process of evolution is no less of a miracle to me than if it had been done in six literal days. If we knew everything God knows, there would be no contradiction between science and religion. I see no issue with using science for knowledge, but belief in God must be faith based. There is nothing inherently wrong in studying science and coming to conclusions based on evidence observed, but ultimately anything we "learn" must be tempered against our faith in God, and we will never know everything until we are in eternity.

[Shyann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presented a comprehensive view of all possible relationships between science and religion as disciplines. The examples were thorough and tried to incorporate a wide range of scientific disciplines from anthropology to physics and religious practices from Christianity to "Eastern Mysticism." My one critique is that the book focuses largely on Christianity rather than branching out more. A great introduction to studying how to make peace and progress in an often dualistic world.

[J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An overview that's handled well, with a couple of caveats. Due to brevity, some subtle points are glossed over. Also, for better or worse, the author's personal opinions are apparent. On the good side, I appreciate his honesty and openness. On the other hand, he doesn't critique his positions as well as he does others.

[Willy Akhdes · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author seems to reconcile science and religion doctrines in anyway possible. He argued too hard to prove that science and religion is not corrosive each other. But, sadly, his argument is too tendentious without any significant correlation each other. The only thing I got from this book is some facts or commentary from other proficient about the topic he brings up.

[Jeff Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

thought it was all very interesting, but i felt like it could have delved into the topics a little bit more. I know the author intended this to be a kind of introductory book to the debate of science vs. religion, but it would have been nice to get a better insight into some of the positions rather than the strangely vague overview that the author sometimes gives.

[Gypsysoul_ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ooooooozing with bias, so if examined through the secular eye it was difficult to discern how much was really based in 'unbiased research' and how much was a discussion on the author's personal belief system. It also lacked any significant discussions outside of the Judeo-Christian mythology which was disappointing.

[Angie Ravi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite college professor sent me a list of books to tackle and this was the first one on the list— great gateway book to the intersection of the two. I went into the class believing they were paradoxical and left the class believing the opposite and this book really helped me to understand nuances that I had only scratched the surface of in class

[Xerodog · Rating 4 out of 5]

A demanding read, but well organised and comprehensive. Respects, I think, all positions while arguing for a particular, though certainly not mainstream or orthodox, position on the question of God.

[Jeff Elliott]

No fault of the author; I'm not smart enough to comprehend all this.

[Martin Kaonga]

It is a well written book.

[Teresa Ballantyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intellectual, dry, boring

I was so happy when i was done with this book! Unless you need tip read this for a class, skip it!

[Lester Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, two stars and the book was okay. Here is what you need to know before you tackle this book:

This is a college-level book meant for philosophy majors. It is not an introductory book into the subject either. You have to know a lot of philosophical terminology to understand much of what Prof Barbour is talking about.

In my opinion, the book's weaknesses are as follows:
1) No glossary which properly explains the metaphysical terminology he uses
2) Few examples or specifics to back up his points
3) No tables, diagrams or pictures
4) He deals mainly with Western religions, excluding Islam and Far Eastern religions. Thus, the book's title is deceptive.
5) Finally, I don't think he gives enough coverage to atheism, the idea that there isn't a God.

This was my second reading of the book, and I don't intend to come back to it again.

[Tiffany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sadly, this wasn't such a great book. The book is broken down into five main chapters--Astronomy and Creation; The implications of quantum physics; Evolution and continuing creation; Genetics, neuroscience, and human nature; and God and Nature--each of which are then also broken down into how religion and science are in Conflict, Independence, Dialogue, and Integration with each other.

In theory, the book and its layout sound like a great idea. In reality, though, the book didn't really tell me much I didn't already know, couldn't already guess, or hadn't already read in other books, especially Barbour's own Religion and Science.

[Silvia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Através dos séculos, e entrando no novo milênio, os cientistas, os teólogos e o público em geral têm compartilhado várias dúvidas a respeito das implicações das descobertas científicas na fé religiosa. O físico nuclear e teólogo Ian Barbour, ganhador em 1999 do Prêmio Templeton para o Progresso da Religião devido ao seu papel pioneiro no avanço dos estudos de religião e ciência, apresenta uma introdução clara e atual a assuntos, idéias e soluções essenciais referentes à relação entre religião e ciência. Numa linguagem simples e direta, Barbour examina os fascinantes temas que iluminam o decisivo encontro das dimensões espirituail e quantitativa da vida.

[Rika · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title and cover of the book are really goofy, and this does not do justice to the very well-organized, well-considered content within. Ian Barbour is a professor emeritus at Carleton, who both got a physics degree from Fermi as well as a theology degree from Yale Divinity School. He clearly and concisely characterizes the different aspects of the relationship between science and religion, and then applies his categorizations to different fields of science. This would make a great primer for a course taught on this subject.

[Michaela · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author is a far greater optimist than I am but he presents fascinating insight in to different ways to view the concept of God. Unfortunately, it seems the more science advances, the more the author needs to revise and shoe-horn his concept of God in to the natural order of things. His discussion of where God may exist within Quantum Mechanics is enlightening and I would separately give that chapter four to five stars.

[Trey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Smart book that examines the relationship between sceince and religion. In each chapter he takes an issue and figures out if it shows the two to be in dialogue, at odds, the same, or totally independent of one another. He argues that overall there is a substantive dialogue between the two and that argument proves tenious at times. Good stuff though.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the first books I read that showed how much grey area exists between the biblical literalists and scientific rationalists. It definitely sparked my interest in what is so often portrayed in the media as irreconcilable and opposing groups. Too bad people try to simplify such complex matters.

[Scott Franklin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Barbour presents a number of issues by looking at four possible positions on the relationship between faith and science: conflict, independence, dialogue and integration. Tough reading but well presented.

[Ethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you want to see what the modern Pluralist philosophy is when it combines with all of the other minds debating God and evolution and computers. Again its what we humans do without God, make ourselves feel too smart and then wonder why "the issues" seem so confusing.

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was not convinced by the author.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written by Carleton Professor Ian Barbour. Long before the likes of Depak Chopra and his ilk, he was the first MF to point out that science and religion don't always have to be in conflict.

[Eliza Coleman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting subject matter but very dry...