Toward a Unified View of Science and Theology
Published in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith,
vol.
43, no. 3
(American Scientific Affiliation, Ipswich, Massachusetts, September
1991).
ABSTRACT: Current Christian thinking on the philosophy of science
and
theology largely embraces a "two-worlds" view of
science and theology, that scientific claims and theological/biblical
claims cannot contradict each other because
they address two completely different aspects of reality. I dispute
this view, and argue that faith in God and the
propositions of the Bible are of the same nature as faith in the order
of the universe and the results of scientific experiments.
Although keeping certain propositions in the religious sphere may
protect
them from attack, ultimately this kind of separation
cuts Christians off from meaningful dialogue with the world. In keeping
with this view of the unity of knowledge, I propose
several areas in which theology and modern science intersect in their
studies.
2. EPIST.PDF
The Problem of the Absolute in Evidential Epistemology
Published in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith,
vol.
47, no. 1
(American Scientific Affiliation, Ipswich, Massachusetts, March 1995)
ABSTRACT: Great scientific advances have taken place on the basis of
the scientific method, while many have found faith and
comfort via the evidential apologetic of scholars like Josh McDowell
and Hugh Ross. Both the scientific method and
evidentialism rest on inductive epistemology. Yet in modern philosophy
departments both the scientific method and
evidentialism are dead, because inductive epistemology is dead, and
modern scholars who follow them are considered naive.
Although induction has been defended in this century by scholars like
Wittgenstein and Reichenbach, it is perceived to have failed
because of the problem of the absolute; in other words, it seems to
provide no basis for absolute certainty. I propose dropping
the search for "absolute certainty" altogether, since it is
meaningless,
and argue, partly from modern language theory, that
inductive epistemology is self-consistent and that only inductive
epistemology
provides the basis for science and universal ethics in
the Christian context. Those who want a "mathematical" certainty
in epistemology, following Descartes and Kant, have in fact
opened the door to the widespread relativism in this century regarding
both religion and scientific matters.
3. APOLOG.PDF
The Apologetic Argument
Published in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith,
vol.
50, no. 2
(American Scientific Affiliation, Ipswich, Massachusetts, June 1998)
ABSTRACT: Where do we start when arguing for the existence of God?
Is
there a proper order of topics in the discussion?
This paper draws together many of the varied threads of evidential
apologetics into a single argument in the form of a debate
between an atheist and a Christian. I argue that our belief in God
starts with the direct perception of His being, and that further
evidences come in to play primarily as responses to atheist attacks
on the validity of that sense of God's existence. This
argument ends up in several issues of quantum mechanics and cosmology
presently at the forefront of scientific research.
On being a Scientist and a Christian
Unpublished. Transcript of a talk given in Zalau, Rumania to members
of
CE/Rumania, June 1996.
ABTSRACT: I discuss some aspects of what it means for me to be a
Christian.
Specifically, I discuss the rise and fall of
science as a Christian phenomenon, I survey the life and
work of Roger Bacon, whom I consider the father of modern
science and a personal hero, and I discuss living with uncertainty
and apparent contradictions as an "evidentialist," in
contrast to the "mathematical certainty" many people want to have in
both science and religion.
5. RUSSELL.PDF
Why I am not Impressed by Bertrand Russell's "Why I am not a Christian"
Unpublished. Transcript of a talk given at the Carnegie-Mellon University ODFR forum.
ABSTRACT: A brief response to the famous essay by Bertrand Russell.
Both Russell and I quickly breeze through several
deep points of theology.
6. SURPRISE.PDF
Should we be surprised? A survey of large-numbers paradoxes in cosmology
Unpublished. Transcript of a talk given at the Carnegie-Mellon University ODFR forum.
ABSTRACT: A survey of the apologetic issues which come up in the large-numbers paradoxes of cosmology.
7. GAPS.PDF
In favor of God-of-the-Gaps Reasoning
Published in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith,
vol.
53, no. 3
(American Scientific Affiliation, Ipswich, Massachusetts, September
2001).
ABSTRACT: I argue that rejection of "God of the gaps" argumentation
deviates from the mode of normal scientific discourse,
it assumes a view of history which is incorrect, and it tacitly implies
a naive optimism about the abilities of science. I encourage
apologists to point out gaps of explanation in atheistic theories
whereever
they see them, and expect atheists to return the favor.
8. DESIGN.PDF
Toward a Quantitative Theory of Design
ABSTRACT. I present a proposal for a new quantitative test for
design,
in contrast to previously proposed standards such as
"order" and "irreducible
complexity."
9. ANIMALS.PDF
Why Did God Create Dangerous Animals?
Published in Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith,
vol.
56, no. 3
(American Scientific Affiliation, Ipswich, Massachusetts, June
2004).
ABSTRACT. Nature is filled with many examples of violent and
ferocious creatures. Many Christians cannot imagine that
God would create such things in an unspoiled, “very good” world. To
explain their existence, some Christians hold to a view
that demons created such things, while other Christians hold to a view
that all such things were created as a response to human
sin. The latter view typically entails belief in a recent creation. I
argue that violent and dangerous creatures are affirmed as good
creations of God in the Bible, and discuss the biblical rationale for
their creation.
10. ENTROPY.PDF
In praise of entropy
By Gary Patterson, Department of Chemistry, Carnegie-Mellon University
Unpublished
ABSTRACT: A short essay responding to Christians who say that the
Second
Law of Thermodynamics is a result of sin.
11. UNDESIGN.PDF
Defining Undesign in a Designed Universe
The argument from design, recast today in the Intelligent Design
movement, relies critically on the contrast of designed things with
undesigned things. This poses a problem for Christians, however,
because they affirm that God designed the whole universe. How
then can we call anything undesigned? I argue that this problem is
equivalent to the problem of free will, or the problem of moral evil,
and as such can be addressed by the same philosophical frameworks
developed in the past for addressing those issue, in particular
the notions of different levels of description and Augustine's
different levels of giftedness.
Unpublished, submitted to Perspectives on Science and Christian
Faith.
12. LEFTRIGHT.PDF
The Christian Right and the Christian Left: A Political History
Unpublished.
ABSTRACT: A general history of the movements of the Christian Right and Christian Left.
13. RACISM.PDF
The Southern Presbyterian Church and Racism
A survey of the evidence that racism was embraced by the Southern
Presbyterian church, which is directly connected to my own
denomination, the PCA. This is a painful topic for many, but we must
look at the truth if we are to move forward.
Unpublished.
14. DATING. PDF
Sensible Christian Dating.
ABSTRACT: Basic advice to young singles based on my life experience
first as a single and now as a Dad.
Unpublished.
Can I know that I have eternal life? A critique of the the Federal
Vision.
ABSTRACT: A general critique of the Federal Vision school of
thought, which relates to the very practical issue of whether I
can know that I have eternal life.
16. PRESBY.PDF
Must a Presbyterian be Presuppositionalist?
Unpublished
ABSTRACT: Conservative "Presbyterian and Reformed" thought has given
much attention in this century to the philosophical
issues of "epistemology," which is the subject of how we know things
and the definition of faith, largely in response to the
growth of "liberal" theology and its definition of knowledge, which
borrows heavily from existentialism. Modern Reformed
thought is divided into two predominant schools, called
"Presuppositionalism"
and "Evidentialism," the former represented
by authors such as Cornelius van Til, John Frame, and Alvin Plantinga,
and the latter represented by authors such as
John Gerstner, Francis Schaeffer and R.C. Sproul. Some
presuppositionalists
have gone so far as to declare their views the
only orthodox view and to declare all other views, specifically
evidentialism,
to be heresy. I argue, first, that this
debate is a worthwhile one, since it affects how we teach, preach,
and present the Gospel; I then present some of the points of
debate, some of the history of the debate, and a brief critique of
presuppositionalism. I end by discussing whether the
Reformers such as Calvin would have adhered to modern
presuppositionalism.
I myself fall into the Reformed evidentialist
school and argue that this view is certainly within the bounds of
orthodoxy.
17. MEANING.PDF
Has my life been meaningless? A personal pilgrimage.
Unpublished.
ABSTRACT: A short essay on the meaning of life.