Our friend Eric Metaxas has a characteristically smart BreakPoint commentary today on this coming Sunday’s simulcast with Meyer and Lennox, “Science and Faith: Are They Really in Conflict?“
Mr. Metaxas will serve as master of ceremonies, which guarantees that the evening will be highly entertaining:
The event features Stephen Meyer, author of groundbreaking books such as “Signature in the Cell” and “Darwin’s Doubt,” and also John Lennox of Oxford University. And I have the huge privilege of rounding out this august panel. We’re going to address a number of questions, including: has science disproved God?; are science and faith really in conflict?; and just how “scientific” are the claims of leading atheists?
All of these are vital points in the narrative that increasingly dominates public discourse. In this narrative, as sociologist Rodney Stark wrote in “For the Glory of God,” “heroic” scientists attempt to roll back the curtain of ignorance all the while fighting off attacks by religious fanatics.
This narrative, as Stark and others have documented, is not true now and has actually never been true. If anything, the opposite is the case. According to Stark, the theory of evolution, to name but one example, “has primarily been an attack on religion by militant atheists who wrap themselves in the mantle of science in an effort to refute all religious claims concerning a creator — an effort that has also often attempted to suppress all scientific criticisms of Darwin’s work.”
In case you’re wondering, Stark insists he has no dog in the evolution versus intelligent design debate.The use of the language of science as a cudgel against Christian faith is a relatively recent phenomenon. As Stark tells us, “the so-called ‘Scientific Revolution’ of the sixteenth century was a result of developments begun by religious scholars starting in the eleventh century.”
Most of the leading lights of the scientific revolution of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries could reasonably be described as devout Christians. This makes sense, since “the rise of science was the natural outgrowth of Christian doctrine.” It was based on the belief that “Nature exists because it was created by God. In order to love and honor God, it’s necessary to fully appreciate the wonders of his handiwork.”
True to its name, the “Science and Faith” simulcast will broadcast simultaneously on Sunday, September 21, at more than a hundred churches across the country. See here for the full list. Please do join us from 6-8 pm PDT and 7-9 pm EDT. You will be most welcome at any participating location.