Monday, July 09, 2007
Religion and Science
Via Instapundit I learned of this book, The Physics of Christianity by Frank Tipler out of Tulane. Haven't read it, but the blurb contained this rather astounding claim:
In an attempt to close the gap between science and religion, this man has apparently turned the relationship between the two on it's head, making the master slave and the slave, master. Philosophy and apologetics aside, that last sentence strikes to the heart of the matter. Making God subject to the laws of physics makes Him subject to us, understandable, predictable, controllable. Where does soteriology land in such a circumstance? How do we hold any moral value in such a circumstance? How do we become better people in such a circumstance?
This is a dangerous game and it is a reflection in this arena of one we play all too often. We are subject to God, He is not subject to us or our understanding. God is not our to conceive, He is ours to worship and to submit to.
That may be the most important message of Christianity, certainly of our time.
Related Tags: religon, science, submission, master, slave
He proposes that Christianity can be studied as a science, and its claims, if true, can be empirically proven....Tipler embarks on a crusade to prove that God exists, that miracles are physically possible and the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection of Jesus do not defy scientific laws.I have a real problem with this. It absolutely puts the wrong thing on the throne. here is another quote.
"I believe that we have to accept the implications of physical law, whatever these implications are. If they imply the existence of God, well then, God exists."Admirable as it may be to attempt to prove the existence of God, whatever God is being discussed here is less of a God that the one I believe in! How can a creator God, a God that devised the laws of physics, be entirely subject to them? That just makes no sense.
In an attempt to close the gap between science and religion, this man has apparently turned the relationship between the two on it's head, making the master slave and the slave, master. Philosophy and apologetics aside, that last sentence strikes to the heart of the matter. Making God subject to the laws of physics makes Him subject to us, understandable, predictable, controllable. Where does soteriology land in such a circumstance? How do we hold any moral value in such a circumstance? How do we become better people in such a circumstance?
This is a dangerous game and it is a reflection in this arena of one we play all too often. We are subject to God, He is not subject to us or our understanding. God is not our to conceive, He is ours to worship and to submit to.
That may be the most important message of Christianity, certainly of our time.
Related Tags: religon, science, submission, master, slave
