Science and Faith in Dialogue

by Nico Vorster

Science and Faith in Dialogue presents a cogent, compelling case for concordance between science and theism. The term theism refers, in this book, to the belief in God's existence. Within theology, the term theism is often used to convey a range of presuppositions about the nature and attributes of God. Based on scientific and natural theological perspectives, two pillars of natural theology are the Cosmological Argument and the Argument from Design. The book argues that modern science provides undeniable evidence and a scientific basis for these classical arguments to infer a rationally justifiable endorsement of theism as being concordant with reason and science – nature is seen as operating orderly on comprehensible, rational, consistent laws, in line with the conviction that God is Creator.

402 pages, Paperback

Published July 21, 2023

Reviews

[LAMONT D · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so proud of myself that I found this book and had my public library order it to be able to read and for others to have access to it as well. And read I did though it took a dedicate attempt to wade through the technical data, arguments, and the presentation of facts and figures by this esteemed group of contributors. As the synopsis suggests, this book presents a cogent, compelling case for concordance between science and theism. Modern science continues to provide undeniable evidence to infer a rationally justifiable endorsement of intelligent design and a conviction that God is Creator. What a boost of confidence to my faith! The devil is in the details if you will, but the contributors provide readable introductions, arguments and conclusions to most of the chapters. For example, in chapter 7 it reads: "Since antiquity, scholars have debated whether the appearance of design in life was the product of a transcendent mind or undirected natural processes (i.e. Darwin's theory of natural selection). Recent discoveries have forced biologists to replace evolutionary assumptions with design-based assumptions. What is becoming increasingly clear is that engineering principles far better explain nearly every aspect of life than evolutionary theory. This conclusion perfectly coincides with the central Christian doctrine that life was designed by God and NOT an unintended accident of nature." Later on, the discussion is focused on the fossil evidence that does NOT support the claim that humans evolved from ape-like precursors. This is just a small sample of the discussions you will read in this book as they tackle all the major topics including the original of the universe, sustainable life on earth, the origin of the first life and first cells, etc. It is just mind-boggling that many in the science and secular world continue to deny the overwhelming evidence of intelligent design (theistic belief in a God) in regard to all the mysteries science is chasing answers for. These theories are discussed and debunked effectively throughout the book.