A considerable amount of public debate and media print has been devoted to the “war between science and religion.” In his accessible and eminently readable new book, Stephen M. Barr demonstrates that what is really at war with religion is not science itself, but a philosophy called scientific materialism. Modern Physics and Ancient Faith argues that the great discoveries of modern physics are more compatible with the central teachings of Christianity and Judaism about God, the cosmos, and the human soul than with the atheistic viewpoint of scientific materialism. Scientific materialism grew out of scientific discoveries made from the time of Copernicus up to the beginning of the twentieth century. These discoveries led many thoughtful people to the conclusion that the universe has no cause or purpose, that the human race is an accidental by-product of blind material forces, and that the ultimate reality is matter itself. Barr contends that the revolutionary discoveries of the twentieth century run counter to this line of thought. He uses five of these discoveries—the Big Bang theory, unified field theories, anthropic coincidences, Gödel’s Theorem in mathematics, and quantum theory—to cast serious doubt on the materialist’s view of the world and to give greater credence to Judeo-Christian claims about God and the universe. Written in clear language, Barr’s rigorous and fair text explains modern physics to general readers without oversimplification. Using the insights of modern physics, he reveals that modern scientific discoveries and religious faith are deeply consonant. Anyone with an interest in science and religion will find Modern Physics and Ancient Faith invaluable.

Elegant writings by a cutting-edge research scientist defending traditional theological and philosophical positions Both an accomplished theoretical physicist and a faithful Catholic, Stephen Barr in this book addresses a wide range of questions about the relationship between science and religion, providing a beautiful picture of how they can coexist in harmony. In his first essay, "Retelling the Story of Science," Barr challenges the widely held idea that there is an inherent conflict between science and religion. He goes on to analyze such topics as the quantum creation of universes from nothing, the multiverse, the Intelligent Design movement, and the implications of neuroscience for the reality of the soul. Including reviews of highly influential books by such figures as Edward O. Wilson, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Jay Gould, Francis S. Collins, Michael Behe, and Thomas Nagel, The Believing Scientist helpfully engages pressing questions that often vex religious believers who wish to engage with the world of science.

The Christian faith offers people hope. But how can we know that Christianity is true? How can Christians confidently present their beliefs in the face of doubts and competing views? In this second edition of a landmark apologetics text, Douglas Groothuis makes a clear and rigorous case for Christian theism, addressing the most common questions and objections raised regarding Christianity.

Two major obstacles to belief in God in the twenty-first century are the idea that science is incompatible with religious faith, and the idea that the diversity of religions undermines the credibility of belief that any one religion could be truer than the others. This book addresses both of these challenges to belief in God and explores a connection between them. It argues that science and religion are not only compatible, but that some recent scientific discoveries actually support belief in the existence of the Creator God. The diversity of religions is widely believed to undermine the credibility of religious truth claims because of the assumed lack of any way to settle disagreements between different religions. This book argues that one rational way to adjudicate disagreements between the claims of diverse religions is to assess their consistency with contemporary science. The book considers how Christian theism and Buddhism fare in harmonizing their metaphysical frameworks with contemporary scientific cosmology. Although both theistic and Buddhist worldviews resonate with many recent scientific discoveries, the Big Bang theory and cosmic fine-tuning favor the Christian doctrine of creation.

The ISI Guides to the Major Disciplines are reader-friendly introductions to the most important fields of knowledge in the liberal arts. Written by leading scholars for both students and the general public, they will be appreciated by anyone desiring a reliable and informative tour of important subject matter. Each title offers an historical overview of a particular discipline, explains the central ideas of each subject, and evaluates the works of thinkers whose ideas have shaped our world. They will aid students seeking to make better decisions about their course of study as well as general readers who wish to supplement their education. All who treasure the world of ideas and liberal learning will be motivated by these original and stimulating.

How do we know and speak about God's relation to this world? Does God reveal himself through his creation? This book recaptures a Christian vision of all reality: that the world is full of divine signs that are openings into God's glory. Bringing together insights from some of the tradition's greatest thinkers--Edwards, Newman, and Barth--Gerald McDermott resurrects a robust theology of creation for Protestants. He shows how and where meaning can be found outside the church and special revelation in various realms of creation, including nature, science, law, history, animals, sex, and sports.

The taste of fresh berries, the quiet cadence of waves lapping a lakeshore, the song of an owl in the night, the glory of a sunset: so many details manifest the reality that Earth is not merely the place where we are, but that it is truly our home and is meant to be our home. Most modern scientists dismiss this notion as romantic nonsense, arguing instead that Earth and, indeed, the entire universe is actually a cosmic accident, the mystifying result of billions of years of random events. Here in this work of basic science written for nonspecialists, scientist Gerard Verschuuren confronts those men and women on their own territory force for force, atom for atom, cell for cell, and even planet for planet. With clear, well-documented explanations, he shows that the latest findings of modern cosmology, physics, chemistry, geology, and other sciences tell a remarkably different story. Instead of the vaunted randomness of our immense universe, scientists have recently discovered indisputable patterns in the structures of matter and energy. Over the eons, these distinctive patterns drove the universe inexorably toward formation of the Earth as what we experience it to be: our secure, exceptional, and singularly welcoming home.

FFaith Physics is a new Theory of Everything (ToE) combining ancient spiritual wisdom and modern quantum physics findings to deliver a belief system that is both intellectually sound and spiritually satisfying. It maintains an ineffable Supreme Consciousness is the catalyst of all material creation as a ‘great thought’ through pure white light in zero-point morphogenetic quantum fields. Faith Physics claims that consciousness is the cornerstone of base reality existing in a timeless state of now. By using the natural cause-and-effect laws of classical physics, the uncertainty principle of quantum mechanics, and dark matter/energy, Faith Physics posits pure consciousness manifests physical creation in a remarkable myriad of forms. In the wave/particle duality paradigm revealed by quantum mechanics, conscious observation transforms light energy into particulate physical matter as condensed or frozen light in accordance with Albert Einstein’s famous E=mc2 equation. Faith Physics teaches us we exist and thrive in a unified participatory universe emanating from an eternal Supreme Consciousness source, and we are not just a product of random-chance evolution. In the 21st century, religion and science are reaching an enlightened consensus that pure metaphysical consciousness is perpetually painting a picture on the space-time continuum canvas depicting a miraculous cycle of physical creation, entropy, and cosmic rebirth.

Have you ever struggled to explain the basics of a Christian worldview, particularly as it concerns God's existence and his relation to the natural order, the basics of morality, even sexual ethics? Utilizing the thought of the late Pope John Paul II and the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle, Dr. Andrew Swafford has done just this. This book explains the philosophical underpinnings of a Christian worldview--in a way that is accessible to the general reader--discussing God's existence, faith and reason, a tour through a virtue-ethics which leads to authentic happiness (and discussing the seven deadly sins along the way), as well as John Paul II's teaching on the "language" of the body and the meaning of the human vocation to make a gift of one's self. The reader will come away with a deep understanding of the philosophical foundations for the Christian life.

Philosophy, Science and Religion for Everyone brings together these great truth-seeking disciplines, and seeks to understand the ways in which they challenge and inform each other. Key topics and their areas of focus include: • Foundational Issues – why should anyone care about the science-and-religion debate? How do scientific claims relate to the truth? Is evolution compatible with design? • Faith and Rationality – can faith ever be rational? Are theism and atheism totally opposed? Is God hidden or does God simply not exist? • Faith and Science - what provides a better explanation for the origin of the universe—science or religion? Faith and physics: can they be reconciled? Does contemporary neuroscience debunk religious belief? Creationism and evolutionary biology - what constitutes science and what constitutes pseudo-science? • Practical Implications – is fundamentalism just a problem for religious people? What are the ethical implications of the science-and-religion debate? Do logic and religion mix? This book is designed to be used in conjunction with the free ‘Philosophy, Science and Religion’ MOOC (massive open online course) created by the University of Edinburgh, and hosted by the Coursera platform (www.coursera.org). This book is also highly recommended for anyone looking for a concise overview of this fascinating discipline.