Reviews
Enriching Our Vision of Reality: Theology and the Natural Sciences in Dialogue by Alister McGrath
peterdray's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent read on the relationship between science and faith. Rather than being at loggerheads - as some would have us believe - Alister McGrath shows that science and theology rightly combine to enrich our understanding of the world. There is more that needs and deserves to be said than either of these disciplines can say by themselves.
The first half of the book tells the stories of three individuals - Charles Coulson, Thomas Torrance and John Polkinghorne - and examines their contributions to a positive conversation between the pursuits of science and theology. This was interesting but, for me, the main contribution of this volume was where McGrath began to outline six areas where science and theology might be in deeper conversation.
McGrath's thesis is that, whilst distinct and having different foci, science and theology have much more in common than many might think. Both are concerned with putting together big pictures of reality. Both require imagination, especially as they seek to represent complex realities. Both are concerned with finding models that make sense of the data we have, and which further illuminate the world we experience.
Scientists and theologians are frequently tempted to talk over each other: McGrath offers a model not just for mutual respect and dignity, but also opens new pathways for genuine dialogue and conversation which can honour God as Creator and Redeemer.
The first half of the book tells the stories of three individuals - Charles Coulson, Thomas Torrance and John Polkinghorne - and examines their contributions to a positive conversation between the pursuits of science and theology. This was interesting but, for me, the main contribution of this volume was where McGrath began to outline six areas where science and theology might be in deeper conversation.
McGrath's thesis is that, whilst distinct and having different foci, science and theology have much more in common than many might think. Both are concerned with putting together big pictures of reality. Both require imagination, especially as they seek to represent complex realities. Both are concerned with finding models that make sense of the data we have, and which further illuminate the world we experience.
Scientists and theologians are frequently tempted to talk over each other: McGrath offers a model not just for mutual respect and dignity, but also opens new pathways for genuine dialogue and conversation which can honour God as Creator and Redeemer.
neuschb's review against another edition
3.0
"We all need some sort of theoretical framework--however modest, provisional and correctable--for making sense of nature, history and life. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we see all life through theoretical spectacles that shape what we see and--perhaps more importantly--what we fail to see." (Loc 179)
"Insisting that we use only scientific methods, forms and categories confines us to a narrow world that excludes meaning and value, not because these are absent but because this research method prevents them being seen. (Loc 361)
"Both theology and the natural sciences can be understood as an attempt to develop human ideas so that they provide the best possible account of a reality that is ultimately outside the human mind." (Loc 928)
'The first great enemy of science is not religion but a dogmatic rationalism, which limits reality to what reason determines to be acceptable." (Loc 1679)
If the validity of calculus or quantum theory are "not thought to be discredited because they are accidents or by-products of evolution," why should "one of the most significant and deeply imprinted human instincts: an intuition that the natural world points beyond itself to God" be thought discredited? (Loc 2800)
"Insisting that we use only scientific methods, forms and categories confines us to a narrow world that excludes meaning and value, not because these are absent but because this research method prevents them being seen. (Loc 361)
"Both theology and the natural sciences can be understood as an attempt to develop human ideas so that they provide the best possible account of a reality that is ultimately outside the human mind." (Loc 928)
'The first great enemy of science is not religion but a dogmatic rationalism, which limits reality to what reason determines to be acceptable." (Loc 1679)
If the validity of calculus or quantum theory are "not thought to be discredited because they are accidents or by-products of evolution," why should "one of the most significant and deeply imprinted human instincts: an intuition that the natural world points beyond itself to God" be thought discredited? (Loc 2800)
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