Historical Examples of the Debate
As indicated in outlines of the
simple assumption of conflict between science and religion cannot be
substantiated either from history or the contemporary debate. However, there
have been important instances of conflict. In the two most famous conflicts
between science and religion we analyse the
Galileo affair and the rise of
Darwinism, seeking to indicate the complexity of these moments in history,
and the shallowness of the traditional caricatures. See also some recent
debates about evolution, including discussion of the rhetoric of Darwinism and evolution
as a science of the unrepeatable past.
We also discuss the period between
1680-1800 (under the heading the love affair gone wrong) to indicate that a
very harmonious relationship between (at least some) scientists and Christian
theology actually carried within it the seeds of its own disintegration.
Finally, we illustrate one new understanding of God which has
been proposed which takes account of important criticisms levelled at
traditional theism. Our discussion of process metaphysics and theology begins
from A.N.Whiteheads famous phrase about God the Fellow-Sufferer who
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Source: God, Humanity and the
Cosmos (T&T Clark, 1999)