Zatera Ul

Friday night we heard a short lecture from Alan Padgett, author of Science and the Study of God: A Mutuality Model of Science and Theology. He talked about different models of interaction between science and theology, and about working toward a “mutuality” model. The models include: independence, contact with conflict, conflict with harmony, and integration.

The Independence model can be seen in the National Academy of Science’s booklet on creationism from the 1980’s, which asserts that science and religion are completely disjoint subjects, and therefore cannot have any substantial conflicts. (Wishful thinking.) The Conflict model can be seen in current clashes between scientists and creationists. He mentioned Richard Dawkins and Henry M. Morris as Conflict figures from each extreme. (I have a couple of Morris’ books; they are useful for understanding the young-earth creationism viewpoint.) Conflict with Harmony seems to mean that one discipline is subservient to the other. I’m not sure what Integration means.

One interesting thing he said was that Intelligent Design is going to have to prove itself scientifically, not politically. That is difficult, though, when scientists insist that it is not scientific, and cannot be.

Anyway, he passed around his book, and I noticed that it mentioned Sagan’s introduction to A Brief History of Time, which I have previously said was evidence that Sagan and Hawking were searching for Intelligent Design, and so could be considered part of the Intelligent Design movement. This is what Padgett wrote (from my shorthand transcription, so any mistakes are mine):

While Sagan and Hawking may be fine scientists, as philosophers and theologians they leave something to be desired. Christian theologians like Thomas Aquinas have persuasively argued that measured time could be of infinite duration and still the Christian doctrine of “creation out of nothing” (creatio ex nihilo) could be true. The doctrine of creation asserts that the universe is radically contigent: the Creator’s will alone is the ground of being for our universe, whether measured time has a beginning or not.