COMPETING BOGOSITIES

Has Science Found God? (Kenneth Silber, 05/08/2003, Tech Central Station)

What does science tell us (or not tell us) about God? This question has received stepped-up attention in recent years. There have been numerous articles reporting growing connections between science and religion. ("Science Finds God," Newsweek announced on its cover in 1998.) There have been science-and-religion conferences. The Templeton Foundation has given its lucrative Prize for Progress in Religion to a number of scientists.

There are, to say the least, differences of opinion on the subject. A new book Has Science Found God?: The Latest Results in the Search for Purpose in the Universe, by physicist Victor J. Stenger, is an interesting dispatch from the skeptical end of the spectrum. Stenger argues persuasively against claims that science has found evidence for God or cosmic purpose. He is less persuasive, however, in arguing that science provides strong grounds for atheism. [...]

Stenger asserts that if a supernatural being has major effects upon the world, these would be detectable and confirmable by science. If an intelligent cosmic creation occurred, there would be signs of it in the structure of the universe. If God responds to prayers, that would be discernible in controlled experiments. But it is far from clear that this is true. A God of anything like the traditional sort would be powerful enough to avoid showing up in the physics equations or biology data, if so desired. Of course, a deity that doesn't exist would also avoid detection. It will be hard for science to settle the matter.

The notion that Creationism and Intelligent Design do no better a job explaining Creation than science itself no more disproves God than it does science. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 13, 2003 8:57 PM