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Tuesday 28th September 2004, The Bishop of Kingston: Christianity and
Science
Principal points
Christianity and Science: there are similarities, also points of contact.
Science: a pervasive force in the world. Faith: a pervasive force in the
world. Christianity is to engage with contemporary science.
Science embraces a range of thought; faith likewise - a range of thought.
There has been conflict: the Church relying on authority, knowledge,
emotion, ethics; science based on evidence - towards better descriptions of
the way the world is, an orderly world.
Christianity and science: each in its own way searching for truth; more akin
than one might at first think.
Questions and answers
Who
made God?
Answer: God is a self-existing reality without beginning or end. The
deepest thing there is - not created.
2.
There are millions of galaxies: So why did God send his Son to our little
planet? Answer: Human life is a unique creation of God. It is an article of
faith that man is made in the image of God. Size and scale do not equate
with significance here.
3.
If you received an extra-terrestrial message, how would you react?
Answer: I would probably welcome it. God's love is creative and expansive:
the deepest love there is. It is a self-giving love, demonstrated by
Christ. We must tune in.
4.
Can one doubt the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and still be a
Christian? Answer: There is good historical evidence for the resurrection,
but it is not conclusive in the sense that scientific experiment might be
conclusive. There are limits to the kinds of questions that science can
answer.
5.
Science and healthcare: how far do we go? Answer: We suffer from
failure to embrace our own mortality. That having been said, it is right
and proper to use our brains to make people well.
6.
How do you visualise God and heaven? Answer: We rely on metaphors. The heart
of God is self-giving sacrificial love. At the end there is a loving
relationship.
Alan
Morris
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