Faith Versus Fact : Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible (9780698195516)

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Faith Versus Fact : Why Science and Religion Are Incompatible (9780698195516) Page 41

by Coyne, Jerry A.


  and law, 231, 234–35, 237

  medicine

  abnegation of, 5, 83, 149, 229, 242–43, 251

  assisted dying, 243–45

  science’s advances and effectiveness, 5, 206–7, 261–62

  stem cell research, xix–xx, 217, 240–41

  vaccinations, xix, 5, 217, 235–36, 241–42

  See also alternative medicine; disease and healing; medical neglect

  Mencken, H. L., 38

  metaphorical interpretations of scripture, 44, 54–59, 74–75, 129–30

  methodological naturalism, 92

  See also naturalism; science; scientific method(s)

  methods, incompatibility between religious and scientific, 64, 65–89

  authority as arbiter of truth, 69–72

  cherry-picking, 74–77, 129–30

  fabricated answers to difficult/insoluble questions, 78–81

  progress vs. stasis, 87–89, 157

  religion’s dependence on faith, 67–69

  See also counterevidence; evidence; falsifiability

  Mill, John Stuart, 110

  millennialism, 123

  Miller, Kenneth, 100, 102, 137–38, 143, 160, 202, 217

  miracles, 109, 116–17, 120–24

  missionizing, xvii, 229, 239

  Mohler, Albert, 128

  monkeys, 171

  “Monkey Trial,” 2, 5, 134

  monogenism, 55–58, 105

  See also Adam and Eve’s historicity

  moral intuitions, 167–68, 169–70, 174–75

  morality

  animal behavior and, 171–72, 175–76

  as argument for God’s existence, 21, 156, 168–77, 226

  conflicting moral codes in different religions, 84

  cultural differences, 170, 176, 189

  as key feature of religion, 42, 219–20

  near-universality of, 169–70, 189

  and NOMA argument, xviii, 107, 110–11

  nonbelief and, 91, 189–90, 250, 252, 255, 261

  scientific study of/explanations for, 15, 134, 166–68, 171–76, 189–90, 199–200

  scientism and, 197, 198

  secular ethics discourse, 110, 111, 189

  socially driven changes, 88, 170–71, 177, 189

  as subjective, 189–90

  See also evil and suffering; religious harm; scientific ethics

  Moreland, J. P., 89

  Mormonism, 62, 71, 82, 83, 125, 131–32

  Moroni, 82, 125

  Muhammad, 44, 53, 66, 83, 259

  multiverse theory, 163

  Mumbai Jesus statue, 122

  music. See arts and humanities

  mutations, 106, 133, 137, 138, 146–47

  suffering caused by, 81, 148

  See also natural selection

  Nanda, Meera, 105

  Napoleon Bonaparte, 92, 255

  National Academies, 112

  National Academy of Sciences, 12, 249–50

  National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 238

  National Center for Science Education, 8, 9, 93–94

  National Science Foundation, 18

  National Science Teachers Association, 112

  Native American origins, 82, 125, 131–32

  natural disasters, 248

  naturalism

  methodological, 91–95

  philosophical, 37, 94–95

  seen as based on faith, 204–11

  See also science; scientific method(s)

  naturalistic fallacy, 111

  natural laws. See physical laws

  natural selection, 78, 92, 106, 133–34, 138–39, 144–45

  altruism and, 174–75

  human intelligence and, 134, 183–86

  suffering inherent in, 81, 147, 148

  See also evolutionary biology; evolution entries

  natural theology, 21, 105, 152–85

  before Darwin, 77–78, 153–54, 213

  consciousness argument, 158

  evaluating natural theological explanations, 156–57

  fine-tuning argument, xix, 156, 159, 160–66, 227

  “god of the gaps” arguments, xiii, 153, 154–56, 161, 178, 226–27

  human inevitability argument, 140–47, 156, 157, 226

  “Moral Law” argument, 156, 168–77, 226

  origin-of-life argument, 156, 157

  overviews, xix, 151, 153–56

  physical and mathematical laws arguments, 156, 158–60, 227

  seen as progenitor of science, 211–12

  superfluous intelligence argument, 134, 183–86

  true beliefs/rationality argument, 156, 177–83, 226

  “you can’t prove God doesn’t exist” argument, 152, 201–4

  Natural Theology (Paley), 154

  Nature, 205

  NCCAM (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine), 238

  neuroscience, 15, 158, 199

  neutrinos, 35

  New Atheism, xii–xiii, 14, 20–21

  See also atheism

  new natural theology. See natural theology

  Newton, Isaac, 92, 99, 153, 159, 213, 216

  Nicene Creed, 49–51, 70–71

  Noah’s flood, 1, 57–58, 87, 104, 124

  Nobel Prize, 30

  NOMA (non-overlapping magisteria) argument, xviii, 4, 64–65, 106–12, 196, 226

  nonbelievers

  as accommodationists, 98

  nontheistic modern Europe, 250, 254–55, 261

  scientists as, xviii, 12–14, 95, 216

  statistics, 9, 12–13, 16, 47

  See also agnosticism; atheism; nonreligious societies; nontheistic religion; religiosity

  non-overlapping magisteria (NOMA) argument, xviii, 4, 64–65, 106–12, 196, 226

  nonreligious societies

  considering a world without faith, xxi–xxii, 250–56, 260–61

  modern northern Europe, 252, 254–55, 261

  Stalinist Soviet Union, 220–21

  nontheistic religion and spirituality, xvi, 42, 65, 111

  deism, 42, 99, 135

  pantheism, 65, 100, 101–2

  Nowak, Martin, 19

  N rays, 30

  nuclear weapons, 111, 152, 217, 218

  Nurbaki, Halûk, 105

  Obama, Barack, 240

  observation, 32–33, 65, 153

  See also scientific method(s)

  On the Origin of Species (Darwin), 2, 14, 33, 70, 154

  original sin, 21–22, 54, 56, 124, 125–26, 128–29, 130

  See also Adam and Eve’s historicity; salvation

  other ways of knowing. See ways of knowing

  “Outsider Test for Faith” (OTF), 85–86

  Paine, Thomas, 259

  Paley, William, 154

  pantheism, 65, 100, 101–2

  paradise, 57, 84

  See also afterlife

  paranormal phenomena. See supernatural and paranormal phenomena

  parasites, 139

  Park, Robert L., 261–62

  parrots, 184

  parsimony, 36–37, 122

  Paul, the Apostle, Saint, 68, 121, 126, 130–31, 260

  Pennock, Robert, 113

  Pentecostalism, 22

  Perry, Rick, 241

  Philipse, Herman, 123, 153, 165

  philosophical naturalism, 37, 94–95

  philosophical religions. See nontheistic religion and spirituality

  philosophy, secular, xii, 110, 111, 154, 168–69

  as way of knowing, 65, 188–89, 198

  See also specific philosophers

&nb
sp; physical laws

  and anthropic principle, 159, 160–66

  faith seen as required for acceptance of, 204–5, 210

  seen as arising from Christianity, 212–13

  seen as God’s creation, 135, 156, 158–60, 226

  physics, 16, 145–46, 150, 156

  multiverse theory, 163

  quantum mechanics, 137–38, 145–47, 159

  Piltdown Man, 223

  Pinker, Steven, 53, 169, 170, 172, 179, 199

  Pius XII, Pope, 55–56, 71, 128–29, 133

  Plantinga, Alvin

  on Bible’s literal truth, 62–63

  on complex intelligence, 184

  on naturalistic evolution, 135

  on nature of God, 48–49, 63

  sensus divinitatis notion, 177–79, 180–81

  on suffering, 148–49

  Plato, 189

  plumbing, 40–41

  polio, 235

  politics

  global-warming denialism and, 246–47

  religiosity and, 7, 249

  Polkinghorne, John, 46, 79, 88–89

  polygenism

  religious rejection of, 55–58, 105

  scientific proof of, 126–27

  See also human evolution

  Pope, Stephen J., 103

  Popper, Karl, 221

  Porco, Carolyn, 208

  postmodernism, 204, 222

  prayer, 114, 115–16, 237–39

  See also faith-based healing

  progress

  directionality in evolution, 135–36, 138–40

  scientific, vs. religious stasis, 86–89, 157

  proselytizing, xvii, 229, 239, 253

  psychology, 168–69, 187, 188

  See also evolutionary psychology

  quantitativeness and quantitative methods, 33, 36, 196

  See also mathematics

  quantum mechanics, 137–38, 145–47, 159

  Quran, 83, 105, 134, 259

  Quranic literalism, 53, 58, 75, 76, 106

  rationality. See reason and rationality

  Rationality in Science, Religion, and Everyday Life (Stenmark), 45

  rats, 171

  reason and rationality

  faith and, 9–10, 68, 69, 74

  morality and, 170–71

  science and, xii, 23, 24–25, 210–11

  true beliefs/rationality argument for God’s existence, 156, 177–83, 226

  See also intelligence; scientific method(s)

  reciprocity, 169, 173–74

  Redlawsk, D. P. (quoted), 205–6

  Rees, Martin, 18

  reincarnation, 41, 66, 106

  relativity theory, 33, 72, 209, 216

  religion, nontheistic. See nontheistic religion and spirituality

  religion, theistic, xvi

  as “another way of knowing,” 24–25, 66, 151, 185, 186, 195–96

  key features of, 41–43

  in the NOMA view, xviii, 64–65, 106–11, 195–96, 226

  number and diversity, 84–85

  possible origins of, xxii, 182

  as progenitor of science, 151, 211–17

  See also faith; religion/science incompatibility; religiosity; religious claims

  religionism, 201

  religion/science incompatibility

  accommodationism as evidence of, 6–8

  atheism among scientists as evidence of, xviii, 12–14

  compatibility assurances and discussion as evidence of, xviii, 5–10

  conflict thesis, 2–3, 4–5

  current public perception of, 11

  incompatibility defined, 63–65

  incompatibility of method, 64, 65–89, 129–30, 157

  incompatibility of outcomes, 64, 65, 90–91, 103–4

  incompatibility of philosophy, 64, 65, 91–96

  overviews, xi–xiii, xv–xviii, 258–60

  potential for/value of dialogue, 256–58

  before twentieth century, 1–5

  See also accommodationism

  religiosity

  declines in, 11–12, 16–17

  and political attitudes, 7, 249

  statistics, 9, 12–13, 16, 47, 100, 101

  and well-being, 254–55

  See also faith; scientist-believers

  religious claims, 21–25, 43–49, 226

  belief statistics, 47, 51–53

  diversity and contradictions among, 24, 51, 82–86

  as empirical claims, 21–25, 49, 51, 65, 90–91

  faith and, 61–63, 67–69

  of faiths other than one’s own, skepticism about, 82–86, 121

  as metaphors or allegories, 44, 54–59, 74–75, 129–30

  miracles, 109, 116–17, 120–24

  and NOMA argument, 108–10

  nonnegotiable claims, 61, 72, 124–25

  overviews, 21–25, 43–46

  as scientifically testable, xii–xiii, 114

  socially driven changes to, 70–71, 77

  testing Adam and Eve’s historicity, 125–31

  testing efficacy of prayer, 114, 115–16

  testing Mormon claims about Native American origins, 131–32

  as untestable or unfalsifiable, 24–25, 34, 49, 66, 72–74, 90–91

  See also counterevidence; evidence; God’s existence; scriptural literalism; supernatural and paranormal phenomena; specific claims and stories

  religious harm, xiii, xvi, xix–xx, xxi, 225–50

  accommodationism as harmful to science, 226–28

  faith as corrupting, 219–20, 225–26, 229, 231–32

  global-warming denialism, xix–xx, 245–50

  harmful impacts on societal well-being, 254–56

  imputation of epidemics to God, 242–43

  opposition to assisted dying, 243–45

  rejection of vaccination, 235–36, 241–42

  religious strife, 85, 220, 252, 259

  scriptural literalism and, 53, 58

  sharia law, 251–52

  suppression of medical research, 240–41

  See also medical neglect

  religious texts. See Bible; Book of Mormon; Quran; scriptural literalism

  replicability, 35–36, 120, 223

  research funding, 7, 18, 19–20, 228, 240

  Resurrection, 44–45, 54, 77, 109

  scientific analysis of, 72–73, 120–24

  retrodictions, 33

  revelation

  as “another way of knowing,” 150, 186, 195

  the arts and, 193

  faith and, 25, 61, 65, 67, 153, 210

  Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life (Gould), 106, 107

  Rome, ancient, science in, 212, 213, 214

  Roosevelt, Franklin, 218

  Rosenberg, Alex, 198

  Russell, Bertrand, xii, 260

  Sagan, Carl, 93, 118, 119, 203

  salvation, 15–16, 84, 125–26

  See also original sin

  Santorum, Rick, 247

  Sarewitz, Daniel, 205, 209

  Sartre, Jean-Paul, xii

  Satan, 149

  Sceptical Essays (Russell), 260

  science, 27–41

  and authority, 65, 70, 72, 205, 208–9

  confirmation bias in, 29

  denigration of, 151–52

  harm done by accommodationism, 226–28

  as method(s), 27, 28–29, 187

  misuses of/harm caused by, xix, 107, 110–11, 152, 217–21

  morality and, 107, 110–11, 212, 216–19

  naturalism as guiding principle, 91–95, 216

  natural theol
ogy as, 154

  in NOMA view, xviii, 64, 106, 107, 110–11

  pre-Christian and non-Christian, 212, 214

  as pursuit of truth, xii, xx, 1, 5, 28–29, 187

  rise of modern science in Europe, 212–16

  scientific study of religion, 257–58

  supernatural explanations in, 92, 93–94

  as way of knowing, 93–94, 185, 187, 195, 198, 206–7, 222–24

  See also scientific ethics; scientific knowledge; scientific method(s); scientism

  science, criticisms of

  “religion gave rise to science” claim, xix, 151, 211–17

  “science can’t prove that God doesn’t exist” claim, 152, 201–4

  “science does bad things” claim, 152, 217–21

  “science is based on faith” claim, xix, 69, 152, 204–11

  “science is fallible and unreliable” claim, 151–52, 222–24

  science organizations, as promoters of accommodationism, 7–8, 19, 93–94, 98, 112

  See also specific organizations

  science/religion incompatibility. See religion/science incompatibility

  science research funding, 7, 18, 19–20, 228, 240

  scientific creationism, 14, 103–4

  scientific ethics

  science as morally neutral, 218–19

  seen as arising from Christian morality, 212, 216–17

  unethical misuses of science, xix, 107, 110–11, 152, 217–21

  scientific knowledge, 187–89, 198

  ability to perceive, seen as gift from God, 178

  nature of scientific proof, 30–31, 32–33

  as progressive and cumulative, 86–89, 157

  as provisional, 28, 30–31, 95, 113–14, 117, 119, 151–52, 202, 222–24

  seen as fallible/unreliable, 151–52, 222–24

  See also evidence; scientific method(s)

  scientific method(s), 31–41, 86, 187, 198

  collectivity, 38–39

  criticality and doubt in, 26–27, 34–35, 38, 65, 94

  falsifiability, 33–34, 65

  hypothesis formation and testing, 31–33

  parsimony, 36–37

  replication and quality control, 35–36

  toleration of uncertainty, 37–38

  uses outside hard science, 39–41, 187–88

  See also evidence; falsifiability; methods, incompatibility between religious and scientific

  scientism, xix, 53–54, 152, 185, 196–224

  scientist-believers, xviii, 14, 95

  as accommodationists, 98, 226

  as argument for faith as basis of science, 213, 216

  nontheist spiritual views, 101–3

  prominent individuals, 99–100

  statistics, 12

  See also specific individuals

  scientists

  as arrogant, 198, 227

 

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