Title: Science & Faith: Friends or Foes?
Author: C. John "Jack" Collins
Publisher: Crossway, 2003
Author's Perspective: Jack Collins is an OT Professor at Covenant Theological Seminary. B.S. and M.S. from MIT in Engineering. Ph.D. from Liverpool in linguistics. Collins is an expert in Hebrew. He is trained in the sciences because of his time at MIT. Collins is a conservative evangelical Christian. He writes from the perspective of "mere" Christianity and quotes from a broad range of philosophers ( Catholic: Pascal, Chesterton, Aquinas; Anglican : Packer, C.S. Lewis; Protestant Reformed: Murray, Machen, Schaeffer, Calvin). He is not a YEC. He is not a day age creationist either. He has his own unique view of Genesis days called the "analogical" day view. Given his expertise in Hebrew, I am interested to learn the nuances of his view.
Organization of Book : 21 Chapters. Four sections. Sections deal with : Philosophy, Theology, Intersection of Science and Faith (metaphysics, design, etc), Culture issues. There is an appendix which reviews Thomas Kuhn's philosophy.
Authors Purpose and Intent : Collins wants Christians to love science and not fear it. We ought to approach the natural world with curiosity and wonder. Many Christians approach science with fear that science will undermine faith. Collins argues that Christians ought to enter the scientific enterprise because our faith in God is enriched by a study of natural revelation, not weakened by it. Absolutely no need to fear truth. Collins promotes sound critical thinking in faith and science. The book is not targeted at specialists and is not laden with heavy technical language. It is intended to help scientifically oriented Christians be at peace with their love of science and love of God.
Assessment: Looks like a great book. At 347 pages, there is a lot to read. I have done a fair amount of reading on this topic and already agree with Collins' argument that Christians should love science and should be excellent critical thinkers. I am more interested in cherry picking parts of the book. Collins view of the age of the earth is unique. I want to learn it. I intend to ransack chaper five What Kind of Days Were Those Anyway? and Chapter seven Is The Earth Young Or Old? Biblical Arguments. I also want to pick Collins brain on an area that intrigues me: determinism. Given my reformed world and life view, I lean heavily toward the determinism side of the spectrum since I think God is sovereign and very much in the details of life. I will do an index search on determinism and will definitely read Chapter 11 How Does God Rule The World? The Biblical Doctrine of Providence Collins also has a section on quantum mechanics that I would like to ransack. That area of science confuses me. I intend to read Chapter 19, The Human And Social Sciences because it touches on another area of interest: the view of the soul or the mind body problem. Finally, I intend to pick Collins' brain on his view of epistemology. I lean more toward Covenant Seminary types who tend to think more like Francis Schaeffer and not as much like Cornelius Van Til. I have Reformed friends who are Van Til enthusiasts who think I have sold out because I don't endorse Van Til's apologetic approach enough. Perhaps Collins can shed some light on whether my view of knowledge is a good one.
Plan of Action: I am going to ransack and browse read Collins book. Reading all 347 pages would be a mistake. I already agree with his argument that Christians ought to be sound critical thinkers in theology, philosophy and science. I already love science and my career is in technology. I would be thrilled if my children pursued scientific careers. No need to be persuaded by Collins about his main argument. I am more interested in gleaning thoughts from a brilliant mind on selected areas of interest.
I enjoy the company of Christians who love science. I think there may be four of us.
Posted by: John M. | June 21, 2007 at 09:35