A Working Faith in an Age of Science

Science and Religion in Harmony

 

ISBNs:    Paperback       978-0-9929659-0-7     £4.99 (Amazon)

          

             Other e-books (Apple i-Bookstore etc.)

                                    978-0-9929659-2-1        (Smashwords)

 

About the book

 

If you suspect that religion is just outdated superstition, left over from a less sophisticated age, you may well wonder how it is that many well-educated scientists can also have an active religious faith. On the other hand, if you have a genuine religious faith, but are not particularly well informed about science, then you might view the world of science and technology as a threatening place in which to try to justify (or even admit to) your faith.

 

A Working Faith in an Age of Science is intended for any interested reader, from late teenage onwards. The author has been both a professional scientist, and an active Christian for about 45 years, and his book equally defends good science and faith in God.

 

Specialist terminology from both science and theology is avoided where possible, and explained where it cannot be avoided. On the Kindle book's site, the contents list can be viewed using the "Look Inside" feature, as can a list of some difficult questions addressed in the book, which appears in the early pages of the Introduction. Some of these questions have arisen in the question-and-answer sessions following talks given by the author.

 

The science in the book is written in a ‘popular science’ style, and there is sufficient of it to indicate how science goes about its work, how much it has achieved, and how reliable its results might be. One reason for that is to encourage religious people to realize that good science cannot simply be dismissed without good reason. Another reason is to highlight some of science’s limitations.

 

The religious aspects of the book include an indication of what religious people really believe (as opposed to the stereotypes propagated by some atheistic writers), and how such beliefs can actually assist scientists in understanding more aspects of the way the universe seems to be.

 

Some of the areas visited are:

• Achievements and limitations of science

• Creation

• Evidence for God’s existence

• Evolution

• Free will

• How God might act in the world

• Miracles

• Prayer

• Suffering

 

The intended readership of the book

 

In general, this book avoids using undefined specialist words from science or theology.  It should therefore be understandable by any suitably interested person from late teenage onwards.  No degree-level education is required. 

 

The book does require some thought from the reader but, if you can follow the expanded contents list (link button below, or page link by hovering over "My Books" above), and if it appeals to you, then you should have no difficulty following the book. It is intended to be a broad introduction to this area for late high school students, and university students.  Anyone else with an enquiring mind should be equally at home though.

 

In terms of general classes of intended reader, there are two, both of which were hinted at in the previous section.

 

Firstly, it is for those people with an analytical turn of mind, whether actually scientsts or not, who don't really understand how other analytically-inclined people, including some very high-profile scientists, can also be firm believers in God.  The book explains how it can be true.

 

Secondly, it is for religious people (particularly, in this case, Christians who take a fairly literal view of the Bible) who fear that the inexorable progress of science threatens their faith.  They may be concerned that, in closing up the gaps in our knowledge into which we used to insert God, science will eventually erode the entire basis of their religious belief. The book explains why they have no need to worry on that score. However, it also explains why they cannot expect to be taken seriously by some scientists, if they persist in an absolutely literal interpretation of every word in an Engish translation of the first two chapters of the Bible.

 

 

Unique selling points - why buy this book?

 

The author is unaware of any other book which covers such a wide field of topics, in a manner which can be understood without specialist vocabulary.  Most books in this area tend to concentrate on just one or two aspects of the areas covered by A Working Faith in an Age of Science, so that several books are necessary to cover the same range of topics.  Also, as such specialised books go into more depth, they tend to become more academic, and more expensive.

 

The author is very much an applied scientist, as opposed to a pure scientist such as a theoretical physicist - see the BIO page for more information.  This makes his outlook very pragmatic, as every system he has designed has has to work in the real world.  The same applies to his faith, hence the title of the book. 

 

The book contains more “popular science” than most books in this area.  It covers, for example, our present descriptions of the creation and evolution of the cosmos (including the chemical elements, stars and galaxies), and of the evolution of life (including material on DNA and natural selection).  It also looks at some of the examples of “fine-tuning” of the universe which are absolutely vital to our existence.

 

This extended presentation of the science is there for two reasons.  It is partly to foster the sense of awe and wonder which we can all feel, both at the large-scale and the small-scale wonders of the universe.  However, it is mainly there to convince less-scientific readers that well-researched science cannot simply be denied without evidence.