Beastrabban on Bede

[bjorn]

The article at beastrabban.wordpress.com/2008/06/15/preaching-christ-during-the-festival-of-science/ may interest some of you more than others

It gives some reflections by the most eager young (20ish?) Christian blogging at the moment, at least in England, on the Cheltenham Festival of Science.

All this is often forgotten in the contemporary view of the history of science, which tends to view it in very Positivist terms as an intellectual endeavour opposed to religious belief, and which emerged to challenge religion and the supernatural to replace it with rationality and materialism.

I’d like to challenge that perception of science and its history. I’d like to hire a church hall or similar venue one day around the time of the Festival to present a lecture on the history of science, showing that it was based very much on the Christian conception of an ordered nature established by the divine reason. I’d also like to make the point that, contrary to the views expounded by Richard Dawkins, Daniel C. Dennett and other atheist scientists and philosophers, science is not intrinsically atheistic, and there is much in science that points away from atheism and towards the existence of God. It’s just an idea, and really should be done by someone like the awesome Bede, who’s a historian of science and whose website, Bede’s Library and blog, Bede’s Journal, are superb resources for science and Christian faith. At the moment it’s just an idea, but I think, given the intense debate between science, religion and atheism at the moment, it needs to be done, and the case clearly presented for the Christian creation of and support for science.

Looking forward to your joining of this forum, Beast!

[James Hannam]

The beast is being very kind. I hope he will consider dropping by.

Best wishes

James