Series #3: Science & Religion
In this series Barney is joined by Emily Qureshi-Hurst, to interview the world’s experts on the relationship between science and religion. We ask questions like:
Is science a body of knowledge or a mode of inquiry?
Can evolutionary theory debunk religious belief?
Is evolutionary theory compatible with what Christianity teaches about death and sin?
What are the consequences for faith is the quantum multiverse is real?
Can we even give ‘science’ and ‘religion’ stable definitions?
Join us as we explore this vast and complicated domain!
Introducing a new series on science & religion, hosted by Barney and Emily Qureshi-Hurst.
Science & religion is one of the greatest frontier challenges in today's world. Are they compatible? Do they overlap? What happens when they come into conflict, as with the most famous example of evolution and Genesis 1? What does science reveal about ourselves and our world that Christianity needs to engage with?
Episode #1: Mapping the Terrain - with Prof. Alister McGrath
Emily Qureshi-Hurst & Barney interview Professor Alister McGrath on the whole area of science & religion. We discuss questions like:
Why do many people think that science has disproved religion?
Why do many religious people distrust science?
Is science a body of knowledge, or a method of inquiry?
Can we trust experts?
A fascinating and illuminating episode with one of its greatest practitioners who has made the field what it is today!
This episode was generously sponsored by the Ian Ramsey Centre.
Episode #2: Do ‘science’ and ‘religion’ even exist? - with Carmody Grey
Carmody questions whether there is any stable meaning to our definitions of science and religion. Barney & Emily offer various definitions of science and religion, and Carmody knocks them all down!
Episode #3: Suffering and death before Adam and Eve? - with Bethany Sollereder
Emily and Barney interview Bethany, who has researched the problem of death and suffering from an evolutionary point of view and how that affects our understanding of creation and fall in the book of Genesis. Did God create death? Is death necessary for life? Does this idea conflict with the biblical picture? Did God guide evolution or did animals have a certain freedom in how they evolved? Join us for this episode to discuss these questions and more!
Episode #4: What if the quantum multiverse is real? - with Emily Qureshi-Hurst
Barney and Bethany interview Emily on the ‘many worlds’ interpretation of quantum physics. If there are thousands or millions of versions of you and me in other worlds, each living ever-so-slightly different lives, what does that imply for theology? What does it mean about who God is?
Episode #5: Doing science as a Christian Platonist - with Prof. Andrew Davison
What is ‘Christian Platonism’ and why is it the best theological position for engaging with science?
This episode is all about these two questions. Emily & Barney interview Prof. Andrew Davison, who was formerly the Starbridge Associate Professor in Theology and the Natural Sciences at Cambridge University. We ask him tough and challenging questions like:
Isn’t it better to be just a Christian than a Christian Platonist?
Doesn’t Platonism inhibit scientific research?
Why can’t an apple also be an orange?
Why can a piece of paper also be a love letter?
Check out Dr Davison’s book, Participation in God, which we talk about in the episode.
Episode #6: Does evolution debunk religious beliefs? - with Christopher Bennett
Barney and Emily interview Chris Bennett, who has researched the ‘evolutionary’ reasons for religious beliefs such as attributing personal agency to storms, trees, etc. What should religious people think of such arguments? How should they respond to them? What about evolutionary accounts of other mental functions, like mathematics, morality, or even the notion of causality that evolutionary explanations themselves depend on? Tune in to hear all these things discussed!
Episode #7: Artificial Intelligence: Threat or Opportunity? - with Beth Singler
Heard of robot priests? Or robot rabbis who can answer any question about Judaic law? Do these things sound great or scary to you?
In this episode we interview Dr Beth Singler about AI, the effect of online space on religious communities, and other interactions between religion and the digital world.
Episode #8: Witnessing to the trauma of the earth - with Tim Middleton
This episode combines themes from two series: climate change and science/religion. Our interviewee, Tim Middleton, looks at climate change through the lens of trauma. Is the earth traumatised? What would that mean? What sort of call to action does it lead to? Join us to find a powerful new way of looking at our relationship to the planet!
Episode #9: Wrapping up - What we learned
In this final episode of the Science & Religion series, Barney & Emily discuss highlights, unanswered questions, and key takeaways about the whole debate.