Rebuilding the Matrix

Rating:
Summary: intro to how science and religion do/ought to interact
Review: A 6 star book on a 5 star rating system, truely one of those must read now type of books. Not just for those interested in the immediate topic of how do science and religion interact, but those interested in how scientists can use their training to illuminate topics outside their field with both caution and great value. In many interesting ways it is like another book i greatly appreciated _Modern Physics, Ancient Faith_. One of the striking parallels is the type of person that wrote each, the intensity of their desire to communicate their insights to the general public, the book as a long term work of love, and their use of science as a support for their theological viewpoints while very conscious of science's limitations in the discussion.

Pick up the book, unlike most books you can start reading almost anywhere to get an idea of the writing and topic. It is written to a generally educated audience, avoids jargon, shows evidence that it was written over a long time, i suspect 15-20 years as a passion outside of the author's professional life. It is remarkably evenly written, the only chapter i saw dipping in intensity or interest was 11="Determined to Love?: A Critique of Evolutionary Naturalism'. It is a rebuttal of M.Ruse's _Taking Darwin Seriously_ and its sociobiological/evolutionary psychology viewpoint.

The first part of the book, culminating in an excellent motif in chapter 7="The Warfare Mechants: The Roots of Modern Science (4)- Darwin, Evolution and the Victorian Conflict Thesis", is a historical introduction to the topic of how science and theology/religion have interacted in Western history. IMHO, he has hit all the important peaks in the discussion and dwells on the issues that are really important. These chapters alone are worth the effort to read and understand what he is saying, plus they really illustrate the author's committment to truth, both in its ethical and historical dimensions. Debunking such issues as flat earth and the conflict thesis in the late 1900's.

The chapters 8="Reweaving the Rainbow: Scientific Knowledge and Religious Knowledge", 9=headquarters Nights: Creation and Evolution" and 10="The Fox and the Hedgehog: Does Evolution have any Religious Implications" are the heart of the book. The technic is historical and follows the great discussions as people try to unwind their world and life view and interact with the issues in their culture and society. He has a very good grasp of the literature but what makes the arguments both interesting and significant is that he brings an organizational talent to the discussion that breaks up and prioritizes the pieces in a unique and valuable way. You can see that he has this book point: science and religion share a common world but they do not divide it up either mutually exclusively but with some overlap, nor mutually exhaustively. But to get us to where he is, takes knowledge by adding to our's and unlearning many false things that have become 'common wisdom' although they are both wrong and self-serving. The take home message is that science and religion deal with reality in a different way, with different tools, for different purposes, but both are the effort of people and as such are rooted in our psychology and world views. The last few chapters from 11 to the end are catching up on several topics of importance to the author which he wanted to expand upon but didnt fit into the historical analysis of the earlier chapters. The insightfulness doesn't lag, nor did my interest with these big asides, although i found the last chapter shorter and less intensive than i would expect in a book of this magnitude. The closing was weak because i think he realized he had made the important points earlier and only needed to review the big picture.

I hope you pick up the book and find it as useful as i did, it will occupy a valued space both in my bookshelf and in my arguments to these issues.

Rating:
Summary: Fighting a losing battle
Review: This book is at its best when describing the interaction of science and religion over time. However when trying to justify Christianity as a reasonable way to view reality (ultimate or otherwise) the book falls flat. The author like many of his ilk tries to fall back on a line of thinking which is kind of like "because science doesn't know everything about everything you should therefore accord my worldview a certain legitimacy by default".
Sometimes the author is just clearly misinformed such as when on p. 446 he says ""There has only ever been a single occasion when water was allegedly turned into wine......" Sorry Dr. Alexander but a little reading of ancient and mystery religions would refute that point quite nicely. Dr. Alexander of course might respond that in Jesus' case this really happened whereas the other accounts are just "myth and legends".
As someone who works in the field of science, the only concept of God I can even begin to believe in is the Deist one. The God of revealed religions is just "God in the image of man".

Rating:
Summary: A Useful Book
Review: Why is there order in the universe?
And why is this order comprehensible
or discoverable at all, even if, in part?
What are the implications of a comprehensive
order in the universe?

As noted in this book,
the theistic framework of Christianity
is helpful.