Science and Wonders: Conversations about Science and Belief

by Russell Stannard

In conversations with British and American scientists and theologians such as the biologist Steven Rose, the psychiatrist Montague Barker, and the Archbishop of York, the author addresses questions about science and belief. The topics discussed include how we should view ourselves in the light of modern science, how scientists react to the vastness of the universe, whether the universe was created by the Big Bang and the idea of a creator is thereby...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0571176941
• ISBN13: 9780571176946
• Release Date: January 1998
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.06 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.3" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A fascinating review of scientists and religious beliefs

Russell Stannard, Professor of Physics and Christian theologian, interviewed a collection of leaders in religion and various scientific disciplines for BBC Radio 4 in 1996. This book is a friendly, readable and informative account of those conversations. The frontiers of scientific discovery are relentlessly advancing and this book attempts to discover whether God may be a casualty of this never-ending battle to understand. By interviewing such a wide range of entertaining and relevant people, Stannard has prepared a stimulating review of current feelings that will interest readers from all backgrounds, whether they be scientists, theologians, or a combination of both. The expertise of interviewees spans a wide range of fields: from Will Provine (biologist at Cornell University and atheist) and Richard Dawkins (zoologist and popular science author), to Jocelyn Bell-Burnell (the astronomer who discovered pulsars and a central figure in the Quaker movement) and John Habgood (theologian, former physiologist and previously Archbishop of York). The questions that are asked of them give a fascinating insight into their views and their justification for holding them. Do astronomers think of themselves as insignificant specks lost in the enormity of space? Do evolutionary biologists consider themselves merely animals? Read this book and find out!