Jottings on science, religion, technology, pop culture and faith from the Antipodes.

Science, Technology & Religion

Darwin and Fundamentalism

cover thumbnail. Click for larger imageJust read Darwin and Fundamentalism by Merryl Wyn Davies. It’s a short book in the Icon series “Postmodern Encounters”. If you’re looking for a brief (80 pages) introduction on the subject of Darwin, Darwinism, religious responses (positive and negative) and scientific engagement (again postive and negative responses) then this provides a good entry point. It’s footnoted so you can follow things up. Davies notes that fundamentalism occurs both in religious and scientific arenas and that the issues thrown up are more that a dualistic split between “materialistic, atheistic evolutionism” and “fundamentalist, literalist creationism”. Briefly she argues that

A true appreciation of the historic context of Darwin, the socially constructed nature of science, and theological and historically informed understanding of religion, which is much more that simply Christian fundamentalism, suggests that we are being hijacked by two extremist positions.

Well worth borrowing from the library to read for a day or so on the train into work just to get the mental juices percolating (even if you don’t agree with all her conclusions).

A related link is Evolution: Library: Emi & Nathan: Personal Testimonies at PBS which has a video clip of the following:

As science majors at a conservative Christian college, Emi and Nathan have both struggled with the creation/evolution debate for themselves. For them, as for many people, evolution and religion seem to contradict each other. In this interview excerpt from Evolution: “What about God?”, Emi and Nathan share their own experiences and their strategies for tackling the issue through further education.