Science and Theology

Luther Seminary ~ ST4435 (half course) ~ Spring 2006

Th 1:10-4pm  ~ Room: BH 101

professor: Alan G. Padgett                                    email: apadgett@luthersem.edu

phone: 651-641-3221                                              mail box: Gullixson Hall, 2^nd floor

office: Bøckman Hall 27                                        course web page: visit MyLutherNet

ta: Karin Craven                                                    faculty web page: www.luthersem.edu/apadgett  

email: kcraven@luthersem.edu

CATALOG DESCRIPTION

An investigation into the relationships between natural science and Christian faith. The emphasis is upon understanding contemporary natural science as part of our cultural context for preaching, teaching, and mission. The course considers historical, philosophical, and theological perspectives, with a focus upon recent scientific discoveries. Full Course.

PURPOSE

This course will investigate the interconnections and tensions between Christian theology and contemporary natural science, with a special focus on current issues. Historical issues are kept to a minimum (there is another ½ course on historical developments).  This will include an introduction to contemporary scientific discoveries in the physical and life sciences. Some of the the topics covered include relativity theory, quantum mechanics, chaos theory, and biological evolution. In each case, religious issues will be explored and the dialogue between theology and science will be traced. The class itself is meant to further the open discussion of these issues, and the ongoing advance in the science and religion dialogue in our time. This course is an elective for M.A. and M.Div. students, and can be taken by M.Th. or Ph.D. students with additional independent study.

RELEVANCE TO MISSION

Luther Seminary “educates leaders for Christian communities called and sent by the Holy Spirit, to witness to salvation through Jesus Christ, and to serve in God’s world.” In this class we learn to think theologically about God’s world and natural science. This provides important foundations toward mission and leadership in an age of science and technology.

LEARNING GOALS

In this class the student will learn to:

1.   Understand and appreciate the nature of science, its role in human society, and its relationship with Christian thought.

2.   Understand and appreciate the multiple relationships between theology and science.

3.   Express one’s own worldview clearly and present reasonable arguments for one’s own opinions and beliefs.

4.   Respect the intellectual rights of others and treat them with respect.

5.   Learn something of the history and current shape of religion-science debates, the implications of theology for science, and vice versa.

Your learning will be measure by, inter alia, the following objectives:

1.   Critical reflection in class upon the required readings, including oral and written reports as assigned.

2.   Show familiarity with central terms, themes, and thinkers in the development of natural science, and in the theology-science dialogue.

3.   Demonstrate a basic knowledge of the nature and methods of theology and of the sciences.

4.   Create a critical essay or final project on a current issue in the theology-science dialogue, past or present.

CONTENT

There will be two parts to our class.  There will first be a gathering, lecture and question/answer period (I).  The second period will be a seminar-type conversation, based upon the readings (II).  Participation, keeping up with the readings, and regular attendance are required for Part II. Because of the number of readings, the last two classes will be all seminar.  You will be assigned, on a rotating basis, one of three tasks during each Part II of class: Facilitator, Recorder, and Respondent. Come prepared to each class session. This course will also have a terms quiz and “short answer” final exam.

TEXT BOOKS AND READINGS

Required

Barbour, Ian.  Religion and Science.

Miller, K., ed. Perspectives on an Evolving Creation.

Polkinghorne, John.  Science and Providence (2005 edition)

M. Ruse and W. Dembski, Debating Design (Cambridge)

Padgett, A. G. Science and the Study of God.

Ratzsch, Del. The Battle for Beginnings.

Recommended

R. Audi, ed., Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy.

COURSE WORK AND EVALUATION

In a seminar, students are encouraged to participate by discussion with each other and with the instructor; dialog; questioning; and also answering questions are the essence of theological inquiry.  You will have some chance at leadership within our seminar (Respondent, Recorder, and Facilitator).  Attendance at Part II is mandatory. Your grade will suffer if you miss class (see below).

Pass/Fail Grading

For any element of this class, a “Pass” will be at least a “C+” in traditional terms.  Assignments which “Fail” will be returned for no credit. You may do them over again (or a substitute assignment), in order to earn a passing grade for the assignment. Marginal assignments may also be rewritten in order to improve to a Pass level. You may receive two “marginal” grades for an assignment and still Pass this class. The final grade of M will be assigned to those who receive a Marginal grade in two of the assigned elements of this class, or who flunk one element. Lower achievement will be graded F.

Traditional Letter Grading

You must request traditional A-F grading with a form, due to your professor by the end of the second week of classes.  For each exercise, and the class in general, you can expect 90% to be the cut-off for an A-, 80% for a B-, and 75% for a C+.

Final Exam....................................................     100

Seminar Leadership.......................................       25

Term Paper..................................................     125

Participation/attendance.................................       50

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Course Total.................................................     300

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is taking credit for work that is not your own, and is wrong. This includes copying without quotation, excessive summarizing from sources (even if listed in a bibliography), or turning in your friend’s old paper with your name on it. If you are caught plagiarizing in this class, you will earn an F for the class. You must prove to me that you wrote the paper or essay (note that the burden of proof is on you). If I suspect you of plagiarism, I will give you an oral exam on your paper which the author of the essay could easily pass (but not someone who just copied or summarized). Please keep all notes and rough drafts of your essays for this class (e-files are OK) until after you receive your final grade.

ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS:

            The final exam will be in class, and consist of a terms quiz and a few short essay questions.  I will give you the questions and terms to study in advance.

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS

In-Class Roles and Reports

1.   Respondent: critique of assigned readings. On a rotating basis, you will be assigned the task of leading-off our discussion of the assigned readings for each day, by providing an initial critique (pro and con) in writing. Please make copies for everyone in the class. Please pay attention to: (a) the relevance of this reading for the overall theme of our course, (b) any biblical, theological, or philosophical issues that are of interest to you, which you wish to discuss further.

2.   Recorder: summary of key discussion.  Recorder: summary of key discussion.  Please take notes of our seminar discussions, then type them up.  Bring copies for everyone the next time we meet.

3.   Facilitator: keeping the conversation going. The facilitator will act as chair and prompter for keeping us on focus, on task, and keeping the dialog evenly spread among all participants. Make sure everyone has a chance to participate.  This leadership will be worth ½ the points of the other two (i.e. you will have to do it twice).

Term Paper

You will write a term paper on an assigned and chosen topic, dealing with some issue in the theology-science dialogue.  Barbour’s book is an excellent place to look for possible topics (including the portions we did not read together).  It should be about 15 pages long (ca. 4,500 words), and of the higest academic quality.  I am willing to discuss a creative alternative to this term paper, i.e., another type of final project, depending upon your interest and talents.

General Remarks

In general, your papers should be written in good English style, and follow standard academic norms. You must use gender-inclusive language. Begin with an introduction, and end with a summary conclusion. Follow standard footnote format, for the humanities. Always include a list of Works Cited (i.e., a bibliography). If you are unaware of these standards, I recommend you investigate the latest edition of “The Short Cut” from Luther Seminary (online at the Library web page).

ATTENDANCE & MAKE-UP POLICIES

Attendance

Attending lectures is not required, but the Part II seminar is.  Being there is a major part of any seminar. If you miss two Part II sections (without redemption) your grade for attendance will be Marginal. You will Fail your attendance in this class if you miss more than three days of class session. Please see me ASAP if must miss more than three days, for whatever reason. There is no distinction made between excused and unexcused absences. All absences (even “excused” ones) count against your grade, unless they are redeemed.

Redemption of Missed Classes

You can redeem your attendance points for up to three days by turning in a typed summary (2–3 pages) of the required reading for each day that is missed. You will be graded Pass/Fail on these summaries. Redemption will return your attendance grade to full points.

Students with disabilities: Students in this class with a disability which could prevent them from fully demonstrating their learning should meet with me and/or our T.A. for this class as soon as possible, to begin disability verification and discuss necessary accommodations for full participation and completion of course requirements.

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COURSE SCHEDULE

Preliminary Bibliography for Beginning Research in Science & Theology

Encyclopedia

Ferngren, Gary B., ed., The History of Science and Religion in the Western Tradition: An Encyclopedia (New York, 2000).

Van Huyssteen, J. W., ed., Encyclopedia of Science and Religion (New York, 2002).

Some Standard Works in the Field

Barbour, Ian. Religion and Science (San Francisco, 1997).

Brooke, John H. Science and Religion (Cambridge, 1991).

Brooke, John H., Margaret J. Osler and Jitse M. van der Meer, eds., Science in Theistic Contexts (Chicago, 2001).

Dawkins, Richard, River out of Eden (New York, 1996).

Butterfield, Herbert, The Origins of Modern Science, 1300-1800 (New York, 1965).

Gould, Stephen Jay, Rocks of Ages (New York, 1999).

Grant, Edward, The Foundations of Modern Science in the Middle Ages (Cambridge, 1996).

———, God and Reason in the Middle Ages (Cambridge, 2001).

Kaiser, Christopher, Creational Theology and the History of Physical Science (Leiden, 1997).

Lindberg, David C., The Beginnings of Western Science (Chicago, 1992).

Lindberg, David C., and Ronald Numbers, eds., God and Nature (Berkeley, 1986).

Livingstone, David N., Darwin’s Forgotten Defenders (Grand Rapids, 1987).

———, Putting Science in its Place (Chicago, 2003).

Livingstone, David. N., et al., eds., Evangelicals and Science in Historical Perspective (Oxford, 1999).

Moore, James R.. Post-Darwinian Controversies (Cambridge, 1979).

Peacocke, Arthur, ed., The Sciences and Theology in the Twentieth Century (London, 1981).

———, Theology for a Scientific Age (Minneapolis, 1993).

Polkinghorne, John, Scientists as Theologians (London, 1996).

———, Faith of a Physicist (Minneapolis, 1996).

Stenmark, Mikael, How to Relate Science and Religion (Grand Rapids, 2004).

Torrance, T. F., Theological Science (Oxford, 1969).

Van Huyssteen, J. W., The Shaping of Rationality: Toward Interdisciplinarity in Theology and Science (Grand Rapids, 1999).

Watts, Fraser, ed., Science meets Faith (London, 1998).

Whitehead, A. N., Science and the Modern World (New York, 1925).