Black Holes and Revelations

I am as of this writing installed in my new dorm room and getting fully moved in before taking off on a four-day backpacking excursion near King’s Canyon which marks the beginning of RA training here at Westmont.  In lieu of actual content, here is a comic strip I drew on a napkin at Coffee Cat.  It is, like most things I say and do, at least 12% truthful in its depiction of real life.  Click to view full size.

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I recently finished the book Oracles of Science: Celebrity Scientists versus God and Religion. This book, written by Karl Giberson and the late Mariano Artigas, was introduced to me when Dr. Giberson gave a talk about it at Westmont in November 2007. I picked up a copy but didn’t have make much time to read it until this summer. I’m glad I found the time. A very interesting and thoughtful read, I would highly recommend this book not only to anyone seeking information on some of the leading science popularizers of our time and analysis on their positions, but also for anyone looking for a jumping-off point to the study of philosophy of science in general. Here’s the product description from the jacket:

Biologists Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, and Edward O. Wilson, and physicists Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, and Steven Weinberg have become public intellectuals, articulating a much larger vision for science and what role it should play in the modern worldview. The scientific prestige and literary eloquence of each of these great thinkers combine to transform them into what can only be called oracles of science. Curiously, the leading “oracles of science” are predominantly secular in ways that don’t reflect the distribution of religious beliefs within the scientific community. Many of them are even hostile to religion, creating a false impression that science as a whole is incompatible with religion. Karl Giberson and Mariano Artigas offer an informed analysis of the views of these six scientists, carefully distinguishing science from philosophy and religion in the writings of the oracles.

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This is a somewhat delayed response to / analysis of the discussion going on between Peter and Alex regarding biblical truth and its relation to scientific certainty. There appears to be a disconnect, presumably because the two have differing opinions on truth. I will try to bridge the gap with my own take on the subject. (more…)

My apologies to the three or four people who read this blog for the lack of essays lately.  My time has been filled with attempts at preparing and organizing for the my dorm section next year (I am going to be a Resident Assistant), as well as simply attempting to get my thoughts in order on various fronts.  In addition I recently had my wisdom teeth out, and resting up from that has proven to be more of a hassle than a rest.  Rest assured, however, that more writs are forthcoming, starting hopefully later today with an ambitious article on truth.