"God works in the world. The best way to understand the connection between divine and natural causes is complementarity. For example, a painting can be described ‘scientifically’ in terms of the distribution of chemicals on a surface, but it can also be described in terms of the plan and intention of the artist. We can have two (or more) descriptions of the same object which do not overlap or contradict in any way; we call them complementary. In the same way, God can be understood as working in the world (by faith: Hebrews 11:3) without conflicting or diminishing any scientific (or rational) knowledge we may have of the same event."
Professor R. J. (Sam) Berry, Professor of Genetics at the University of London.
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2 comments:
This is a very thoughtful quote; I'm going to have to remember this one. I particularly like his analogy to art. It explains very well how you can reconcile science with religious beliefs.
Thanks, Rose. I was gald to find it. I nver thought there was a problem between faith and science, and yet I couldn't think of a good way to explain why I felt this way. This really works for me, especialy living in a family of artists!
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