Physics and Cosmology: Topic Index
Imagine an expanding universe 15 billion years old, emerging
from a point where "time began"; a world of relativity
where space and time are paradoxical but spacetime may be ‘just
there’; a quantum world where things ‘just happen’
and nature as a mechanical clock is overturned; a thermodynamic
world where entropy reigns but order and novelty emerge spontaneously
out of disorder and chaos. These and other ‘windows on the
universe’ derived from contemporary physics and cosmology
hint at the profound beauty, mystery and enticement of our universe
and beckon us to explore the latest results of research science.
At the same time, many people today - and I am one of them
- are deeply committed to the religious traditions of the West,
with their theological understandings of the universe as the creation
of a loving and gracious God revealed through Scripture, tradition,
reason and experience. Still others draw on Buddhism, Hinduism,
Native American religion, and other rich traditions to speak theologically
about human life, the natural world, and the divine. Can these
two sources of knowledge and meaning - science and religion -
be brought together into a process of creative mutual interaction,
in which each voice is respected and the wisdom of each shared
fruitfully by the other? Or are science and religion irrevocably
in conflict, or perhaps merely irrelevant to each other?
In recent years, an increasing number of scientists, theologians,
clergy, and the lay public have challenged both the voices for
conflict and for irrelevancy. Instead, they are developing a new
approach which fosters dialogue and genuine interaction. In the
process, a growing body of literature at both research and semi-popular
levels is now available for all who wish to join in. The purpose
of this brief essay is to point out some of the key topics of
conversation, to suggest where the frontiers of research currently
lie, and to invite others to enter into the process. My perspective
on this rich and diverse process is that of a Protestant theologian
with a doctorate in solid state physics. For the past two decades
I have been teaching on the faculty of the Graduate Theological
Union in Berkeley, California, and directing the Center for Theology
and the Natural Sciences affiliated with the GTU. Though I can
only speak from this perspective, I hope it will succeed in suggesting
at least something of the richness and challenge of this exciting
interaction, and in the process will stimulate many others to
join in!
In these topics I will offer a brief overview of the key issues
in physics and cosmology. I’ll also cover the theologies
of creation and providence, and suggest ways in which they can
be put into dialogue and interaction with aspects of Big Bang
cosmology and quantum mechanics. I’ll close with highlights
of other key areas.
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| Contributed by: Dr. Robert Russell
|
