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This book attempts to show that insights can be gleaned from both science and religion to enable us to understand what the world is like, how the human animal is distinctive from the sub-human, and how we might think of God. It proceeds on the basis that Einstein was right when he said that 'science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind'. The book opposes the view that we are survival machines and argues that such an explanation is incomplete and is not justified either by science or religion.
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The God/Man/World Triangle A Dialogue between Science and Religion Robert Crawford The God/Man/World Triangle Also by Robert Crawford CAN WE EVER KILL? (second enlarged edition) JOURNEY INTO APARTHEID MAKING SENSE OF THE STUDY OF RELIGION A PORTRAIT OF THE ULSTER PROTESTANTS THE SAGA OF GOD INCARNATE (second enlarged edition) WHAT IS RELIGION? (forthcoming) The God/Man/World Triangle A Dialogue between Science and Religion Robert Crawford First published in Great Britain 2000 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 0–333–68935–6 hardcover ISBN 0–333–80400–7 paperback First published in the United States of America 2000 by ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, LLC, Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 ISBN 0–312–17530–2 (cloth) ISBN 0–312–23238–1 (paperback) The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Crawford, Robert G. (Robert George), 1927– The God/man/world triangle : a dialogue between science and religion / Robert Crawford. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–312–17530–2 1. Religion and science. I. Title. BL240 .2.C73 1997 215—dc21 97–5893 CIP © Robert Crawford 1997 First edition 1997 First paperback edition (with minor corrections) 2000 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 09 9 08 8 07 7 06 6 05 5 04 4 03 3 02 2 01 Printed and bound in Great Britain by Antony Rowe Ltd, Chippenham, Wiltshire 1 00 To my son Paul who graduated in science This page intentionally left blank Contents viii Introduction 1 Where is God? 1 2 Is God in the World? 16 3 After Darwin 35 4 Einstein 54 5 What Kind of World is This? 70 6 What are We? 90 7 The Indian Tradition 112 8 The Semitic Tradition 133 9 Models of God 154 10 Does God Exist? 173 11 What Kind of God Model? 193 Notes 210 Index 231 vii Introduction This book is concerned with questions which arise when we think about mankind, the world and God. Science tells us a great deal about how the laws of the universe operate but ca