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In the late 1800s, two books were published in the United States, arguing that science and religion were locked in an inevitable zero-sum conflict that would only be resolved when one winner emerged and completely vanquished its opponent. This viewpoint came to be called the “warfare thesis.” At the time of their publication, both books were severely criticized by book reviewers for shoddy scholarship and rampant unfairness. The reviewers’ critical assessments have subsequently been confirmed by historians.

Yet, despite their dubious scholarship and questionable arguments, both books have cast an outsized shadow over American culture for the past 150-odd years. The myth of an inevitable, brutal conflict between science and spirituality skews the way many people think about both science and also spirituality. This fallacy provides a distorted lens through which we view other historical figures and events.

In this episode, we will re-examine three historical episodes where persons of science were allegedly persecuted or condemned for their scientific research or teaching by “religious people.” Under the guidance of a historian, we will look at the actual facts, the contexts, and other influential factors in each of these episodes. The results of our investigation will prove fascinating.

For Further Reading:

The Warfare Between Science and Religion, The Idea that Wouldn’t Die, edited by Jeff Hardin, Ronald L. Numbers, and Ronald A. Binzley, Baltimore Johns Hokins University Press, 2018, is a collection of essays by historians that includes an examination of the two books by Draper and White, as well as a careful examination of the “Galileo affair.”

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In this episode, we will explore an important question in scientific cosmology and spirituality: Our universe contains a number of physical constants woven into diverse equations that govern physical laws and determine the conditions for life. Over the years, physicists have marveled at how the values of these physical constants are just right for the emergence of carbon-based life, such as humans. In fact, these values appear to be perfectly fine tuned for life. Why is that?

Physicists call this phenomenon the “Anthropic Principle” because it enables human life. This Anthropic Principle raises an intriguing question: Was it just a lucky coincidence that these physical constants are just right for the emergence of carbon-based life? Or, do these well calibrated physical constants provide evidence of Design? In other words, did some “Higher Power”—God, perhaps—design the universe so that life would emerge as part of the evolutionary process? This is a real puzzle.

In this episode, we will examine this puzzle, with the assistance of Dr. Gintaras Duda, who is Chair of the Physics Department at Creighton University in Omaha.

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Since Ian Barbour’s pioneering work in the mid-1960s, there has been a lively dialogue between spirituality and many scientific disciplines, including physics, biology, neuroscience, and genetics. By comparison, there has been relatively little dialogue between spirituality and mathematics. In this episode, Richard explores this emerging intersection with Dr. Sarah Voss, a mathematician and ordained pastor in the Unitarian Universalist Church. They also discuss her book, A Math Mystic’s Guide to Creative Spirituality.

Dr. Voss has dedicated much of her life to nurturing an emerging dialogue between math and spirituality. One of her most important contributions has been the development of “Mathaphors,” a word that she coined. Mathaphors occur when someone uses a law or insight from mathematics as a metaphor to understand some aspect of spirituality. For instance, Voss uses Snell’s rule—which describes how light bends, or refracts, when it passes from one transparent medium to another—as a Mathaphor to describe the human spirit when it experiences redemption.

In addition to Mathaphors, Richard and Sarah discuss how to affirm and learn from different religions in a pluralistic society. They also reflect on mysticism as a contributing component of the mathematics and spirituality interface.

Books Cited:

Sarah Voss, Math Mystic’s guide to Creative Spirituality, Wipf & Stock, Eugene, Oregon, 2024.

John Hick, An Interpretation of Religion: Human Response to the Transcendent, Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut, 1989.