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ITEST Webinar

Why Science is not God

How not to idolize the natural world created by a supernatural being

This webinar was presented on January 14, 2023

Is science only another human intellectual achievement, as is music, literature, philosophy? Or is it something more? Are the techniques used in science—mathematics, experiment, and rational inquiry—given to humankind by God so that His creation be understood and glorified, as in Psalm 19A? What ethical constraints, if any, does God set on science? And why did science develop only with Christendom? And finally, why should we not worship the idol of Science? These questions will be addressed in this webinar.

Our presenters

Robert J. Kurland, PhD

Fr. Jaki’s “Limits of a Limitless Science”

Dr. Kurland is a graduate of Caltech (BS, 1951, “with honor”) and Harvard (PhD, 1956). His scientific career (Carnegie-Mellon, SUNY/AB, Cleveland Clinic, Geisinger Medical Center) has focused on biological applications of magnetic resonance, including MRI. Since his conversion to Catholicism in 1995, he has tried to spread the message that there’s no war between Catholic teaching and science. He believes (as with St. Augustine, “The Trinity 1,8”), “that in providing others with books to read I myself should make progress, and that in trying to find answers to their questions I myself should find what I am seeking.”

Dr. Kurland’s Abstract

To deny “Science says…” is a contemporary heresy. Yet if we know what science is truly about, we can easily do so. The history of science shows that fundamental principles, fundamental theories, and auxiliary theories change as new ideas and facts emerge. The only non-changing thing in science is how it is done. Moreover, science itself has, as Fr. Jaki so aptly put it, limits in its limitless. So we have, as this talk will try to show, all the means to dislodge the idol of science from its altar. As testimony, I will describe my conversion from the religion of scientism to the Catholic faith.

Carla Mae Streeter, OP, ThD

Why God Loves Science

Dr. Streeter is a Dominican of the Congregation of Catherine of Siena in Racine, Wisconsin. She has taught Systematic Theology for 37 years at Aquinas Institute after serving 19 years as a parish educator and administrator. She is a Lonergan scholar, whose work on interiority analysis assists her in doing theology across disciplines. Interfaith Dialogue and acting as Convener for the Compassionate Cities effort in St. Louis are her current ministries.

Dr. Streeter’s Abstract

If science is not God, then what does theology have to say about science? Is God interested in science? Does God care what it does and how it does it? Why? How we explore these questions will have a lot to do with how we will relate to both God and science.

YouTube Bans Real Science

Read Dr. Bob Kurland’s letter on American Thinker about how real science was BANNED on YouTube.

 

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