A popular argument against theism insists that the progress of science has stripped away God’s roles in the world. He isn’t needed to keep things moving, or to develop the complexity of living creatures, or to account for the existence of the universe. For millennia, it was reasonable for humans to invoke supernatural explanations for mysterious events; today, science has made all such explanations redundant.
Many sceptics believe this argument has significant force; in fact, it is spectacularly weak. These articles and interviews explain why.
Ten Reasons the argument that Science Explains Away God Won’t Work
Can Scientists Trust Their Own Brains if Atheism is True?
Is Evolution Atheistic? Evolution does not explain design away
Does Science Cut God Out of the Universe? Not at all! The success of science is not only compatible with Christian theism; theism is confirmed by scientific discovery
Four Reasons There is No Conflict Between Science and God
What Science Cannot Explain and Why
Why “God-of-the-Gaps” arguments for theism are historically rare and the case for God’s existence does not depend on them.
(Audio) “Will Science Explain God Away?” Talks by John Lennox and others
(Audio) Dr David Glass discusses and defends his research on the compatibility of science and theism on the Unbelievable Show. Professor Peter Atkins and philosopher James Croft take the opposing view.
(Audio and Slides) Can Science Explain Away God? Here’s a lecture given by David Glass to the Christians in Science Ireland group on the topic ‘Can Science Explain Away God?’ It addresses the Sam Harris’s claim that there is a necessary conflict between science and Christianity and Sean Carroll’s claim that our universe no longer needs God.
(Audio) Academic Conference on Science, God and Explaining Away A recent conference organized by David Glass and Mark McCartney on the topic ‘Explaining and Explaining Away in Science and Religion.’ The site includes downloadable lectures from some leading figures in the science-religion area such as Revd. Dr. Rodney Holder (Cambridge), Prof. David Livingstone (Queen’s University, Belfast) and Prof. Roger Trigg (Oxford), who spoke on issues relating to explaining away in cosmology, anthropology and cognitive science of religion respectively. Other talks addressed further philosophical and historical issues related to science and religion and represent a range of viewpoints.
“Science, God and Explaining Away” This is an academic article by David on science, God and explaining away explains the case in some depth.