Articles
Editorial
Oliver R. Barclay
Pages: 2-2
The Miraculous
Paul Helm
Pages: 83-95
Abstract
The sceptical attitude to miracles expressed by David Hume, and followed by many others, is examined from several different standpoints. Hume’s argument against attempts to prove the truth of Christianity from miracles reported in the Bible seems largely valid. However, his other criticisms of miracles are weakened by a misconception of the Christian view of the place of miracles in the faith. In common with others, Hume’s view of miracles as a violation of a law of nature reveals a misunderstanding. Finally his views on testimony and experience are examined.
How Not to Think About Miracles
Stuart Judge
Pages: 97-102
Abstract
A critique is made of C.S. Lewis’ book Miracles. It is argued that Lewis’ definition of miracle in terms of Invasion of Nature by Supematural power is mistaken, as is his view that rational thought is itself a ‘miracle’. Lewis’ notion of what a mechanistic view of nature entails is also questioned, as is his assumption, without supporting argument, of a Platonistic point of view. While the book does have valuable insights, the weakness of the principal arguments cannot be overlooked.
Newton’s Rejection of the ‘Newtonian World View’: The Role of Divine Will in Newton’s Natural Philosophy
Edward B. Davis
Pages: 103-117
Abstract
The typical picture of Isaac Newton as the paragon of Enlightenment deism, endorsing a remote divine clockmaker and the separation of science from religion, is badly mistaken. In fact Newton rejected both the clockwork metaphor and the cold mechanical universe upon which it is based. His conception of the world reflects rather a deep commitment to the constant activity of the divine willi unencumbered by the ‘rational’ restrictions that Descartes and Leibniz placed on God, the very sorts of restrictions that later appealed to the deists of the 18th century.
Evil in the Non-Human World
S. E. Alsford
Pages: 119-130
Abstract
The article briefly surveys some of the traditional responses to the problem of evil, focusing on the implications for natural evil of Irenean and Augustinian approaches. It goes on to suggest that a deeper consideration of the interdependence of all creation can illuminate the problem and that there are important theological reasons for questioning the common distinction between ‘natural evil’ and ‘moral evil’, and for using the language of creation-fall-redemption as a way of exploring the connections between them.
Book reviews
Physics and the World
Niels Bohr (John Polkinghorne)
Pages: 131-131
Science and Philosophy: Past and Present
Derek Gjertsen (Paul Helm)
Pages: 131-132
What Mad Pursuit
Francis Crick (A. B. Robins)
Pages: 132-133
A Brief History of Eternity: A considered response to Stephen Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time’
Roy E. Peacock (David A. Wilkinson)
Pages: 133-134
Genetics, The Ethics of Engineering Life
David Suzuki and Peter Knudtson (Caroline Berry)
Pages: 135-135
The Selfish Gene, New Edition
Richard Dawkins (Darryl Macer)
Pages: 135-137
The Word of Science: The Religious and Social Thought of C. A. Coulson
David & Eileen Hawkin (Lawrence Osborn)
Pages: 137-138
The Big Bang, Revised and Updated Edition
Joseph Silk (Robert Boyd)
Pages: 138-139
Sidereus Nuncius, or The Sidereal Messenger
Galileo Galilei (C. A. Russell)
Pages: 139-139
Science, Order and Creativity
David Bohm and F. David Peat (Jonathan R. Topham)
Pages: 139-141
Infinite in All Directions
Freeman J. Dyson (Ernest C. Lucas)
Pages: 141-143
Schrodinger: Life and Thought
Walter Moore (John Polkinghorne)
Pages: 143-144
Grounds for Reasonable Belief
Russell Stannard (Lawrence Osborn)
Pages: 144-145
The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins
Richard G. Klein (Gordon Barnes)
Pages: 145-146
An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science
Anthony O’Hear (Melvin Tinker)
Pages: 146-147
Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modem Science
Werner Heisenberg (David A. Wilkinson)
Pages: 147-148
The Mind on Fire
Blaise Pascal (Oliver R. Barclay)
Pages: 148-148
The Darwinian Paradigm: Essays on its History, Philosophy, and Religious Implications
Michael Ruse (Gordon E. Barnes)
Pages: 148-150
The Gene Shifters
John Newell (Neil Messer)
Pages: 150-152
Wisdom, Information & Wonder. What is knowledge for?
Mary Midgley (Lawrence Osborn)
Pages: 152-153
Darwin and the General Reader
Alvar Ellegard (Darryl Macer)
Pages: 153-154
The God Who Would be Known: Revelations of the Divine in Contemporary Science
John. M. Templeton and Robert L. Herrmann (Oliver Barclay)
Pages: 154-155
Wonderful Life–The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History
Stephen Jay Gould (Peter Mott)
Pages: 155-156
Multiple Exposure–Chronicles of the Radiation Age
Catherine Caufield (Andrew Fox)
Pages: 156-157
Rochester Roundabout. The Story of High Energy Physics
John Polkinghorne (Robert Boyd)
Pages: 157-157
Healing: Fiction, Fantasy or Fact?
David C. Lewis (John Wilkinson)
Pages: 157-159