Sorry for the hiatus; back from a trip. Here is section 5 of my notes on
Griffin's book. Thanks to many for comments.
Burgy (John Burgeson)
www.burgy.50megs.com
GRIFFIN5.TXT
Griffin Notes -- chapter 3
Harmonizing Science & Religion: Three Alternative Approaches 38 pages
Griffin seeks a religion/science harmony. That is his goal. Four things he sees as necessary to do this:
1. They must share a worldview
2. Science must insist on naturalism(ns)
3. Religion must agree that it can live with naturalism(ns) and without supernaturalism.
4. Science must also agree that it can live with naturalism(ns) and without naturalism(sam).
He is going to argue that this is possible. First, he examines three alternatives (of the many that exist) which challenge one or more of these theses.
1. Theistic Science, as proposed by Plantinga and Johnson.
2. Scientific naturalism within a supernaturalistic framework, as proposed by Van Till (and others).
3. Accommodating religion to naturalism(sam), as proposed by Drees.
The discussions on each of these, 38 pages in all, are very well done. My own position has always been the second one above, although I have more room for supernaturalistic intervention (in the sense of God, the violin player) than Van Till's "Fully Gifted Creation." It is easy for me to reject the third position, although from Griffin's discussion there is more to Drees' ideas than I had thought. Griffin finds merit in some, but not all, of Plantinga's ideas (the first alternative).
This was the chapter I enjoyed reading the most.
end notes on chapter 3 John Burgeson
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