Fall 2008/Pasadena
PH543
Murphy

PH543: PHILOSOPHICAL ISSUES IN THEOLOGY AND SCIENCE. Nancey Murphy.


DESCRIPTION: The goal of this course will be to examine current intellectual challenges to Christian belief in light of historical developments in modern science and philosophy, as well as the theological responses that were made to these developments. The theses of the course are: (1) the "new atheism" of our day is but the most recent development of a large-scale rival to the Christian tradition, which may be designated scientific materialism; (2) the liberal Protestant strategy to insulate religion and theology from science is largely responsible for the materialists' ability to promote their position as singularly compatible with science; and (3) it is now possible to show that much of current science actually provides striking support for Christian theology.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: Knowledge: to introduce students to aspects of the development of philosophy and theology in the West, and to some of the major intellectual problems facing Christian believers, along with strategies that have been used to address them. Skills: to improve student's skills in reasoning about their faith and in academic writing. Attitudes: to promote confidence in the student's own abilities to address intellectual problems, as well as sympathetic appreciation for scholars who have struggled with difficult issues and have arrived at conclusions different from those of the student.

RELEVANCE FOR MINISTRY: The issues that we deal with in class will also be issues of concern for many church members; this will be an opportunity for students to begin to prepare to address them.

COURSE FORMAT: Mostly lecture; some small group discussion. The class will meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions.

REQUIRED READING:

Barbour, Ian. Religion and Science: Historical and Contemporary Issues. HarperSanFrancisco, 1997.

Barr, Stephen. Modern Physics and Ancient Faith. Notre Dame, 2003.

Murphy, Nancey. Theology in the Age of Scientific Reasoning. Cornell, 1990.

Extensive course reader.

ASSIGNMENTS: Three eight-page papers (each worth 30% of grade); three one-paragraph assignments in preparation for small group discussions (together worth 10% of grade). Regular attendance and participation in small group discussion.

PREREQUISITES: OT501. However, this course is not not recommended for beginning students or for those with minimal scientific knowledge.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in Philosophical Theology (PHIL); meets the MACL in Integrative Studies requirement for an interdisciplinary course (IDPL).

FINAL EXAMINATION: None.

This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (7/08)