Table of Contents
Foreword Tony Hewish xi
Preface John Polkinghorne xiii
Introduction 1
1 Leading Questions 5
1 Science and Religion 5
2 Human Nature 9
3 The Existence of God 11
4 Creation and Evolution 14
5 Evil and Suffering 16
6 Divine Action 17
7 Jesus Christ 19
8 Final Destiny 22
9 Atheism 24
2 The Concept and Existence of God 26
10 Can God's Existence Be Proved? 26
11 Is God a Delusion? 27
12 How Can God Inhabit Eternity? 31
13 Does God Know Everything? 32
14 Is Everything Divinely Predestined? 34
15 Is God the Source of All Morality? 34
16 What about the Trinity? 35
3 The Universe 39
17 How Did the Universe Begin? 39
18 How Can Something Come from Nothing? 40
19 Isn't Everything Random? 41
20 What is the Anthropic Principle? 43
21 Have Anthropic Arguments Been Refuted? 45
22 Why Is the Universe So Big? 50
23 Will Everything, Eventually, Be Explained by Science? 50
24 Is a Unified Theory of Everything Possible? 51
4 Evolution 54
25 Is Evolution Fact or Theory? 54
26 What about Intelligent Design? 56
27 Can the Mind Be Explained by Evolution? 58
28 Isn't Evolution Unethical? 60
29 Why Is Evolution so Wasteful? 61
5 Evil 63
30 Where Does Evil Come From? 63
31 Who or What Is "the Devil"? 65
32 Why Is There Cancer? 66
33 Is Original Sin a Result of Nature or Nurture? 67
34 Why Do People Choose Evil? 68
35 Does Religion Inspire Evil Acts? 69
6 Human Being 71
36 Who Were Adam and Eve? 71
37 What Does It Mean to Be Created "in the Image of God"? 72
38 When Does an Embryo Become a Person? 73
39 Do We Have Souls? 74
40 What Is Conscience? 77
41 Does Human Life Have a Purpose? 78
42 Do Humans Matter More ThanAnimals? 80
7 Religion 83
43 Is Atheism a Form of Faith? 83
44 Can We See Truth? 84
45 Which Stories in the Bible Are True? 85
46 How Does the Death of Jesus Save the World? 88
47 Why Believe Jesus Rose from the Dead? 88
48 How Much Do You Need to Believe to Be a Christian? 89
49 What Place Do Non-Christians Have in God's Universe? 90
50 Will Sinners Suffer Eternal Punishment? 92
51 What Is the Point of Praying? 94
8 Conclusion 96
Appendix A Anthropic Fine-Tuning 99
Appendix B The Brain and Mind 117
Appendix C Evolution 138
Notes 155
Glossary 169
Selected Bibliography 177
Index 181
