Lecture by Prof. Keith Ward - Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge - 27 January 2009 - 1 hr (approx.)It's a bit off our usual posting, but this is a very interesting and thought-provoking lecture given in Cambridge last month. In the last few years, the works of the 'New Atheists' such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have gained wide media and popular attention. In this lecture, Prof. Ward, Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford and author among many other things of Why There Almost Certainly Is A God, deconstructs the reasoning behind this trend and analyses the limits of scientific knowledge, presenting the philosophical case for the rational belief in a power beyond time and space. Great stuff for dealing with any tedious religion-bashers among your friends, colleagues or acquaintances. The Faraday Institute has lots of other good resources on related topics. At one point, Prof. Ward refers to Bernard d'Espagnat's highly suggestive phrase 'veiled reality', to describe the point beyond which reality is not scientifically knowable. May God make us grateful for the profound gift of revelation that has given us another path past the veil to understand Him who is truly Real.
Listen to this lecture
I don't think this is "off" your usual posting at all. Jazak Allah Khairan for putting this on as it is so relevant and much needed as we are continuously bombarded with such confident falsehood...but have nothing to say.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for sharing this insightful, humourous, and thought-provoking lecture by Professor Ward.
ReplyDeleteThe distinctions he makes are useful to clarify these cosmological tensions and the picture he paints about what is "real" is compelling.