Contemporary Connections

Theories of our origins

Many people see contemporary scientific theories of the origin of the universe and of humankind as in conflict with accounts given in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions.  Others see the notions of evolution and the Big Bang as consistent with the basic tenants of these Western philosophical perspectives.  Still others insist that the scientific findings are not only consistent with such religious belief but in fact supportive of it, providing additional evidence for the existence of God.  For instance, there has been much current debate about the Anthropic Principle and the idea that there must have been a God fine-tuning the universe in order for it to have developed with the capacity to support the life of being such as ourselves.  The links here may help you clarify your own perspective on these issues.  

For a more general look at the relation between science and Western religion see "The Fate of the Cartesian Compromise" in the Contemporary Connections for Chapter 3.

Overviews

Origins (http://www.origins.org/menus/theism.html) Collection of scholarly and popular articles on the origins of the cosmos and human beings

Various Theories of Origins (http://www.religioustolerance.org/evolutio.htm) Detailed overview of the debate between supporters of evolution and supporters of creationism from ReligiousTolerance.org

The Talk.Origins Archive (http://www.talkorigins.org/) Web site devoted to collections of articles and essays on the evolution/creationism controversy

Creationism & Darwinism, Politics & Economics (http://www.friesian.com/creation.htm) Detailed discussion by Kelley Ross (Friesian School Proceedings)

Evolution vs. Creationism (http://physics.syr.edu/courses/modules/ORIGINS/origins.html) Collection of links on the debate from Edward Lipson (Syracuse University)

Creationism

Genesis (http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?passage=GEN+1&language=english&version=NASB) New American Standard Bible from BibleGateway.com

Creationism (http://www.carm.org/dictionary/dic_c-d.htm#Creationism) Definition from the CARM Dictionary of Theology

Creation Science Resource (http://www.nwcreation.net/) Searchable archive of links to numerous online essays relevant to creationism, legal cases, etc.

WWW.Creationism.org (http://www.creationism.org/) Multi-language advocacy web site for creationism

Creation and Revelation (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rossuk/) Collection of links by Christian thinker Ross A. Taylor

Answers in Genesis (http://www.answersingenesis.org/home.asp?aigHomeCountry=United+States&aigEvents=United+St... ) Web site with links to articles in defense of creationism

Institute for Creation Research: A Christ-Focused Creation Ministry (http://www.icr.org/) Collection of news articles and responses to criticisms of creationism

Evolution

AAAS Evolution Resources (http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/evolution/default.htm) Collection of links to material about current issues, the nature of the theory, responses to objections etc. from the American Association for the Advancement of Science

Science and Creationism 2nd ed. (http://www.nap.edu/books/0309064066/html/) Online book from the National Academy of Sciences against creationism; also available in html format here

Evolution by Natural Selection (http://www.derrickfarnell.org/articles/Evolution_by_Natural_Selection.pdf) Online article by Derrick Farnell

Biology links: Evolution (http://mcb.harvard.edu/BioLinks/Evolution.html) Assortment of links from the Harvard University Department of Biology

Resources (http://www.natcenscied.org/article.asp) Collection of pamphlets on evolution and against the teaching of creationism from the National Center for Science Education

Frequently Encountered Criticisms in Evolution vs. Creationism: 2002 Edition (http://vuletic.com/hume/cefec/) Collection of responses to criticisms made by creationists

Evolution (http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/e/evolutio.htm) Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy article discussing the history of the theory

The Anthropic Principle

How Physics is Revising the Argument from Design (http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/philosophy/faculty/koons/svsu.html) Discussion by Robert Koons (University of Texas) of the idea that "anthropic coincidences" revealed by science lend support to the belief in God

The Anthropic Principle (http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/rossuk/c-anthro.htm) Summary and links by Christian thinker Ross A. Taylor

Does the Anthropic Principle indicate that God exists (http://www.geocities.com/ResearchTriangle/Facility/4118/misc/anthropic.html) Overview and criticism of attempts to appeal to the anthropic principle as evidence for the existence of God by Krishna Kunchithapadam

Cosmology and Theology (http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cosmology-theology/) Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy article

The Big Bang Theory

Big Bang Cosmology (http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov/m_uni/uni_101bb1.html) Overview from NASA

Big Bang Science: exploring the origins of matter (http://hepwww.rl.ac.uk/pub/bigbang/part1.html) Discussion from the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council

Big Bang Cosmology Primer (http://cosmology.berkeley.edu/Education/IUP/Big_Bang_Primer.html) Discussion of the theory by Paul Shestople (Berkeley Cosmology Group)

Stephen Hawking, the Big Bang, and God (http://www.leaderu.com/real/ri9404/bigbang.html) Transcript of lecture by Henry "Fritz" Schaefer III given at University of Colorado, 1994

Cosmology and Culture (http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/resource/cosmo.htm) Essay tracing the history of cosmological accounts and presenting his own view of science as a spiritual practice by Joel R. Primack (UC Santa Cruz)

The Big-Bang (http://www.faithnet.freeserve.co.uk/bigbang.htm) Discussion of its compatibility with Christianity from Faithnet

The Existence of God and the Beginning of the Universe (http://www.human-nature.com/books/lifelines.html) Article by William Lane Craig (Universite Catholique de Louvain) in defense of the kalam cosmological argument for the existence of God

Religion and the State: Prayer in School? Whatever we as individuals may believe about religious issues, the question remains what place there is for religious expression in the public schools.  Here are a few hyperlinks that may serve as a starting point for using the Internet to investigate this issue.

School Prayer: A Community at War (http://www.schoolprayer.com/eduguide/current_law.html) Web site devoted to the school prayer issue; includes brief historical summary, statement of current law, pro and anti position statements, general church/state links, etc.

Religion and Prayer in U.S. Public Schools (http://www.religioustolerance.org/ps_pray.htm) Detailed overview of the issue and account of the current legal situation from ReligiousTolerance.org

School Prayer-Absolute Necessity (http://www.school-prayer.com/) Expression of view that school prayer is vitally important, especially after incidents such as that at Columbine

Pro School Prayer Position (http://www.schoolprayer.com/eduguide/positions.html#pro) Arguments from the School Prayer: A Community at War web site

The Case Against School Prayer (http://www.ffrf.org/issues/pray.html) Article by Annie Laurie Gaylor (Freedom From Religion Foundation)

FAQs about Prayer in Schools (http://www.atheists.org/schoolhouse/faqs.prayer.html) Objections by American Atheists to school prayer

Eastern Religions and Western Culture: Yoga and Meditation Though relatively few Americans consider themselves to be followers of Hinduism or Buddhism, increasing numbers are finding value in the practices of yoga and meditation.  To what extent are such exercises capable of being helpfully incorporated into Western spiritual traditions or into a secular humanist perspective?  The links below will allow you to learn more about these practices. Hindu yoga and meditation

Yoga Journal (http://www.yogajournal.com/) Online magazine with information about hatha yoga poses (with photographs), health benefits, tips on meditation, articles, etc.

Focal Point Yoga (http://www.focalpointyoga.com/) Large site with a great deal of information on yoga postures, breathing, meditation, etc.

YogaBasics (http://www.yogabasics.com/) Web site devoted to information about yoga: history, styles, benefits, advice, etc.

Yoga Anand Ashram (http://www.santosha.com/) Large site with detailed discussion of hatha yoga postures (with diagrams), breathing exercises, etc.

The American Yoga Association (http://www.americanyogaassociation.org/) Home Page of association devoted to disseminating information about yoga

Buddhist meditation

Buddhanet (http://www.buddhanet.net/budnetp.htm) Large site with a great deal of information on Buddhism, including meditation methods and instruction

Introduction to insight meditation (http://www.enabling.org/ia/vipassana/Archive/A/Amaravati/introInsightMeditation.html) Introduction from the Amaravati Buddhist Centre, UK

Vipassana.com (http://www.vipassana.com/) Online course in Theravada insight meditation with Real Player guided meditation audio files

Mindfulness in Plain English (http://www.enabling.org/ia/vipassana/Archive/G/Gunaratana/MindfulnessIPE/index.html) Online book on Theravada insight meditation by Henepola Gunaratana

Beginning meditation: a Zen primer (http://www.mkzc.org/beginzen.html) Overview of sitting posture and breathing for Zen meditation from The Maria Kannon Zen Center