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Modern Physics and Ancient Faith Paperback – Download: Adobe Reader, February 28, 2003

by Stephen M. Barr (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 149 ratings
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A considerable amount of public debate and media print has been devoted to the “war between science and religion.” In his accessible and eminently readable new book, Stephen M. Barr demonstrates that what is really at war with religion is not science itself, but a philosophy called scientific materialism. Modern Physics and Ancient Faith argues that the great discoveries of modern physics are more compatible with the central teachings of Christianity and Judaism about God, the cosmos, and the human soul than with the atheistic viewpoint of scientific materialism. Scientific materialism grew out of scientific discoveries made from the time of Copernicus up to the beginning of the twentieth century. These discoveries led many thoughtful people to the conclusion that the universe has no cause or purpose, that the human race is an accidental by-product of blind material forces, and that the ultimate reality is matter itself. Barr contends that the revolutionary discoveries of the twentieth century run counter to this line of thought. He uses five of these discoveries―the Big Bang theory, unified field theories, anthropic coincidences, Gödel’s Theorem in mathematics, and quantum theory―to cast serious doubt on the materialist’s view of the world and to give greater credence to Judeo-Christian claims about God and the universe. Written in clear language, Barr’s rigorous and fair text explains modern physics to general readers without oversimplification. Using the insights of modern physics, he reveals that modern scientific discoveries and religious faith are deeply consonant. Anyone with an interest in science and religion will find Modern Physics and Ancient Faith invaluable.

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  1. Print length
    312 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    University of Notre Dame Press
  4. Publication date
    February 28, 2003
  5. Dimensions
    9.2 x 6.42 x 1.03 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0268021988
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0268021986
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Written from the viewpoint of an accomplished physicist, this book is an invaluable contribution to the growing interest in the relationship between science and religion. The arguments are rigorously logical and the documentation is excellent.”

"Physicist Barr deploys his scientific expertise to challenge the dogmas of materialism and to assert his belief that nothing explains the order of the galaxies better than divine design."―Booklist



"Stephen M. Barr's book energizes the reader, since its philosophical positions are well argued, its writing is clear and accessible, and its religious affirmations are provocative for believers and nonbelievers alike...His responses to the cruder materialist arguments are deftly executed and highly convincing, drawing upon history, clarifying often misunderstood theological concepts and discussing the relationship of faith and reason in traditional Catholicism and Protestantism."―Christian Century



"Stephen Barr does heroic service with his book Modern Physics and Ancient Faith as a revolutionary insurgent within the intellectual hegemony of modern scientific materialism...Barr's strong and well-written arguments...open up the debate for more fundamental critiques that must necessarily come from outside the paradigm."―Crisis Magazine



"Barr's background in theology, apparent in his discussions of Thomas Aquinas, serves him well as he shows that the argument is not between religion and science per se but between religion and scientific materialism, the philosophy that sees as real only what can be measured and observed. Writing in a popular style, Barr makes both modern physics and theology understandable to the lay reader."―Library Journal

About the Author

Stephen M. Barr is professor of physics at the Bartol Research Institute, University of Delaware.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Notre Dame Press (February 28, 2003)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0268021988
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0268021986
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.02 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 9.2 x 6.42 x 1.03 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 149 ratings

About the author

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Stephen M. Barr

Stephen M. Barr

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Stephen M. Barr (born 1953) is a professor of Particle Physics in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Delaware, and a member of its Bartol Research Institute. He does research on grand unified theories, the origin of quark and lepton masses, and the cosmology of the early universe. He has authored over 140 physics research papers and the article on Grand Unified Theories for the Encyclopedia of Physics. He was elected a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the citation reading "for original contributions to grand unified theories, CP violation, and baryogenesis."

He earned his Bachelors degree from Columbia University in 1974, and Ph. D. in physics from Princeton University in 1978. He went on to do research at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Washington, and Brookhaven National Laboratory, before joining the faculty of the University of Delaware in 1987. He was elected the Director of the Bartol Research Institute of the University of Delaware in 2011.

Barr writes and lectures frequently on the relation of science and religion. Since 2000, he has served on the Editorial Advisory Board of the religious intellectual journal First Things, in which many of his articles and book reviews have appeared. His writing has also appeared in National Review, The Weekly Standard, Modern Age, The Public Interest, and Commonweal. In 2007, he was awarded the Benemerenti Medal by Pope Benedict XVI. In 2010, he was elected a member of the Academy of Catholic Theology.

There are other authors with the name Stephen M. Barr who have written books on religious subjects. The physicist Stephen M. Barr is the author only of the following books: "Modern Physics and Ancient Faith"; "A Student's Guide to Natural Science"; and "Science and Religion, The Myth of Conflict".

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
149 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Jeffrey A. Thompson
5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant book
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2010
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I heard Stephen Barr speak at the University of Iowa's Geneva Lecture Series. It was a good talk. I have a B.S. in physics and enjoyed it immensely, but even my friends with non-physics backgrounds enjoyed it too. I decided tentatively to buy his book.

The book is brilliant. I may not agree with everything he says, but he definitely gives the reader much to think about. He's not trying prove the existence of God, but demonstrate that Theism is a viable option as oppose to Scientific Materialism. He's asserts that the Catholic Church supports the theory of evolution, so he's not advocating Intelligent Design in the modern sense. He's uses a broad range of physics from the Big Bang theory, cosmological constants to quantum mechanics to show areas that pure materialism has a hard time explaining such as free will, reason, and life itself. Some of the arguments are stronger than others, but the book is always entertaining and educational. It is a great refresher course for me in physics and some areas of theology.

The book is somewhat difficult to read. I saw a Nova special on quantum theory and I would say it is about the same level of difficulty. Equations are kept to a minimum and he does a very good job of explaining some of the metaphysical implications of quantum mechanics. I think everybody should read it, but definitely every Christian who is a science teacher or researcher or college freshman taking some of the hard sciences would benefit from this book. My favorite point of Barr's is when he points out that in Genesis, the first thing God creates is light. He creates light before stars, the sun or even the moon. One may ask, where does the light come from? Barr points out in the Big Bang all there is in the beginning is electomagnetic radiation or different frequencies of light.
11 people found this helpful
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matt
5.0 out of 5 stars Modern Science supports Theism
Reviewed in the United States on July 12, 2012
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One only need give a casual skim through Time or Newsweek or watch a few hours of cable news and invariably an editorial or two, masquerading as anything but an op ed, will be about how (rational) science is superior to (irrational) religion. And of course they will trot out the (supposedly) rational scientists, who are often not scientists, but atheists materialists. It's quite common. But it is a myth in need of a funeral, and Barr's outstanding book could easily serve as the sermon to this funeral.

If you tend to think of religion as blind and irrational belief in the spaghetti monster, this book is certainly worth your consideration. If you tend to think that your religious beliefs are true, but unfounded, this book is for you. If you just want to explore the topic without irrational name-calling and false proofs, this book is also for you. Barr is no amateur. He tackles every objection that is propped up as scientific evidence against theism. He also is no jerk. He knows that it is a very good and human activity to question both tradition and religion and that anyone who follows religious dogma or "scientific" dogma blindly is not applying the gifts of either science or religion. He also knows that reason is only reasonable within a system that is not materialist. This is covered thoroughly in the section on free will and epistemology (how you know what you know).

A renowned physicist, Barr is no stranger to rational thought and discourse, and he is also a devout Christian. As shacking as that may be for some to hear, it's quite possible and also quite logical. He claims, and demonstrates time and again, that contrary to so much hot air and spilled ink claiming otherwise, belief in a God who designed the universe makes much more logical sense than materialism, which is the belief that only matter exists- no God, no gods, no souls, no afterlife. Barr shows how science actually supports the Judeo-Christian understanding of reason, free will, design, the nature of nature and man's place in nature, time and what is now termed the Big Bang.

I am not scientist, although I do read widely in the philosophy of science (and have played a scientist on stage). That said, I was able to follow all of Barr's discussion of quantum physics, the Big Bang, the anthropic coincidences, neurology, mind, entropy, Gödel's theorem and more. And it wasn't drudgery. I learned a great deal.

Other books of interest may include:  The Significance of Free Will , the masterful  The Mind of the Universe: Understanding Science and Religion  (which is perhaps THE book on the subject), the compact yet powerfully erudite  The Restitution of Man: C. S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism , A Meaningful World: How the Arts and Sciences Reveal the Genius of Nature , God and the Philosophers: The Reconciliation of Faith and Reason (Oxford Paperbacks) , The Recalcitrant Imago Dei: Human Persons and the Failure of Naturalism (Veritas) , God and the New Atheism: A Critical Response to Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens , Answering the New Atheism: Dismantling Dawkins' Case Against God , and the ever-insghtful, ever-readable masterpiece against naturalism, C.S. Lewis'  Miracles .

Enjoy! Life is so amazing considering the atoms that make you who you are have come together just this once in just this way. Mr Rogers was right: you are special! Think about that next time you get stuck in traffic with all those other atomic amalgamations.
9 people found this helpful
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Neil Kane
5.0 out of 5 stars Transcendentally Fine Book by Physicist Stephen Barr
Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2003
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Barr is a theoretical particle physicist who does research on grand unified theories and Big Bang cosmology. MODERN PHYSICS AND ANCIENT FAITH is an incisive, balanced, and powerful critique of scientific materialism. Barr brings his impressive knowledge and scientific expertise to bear on such issues as the distinction between science and materialist philosophy, the findings of physics, the nature of the Big Bang, anthropic coincidences, divergent views on Man's place in the cosmos and an extensive consideration of what the human mind is and does.
Without dumbing down the data or the insights, he expounds a vigorous intellectual assault on the myth that science somehow renders religion null and void. Modest and nuanced, this book nonetheless possesses clarity and a scope which is literally and metaphorically cosmic. Barr's book is a "must-read" for everyone interested in the complex and creative interplay between physics and faith; it is even more essential for non-scientists (like myself) who want to be informed by a professional scientist and researcher like Stephen Barr about questions pertinent to all of us in our humanity.
46 people found this helpful
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happy reader
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, Informative, and Fair-minded
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2017
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The book is very clear and easy to follow, and Professor Barr is very careful to stick to just what the evidence shows and no more or less. The book includes many interesting stories about scientists and the history of science. Debates about whether religion and science are at odds often produce more heat than light, but this calm book is very informative, while telling the story of science and religion in the last century, without any animosity. I recommend it to anyone, whether religious or not!

The latest edition has an updated preface explaining a few slight changes he would make to his claims, based on updated science.
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Darren Pereira
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book on faith and science
Reviewed in Canada on July 8, 2018
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Very accessible, thorough, and enjoyable! Highly recommended for anyone who wants to see how modern physics doesn't undermine monotheistic religious belief, but instead supports it.
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BW
5.0 out of 5 stars Super!!
Reviewed in Germany on September 11, 2013
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Alles so wire es sein soll!! Immer wieder gerne!!! Alles beschriebene traft auch genau so zu. Ist eine Empfehlung wert!
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Trevor
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting
Reviewed in Canada on July 16, 2019
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Very good so far
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