When Religious Faith Collides with Science: A Navigational Guide

A 2014 Gallup Poll indicated that 26 percent of Americans believe that humans came into existence less than 10000 years ago with a much larger 37 percent believing the world was created in six 24-hour days. Those percentages represent around 83 million and 118 million people respectively suggesting these to be ideas that resonate with a large swath of the population. Given the prevalence of such thinking the question looms Is it possible that so many people could be wrong or is science simply mistaken about some of these matters? This book is very much about the importance process plays in the conclusions that are reachable with Jan Long proposing that process itself can answer such questions doing so in a way that offers credibility. He proposes that process entails a set of well-established rules for how knowledge is acquired and these can help guide the formation of a sacred construct about beginnings. In the final analysis it is a process that seeks to replace dogmatic thinking with humble and tentative expressions about that which is knowable about the many mysteries of reality that convey to sentient beings awe and wonder. Written with devotion to details and comprehension to rational evidence When Religious Faith Collides with Science creates a framework for answering important questions for the evangelical mind. The truth is when you are no longer making up your mind on a purely scientific or religious basis it becomes a matter of life and how an individual wishes to live. This book is a guidebook to that adventure. --T. Joe Willey Retired Professor of Neuroscience the School of Medicine Loma Linda University; former conductor of neuroscience research The Brain Research Institute UCLA [Long] has assembled a truly monumental amount of material from philosophical humanistic and scientific perspectives to evaluate what often happens when religious faith collides with science. His approach to evaluating and navigating the conflict avoids the extremes that are often presented when this topic is considered. The contents of this volume should be of interest to serious students in the social and physical sciences philosophy theology and the history of ideas. --R. E. Taylor Emeritus Professor of Anthropology University of California Riverside Precisely because author Long is a layperson in science and religion this disclosive journey of a broadly informed fundamentalist-turned-pragmatist can illumine a path being trod by many. Although a host of topics in philosophy history and hermeneutics are addressed in Longs quest dont expect cutting-edge grappling so much as thoughtful common-sense reflection by a fellow Christian traveler. --James W. Walters Professor of Religion School of Religion; Director Humanities Program Loma Linda University Jan M. Long BS MHA JD held for a number of years a faculty position at Loma Linda University and was an Adjunct Professor at the University of LaVerne. He presently operates in an administrative capacity for the County of Riverside involving research and development and fiscal management. In addition to being well versed on the subject of this writing he consulted with a number of academic scientists so as to sharpen accuracy and add nuance to the discussion.