Word: godly
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...center of Collins’ arguments, which he presented over three nights as the William Belden Noble Lectures, are two different arguments for the relevance of the Deity. The first argument holds that God is the prime mover who is responsible for the universe in unknowable ways. This view posits that some force determined the measurements of the universe—such as the charge on an electron—to optimize them so humans could evolve. Cosmologists generally agree that the chance of a universe having the properties of ours seems exceedingly small. Supporters of this first conception...
...absence of positive evidence to the contrary, most scientists reply that the universe must be nothing more than a lucky accident. After all, if it had been different, humans would not be here to wonder how well-suited it is for us. Thus, the “God of physics” can do little to make religious belief any more relevant to scientists. It does not help or hinder the scientific enterprise, and does not affect the way we live our lives. This view of the Deity is therefore quite irrelevant to science...
...second conception is God as a source of moral sense, and might be termed the “God of biology.” Collins cited C. S. Lewis in his description of a common moral law that underlies the way people from all cultures try to relate to each other. Some biologists explain the common altruistic behavior of humans and other animals as a mechanism that helps preserve the species. Thus, the rules of morality stem from the need for humans to band together to preserve their genes. For example, betrayal of family members is generally considered...
This jump from innate biological altruism to a belief in God relies on thin evidence and a good helping of emotional appeal. But here is the irony: the human genome itself could be construed as the reason for moral law to which Collins refers. The same moral sense that Collins claims is God-given is actually hard-wired into our genomes. For example, Pellegrino University Professor Emeritus E. O. Wilson argues that religion is a result of evolution. Religion and its moral codes promote survival, and those humans genetically more disposed to religion seem to have survived better. Thus...
...students of science (myself included) will be persuaded that any sort of religion or faith can be justified by the genome. Collins would likely agree. His conception of religious belief is more conventional than either the “God of physics” or the “God of biology...