2. MY PROMISE
• You came here for a reason; an answer
• I will be providing you with the tools necessary to determine
an answer to an eon old question
• So what’s the go with science and religion?
3. AN OUTLINE
Religious Philosophers:
• Anselm
• St. Thomas Aquinas
• Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Scientists:
• Charles Darwin
• Albert Einstein
• Stephen Hawkings
4. THE PROPOSITION
• Science rejects the existence of a God as religion lacks
evidence to support this implausible claim – Is this true?
• The next 7 or so minutes will allow you to fully indulge
yourself in scientists and religious philosophers viewpoints
– how this effects the answer to this question.
5. RELIGION AND SCIENCE
• Religion + Science ≠ Conflict
• Idea of a coin – heads science, tails religion
• Disciplines have strong interrelations and bonds
8. LACK OF EVIDENCE?
• Religion lacks physical, empirical evidence according to
science
• Why the existence of God is implausible?
• Confucius, a Chinese religious philosopher, once stated
that….
• Can the proposition finally be argued?
10. 1. ANSELM VS. DARWIN
Anselm:
• Ontological argument = greatest being must exist in reality and
thought
• Rejected by scientists; just wordy and although deductive, lacks
logic
Charles Darwin:
• Theorised Evolutionary Process – stating that for his theory to
be true, existence of God must be false
• Conflict between two different mediums evident
13. 2. AQUINAS VS. EINSTEIN
Aquinas:
• Used ‘empirical’ evidence within the sensory/ material world
to validate the existence of God…
14. Einstein:
• Rejected notion of a personal God – Christian God is a personal God
• Believed answers of own existence and other philosophical questions
could be found within our universe – cosmos
• Aquinas’ proofs although logical and deductive, failed to recognise
scientific explanation regarding these
2. AQUINAS VS. EINSTEIN
17. Chardin:
• Attempted to utilise both scientific and religious aspects to
create new theology
• Believed that evolution was the process of a God; known as
Theistic Evolution
• Explicitly demonstrated a co-existing relationship for
science and religion.
3. CHARDIN VS. HAWKING
19. CHARDIN VS. HAWKING
Hawking:
• Modern day science offers a more plausible and reasonable
explanation
• “No” to the existence of a God
• Closed mind to the idea of a harmonious relationship
existing between science and religion
22. SO WHAT?
• What do these viewpoints actually do?
• Allow us to take into account certain factors – provide us
with different tools existing within the same toolbox
• The scoring of the debate was my own personal opinion –
this score system had no actual weight of value
• Neither Religion or Science can actually prove or disprove
the existence of a God
• One final tool before you make up your mind
23. THE FINAL TOOL
Imagine if God was proven to exist:
• Live a life full of regret, rules; would regret all mistakes and
blasphemy
• Feel controlled and a restrained sense of freedom
24. THE FINAL TOOL
Imagine if God was proven to be nonexistent:
• Life would feel purposeless; depressive and meaningless
• One contemporary philosopher said that life would
feel like a dandelion seed awaiting to be planted;
buried in the dirt and just laying there for an eternity.
25. THE ANSWER
• My belief = the answer to the question ‘Does God Exist?’
should remain unknown – I don’t know
• Do we really want to know?
• God’s existence or non-existence is entirely
subjective
• Nothing proves or disproves the existence of a
God
26. THANK YOU
• You now have the tools to decide for yourself
“…there are things known and there are things unknown,
and in between are the doors of perception…”
27. This PowerPoint is available from:
Please leave auditorium from the appropriate exits
Copyright and disclaimer 2015: Lies and Truths of Science
and Religion: Does God Exist?; Matthew McEwan.
Thank you again for your time.
