Modern Physics and Ancient Faith PDF

## Modern Physics and Ancient Faith **Stephen M. Barr** **Contents** **Preface (2013)** **Acknowledgments** **Part I: The Conflict Between Religion and Materialism** 1. **The Materialist Creed** 2. **Materialism as an Anti-Religious Mythology** 3. **Scientific Materialism and Nature** - The...

## Modern Physics and Ancient Faith **Stephen M. Barr** **Contents** **Preface (2013)** **Acknowledgments** **Part I: The Conflict Between Religion and Materialism** 1. **The Materialist Creed** 2. **Materialism as an Anti-Religious Mythology** 3. **Scientific Materialism and Nature** - The Scientific Materialist's View of Nature - Five Plot Twists - A New Story and a New Moral **Part II: In the Beginning** 4. **The Expectations** 5. **How Things Looked One Hundred Years Ago** 6. **The Big Bang** - The Discovery of the Big Bang - Attempts to Avoid the Big Bang - The Big Bang Confirmed 7. **Was the Big Bang Really the Beginning?** - The Universe in the Standard Big Bang Model - The Bouncing Universe Scenario - The Baby Universes Scenario - The Eternal Inflation Scenario 8. **What If the Big Bang Was Not the Beginning?** This book examines the conflict between religion and materialism. It argues that materialism is based on misunderstandings and bad history, and that science actually supports the existence of God. It also argues that religion is not a substitute for rational inquiry. The book explores the history of the conflict between religion and science, and examines the arguments for and against materialism. **Chapter 1: The Materialist Creed** This chapter describes the materialist worldview, which holds that only matter exists. It argues that materialism is a form of pseudo-knowledge, and that its claims to be the only rational worldview are based on misunderstandings. The author also argues that materialism is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of what religious dogmas are. **Chapter 2: Materialism as an Anti-Religious Mythology** This chapter critiques the common anti-religious arguments often presented in the name of materialism. It argues that these arguments are based on misunderstandings about the history and nature of religion and science. The author points out that many great scientists have been religious, and that the idea that religion is incompatible with science is not supported by the evidence. **Chapter 3: Scientific Materialism and Nature** This chapter argues that scientific discoveries actually support the existence of God. The author presents the case for intelligent design, arguing that the universe is too complex and finely-tuned to be the result of chance. He also argues that the evidence for the Big Bang supports the idea that the universe had a beginning, which is incompatible with the materialist worldview.