Science and Religion: Christian and Muslim Perspectives provides a record of the 2009 Building Bridges seminar, a process of theological dialogue between leading Christian and Muslim scholars convened by then Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams, who contributes a preface and an afterword to this volume. Essays in the first part of the volume survey some of the key issues in the relationship to science of Christianity and Islam, past and present. The second part of the volume presents a selection of texts relevant to the interface between religion and science, together with illuminating commentary. Along with discussion of some key religious thinkers, the legacy of Charles Darwin is also considered. In his preface, Rowan Williams speaks of the “challenging and intriguing conversation” about the relationship between religion and science, noting that it “has great significance for the whole of our global civilization.” This volume gives a fascinating record of some of the highlights of this particular conversation between Muslim and Christian scholars, held in Istanbul in 2009.
download | PDF of the book (provided by Georgetown University Press)
Table of Contents
- Introduction | David Marshall
- Building Bridges in Istanbul | Rowan Williams
Part I: Surveys
- Science and the Christian Tradition: A Brief Overview | John Hedley Brooke
- Science and Religion in the History of Islam | Ahmad Dallal
- Science and Religious Belief in the Modern World: Challenges and Opportunities | Denis Alexander
Part II: Texts and Commentaries
Biblical Text
- "Commentary" | Ellen F. Davis
- "What is Creation? Subtle Insights from Genesis 1 Concerning the Order of the World" | Michael Welker
Qur'anic Texts
- "Commentary" | Mustansir Mir
Classical Christian Texts
- "Commentary: Science and Religion in the Classical Christian Tradition" | Emmanuel Clapsis
Classical Islamic Texts
- "Commentary: The Importance of al-Ghazali and Ibn Rushd in the History of Islamic Discourse on Religion and Science" | Osman Bakar
Charles Darwin
- "Introduction to Darwin and the Selected Texts" | John Hedley Brooke
- "Early Arabic Views of Darwin" | Marwa Elshakry
Modern Islamic Texts
- "Introduction to Qutb and al-Sha'rawi" | Sherine Hamdy
Pope John Paul II
- "Commentary" | Celia Deane-Drummond
Afterword | Rowan Williams