Where Science & Spirituality Meet – Reading list

1) The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality, Dalai Lama

**”This breathtakingly personal examination is a tribute to the Dalai Lama’s teachers—both of science and spirituality. The legacy of this book is a vision of the world in which our different approaches to understanding ourselves, our universe, and one another can be brought together in the service of humanity.”

2) On the Mystery of Being: Contemporary Insights on the Convergence of Science and Spirituality, ed.by  Zaya Benazzo  (Editor), Maurizio Benazzo  (Editor), Michael A. Singer  (Afterword), Deepak Chopra MD (Foreword)

**A very large and comprehensive non-denominational anthology of how science intersects and interacts with spirituality and religion.

3) When Science Meets Religion: Enemies, Strangers, or Partners? by Ian G. Barbour

https://smile.amazon.com/When-Science-Meets-Religion-Strangers/dp/006060381X/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8**A short (180 pages) but thorough account of the historical relationship between the development of science in the West in the context of Christian culture and religion. Straightforward but scholarly. This book will take some effort, but it’s worth it. Barbour’s books definitely use a Christian understanding of religion.

4) Religion and Science (Gifford Lectures Series Book 1) Revised, Subsequent Edition, Kindle Edition, by Ian G. Barbour  https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AV68GYA/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_1
**These lectures by the same author cover similar ground to (3) above. This is an expanded and revised edition of the original print book and is only available as a Kindle book. The original print version is available as well: https://smile.amazon.com/Religion-Science-Gifford-Lectures-1989-1991/dp/0060603836/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

5) AMORAL SCIENCE & BRAINLESS RELIGION Incompatible or Complementary?: is your mind open or closed? by Ernest Kinnie PhD

** I haven’t read this book, but this personalized narrative may be a viable alternative for those who have no patience with academically-oriented or christian-oriented writing. Available in Kindle or print.

6) Mind & Cosmos: Why the Materialist Neo-DarwinianConception of Nature is Almost Certainly False, by Thomas Nagel

7) The View From Nowhere  Revised Edition, by Thomas Nagel

**Thomas Nagel is one of the most respected philosophers in the world at this time. He is a professor at NYU. His books are challenging but highly rewarding. The first book (Mind and Cosmos) is about reductionism in the biological sciences, specifically in evolutionary theory. The second book (View from Nowhere) is about reductionism in philosophy. He does not write from a christian point of view.

8) A John Haught Reader: Essential Writings on Science and Faith, by John Haught

**Haught is probably the best known American writer dealing with the issue of religion and science. He is a professor of Christian theology but his view of religion does not depend on a specifically Christian point of view. Many of his early books deal with evolutionary theory and its relationship to different themes in theology.

9) The Territories of Science and Religion, by Peter Harrison

**Written by a historian of science not a theologian, so this may appeal more to some. It traces the history of how science developed within the christian culture of the West, but as a historian he does his best not to grant either science or religion a position of superiority.

From Christine Van Pool:
I have tapped into different literature on the subject of science and religion. One of my favorite books is by Fransis S. Collins. Dr. Collins is a physician-geneticist who led the Human Genome Project.  He is also the director of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.  He found BioLogos (https://biologos.org/about-us#our-mission).  On Thursday he was awarded a prestigious Templeton Prize and he received congratulatory remarks from presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama. He wrote The Language of God:: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief (https://www.amazon.com/Language-God-Scientist-Presents-Evidence/dp/1416542744).  My interpretation of Collins is that God beautifully wrote our DNA and he is deeply entrenched in our very cells.  He is a practicing Christian and one of the best genists in the world. He has no problem combining God, faith, and science.