 
Science
and Christianity: Conflict or Coherence?
 Book
by Henry F. Schaefer, III
Dr. "Fritz" Schaefer
is the Graham Perdue
Professor of Chemistry and the director of the Center
for
Computational Quantum Chemistry at the University of Georgia.
The Apollos Trust, 204 pp; paper, 2003
Review by Jim
Wenger
In
1973, as a young chemistry professor at the University of California-Berkeley,
Henry F. (Fritz) Schaefer became a Christian. Since 1984,
he has presented cogent lectures on science and Christianity at
various universities throughout the United States and around the
world. In this engaging book he put these lectures into print.
Schaefer is Graham Perdue Professor of Chemistry and Director of
the Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at the University
of Georgia.
This reviewer
found delight in reading the statements of prominent scientists
quoted throughout the book to build Schaefer’s
arguments. The first chapters address the question of whether it
is possible to be a scientist and a Christian. He offer numerous
examples of famous scientists who were believing Christians and
posits that science as a discipline developed in a Christian environment.
Three subsequent chapters address key topics in which science and
Christianity are often seen to be in conflict, engaging the ideas
of Stephen Hawking, Richard Dawkins and the “radical skepticism” of
postmodernism as somehow supported by quantum mechanics.
In “Science and Scientism” he confronts the philosophy
that only the methods of the natural sciences can be used to ascertain
knowledge. Skillfully developed are his personal thoughts
which address the perplexing questions which keep many from accepting
Christian beliefs. The final chapters, his own “spiritual
journey,” reveal the intensely personal way in which Christianity
is integrated into all of his life.
Each chapter of
this enjoyable book can be read independently. Schaeffer
shows humor and his own personality, and demonstrates respect for
those who believe differently while making no apologies for his own
viewpoints. The coherence of science and Christianity in the life
of “Fritz” Schaefer is clear. And in this compelling
presentation he gives much to ponder for those who believe that science
and Christianity are basically at odds.
*
* *
Dr. Jim Wenger
is the Christian Leadership Ministries director for South Carolina. He
previously was professor of InterCultural Studies and World
Religions at Columbia International University.
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