Science, Religion, and Hans Kung

Hans Kung, The Beginning of All Things: Science and Religion. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans, 2007.The very first chapter makes it clear that Hans Kung admires science, but questions the positivism and reductionism of some scientists that would make religion and metaphysics seem unnecessary. He presents a friendly confrontation between religion and science in a very comprehensive though short book that is indispensable reading for anyone interested in the subject of science and religion.One of the strengths of the book is the way in which Kung presents the reasonableness of belief in God while not detracting from the value of scientific knowledge. Like many others before him, he concludes that there are no proofs for or against God. He turns rather to Pascal's wager, which is a challenge, he says, "to make it clear that in the question of the existence or nonexistence of God, what is asked for is not a judgment of pure reason but a decision of the whole person, w
hich cannot be proved by reason but can be made rationally responsible." (p. 58) Science does not make decisions on the reality of God but human beings are called on to use practical reason in making that determination. "So answers are to be found not by the theoretical operations of pure reason, and not by irrational feelings and mere moods, but rather on the basis of a trusting, rationally responsible fundamental decision and fundamental attitude." (p. 81)Kung acknowledged the scientific predictions of how our solar system will end in conflagration. He maintains his position of reasonable religion without appealing to an afterlife. His personal statement is one I find to be very moving. "I personally have accepted Blaise Pascal's 'wager' and have put my stake on God and the infinite against the void and nothingness - not on the basis of calculation of probability or mathematical logic but on the basis of a rational trust.... Of course, I am aware of the abiding risk of thi
s wager in unconditional trust, but I am convinced that even if I lose this wager in death, I will have lost nothing for my life; at all events, I will have lived a better, happier, more meaningful life than if I had not had hope." (pp. 205-206)For a review of key scientific ideas with a positive and hopeful critique from a believer, one can find no better choice than this book.

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