Author

Richard Smith

Richard Smith is a physician in Rhode Island. He was a lifelong Christian until he underwent a most unexpected deconversion in 2011 at the age of 54.

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Scientist-Believers: Troublesome Routes Across the Compatibility Chasm —( Richard Smith )

As part of my coming out as an atheist, the pastor at my church challenged me to review the work of believer scientists, to look at how they had found Christianity compatible with their scientific work. What follows is my best shot, as a layman, at a difficult subject, based on careful thought and reflection. Its value, if any, is in showing how some well-known scientist-believers (John Polkinghorne, William Pollard, and Francis Collins) make the compatibility arguments in ways they would never accept in their scientific day jobs, and end up tangled up in, or in downright conflict with, the methods of science and the claims of theism.

Published: 2/24/2013