David K. Nartonis, Ph.D., of the Committee on Publication staff of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, has been writing and speaking to academic audiences. In July 1997, the Journal reported on a conference entitled "Naturalism, Theism, and the Scientific Enterprise," where Dr. Nartonis spoke on the relation between science and religion. Since then, his audiences have included scholars gathered to consider the history of the philosophy of science, and engineers and theologians considering the impact of artificial intelligence on religious concepts of identity. Because of his participation in the dialogue between science and religion, the Journal asked Dr. Nartonis to comment on the relation of Christian Science to the modern natural sciences.
Today there are many opportunities to build bridges of mutual understanding between Christian Scientists and those in the modern natural sciences. Part of this process is to seek common ground while honestly acknowledging differences. As for similarities, we might observe that both the natural sciences and Christian Science view the world as governed by law and not by the capricious action of a humanlike god or gods. Both the natural sciences and Christian Science demand practical proof of what is asserted to be true. Also, reason and logic play a central role in Christian Science and the natural sciences. While a number of other similarities could also be mentioned, let's look at these three and then consider at least one significant difference.
In the natural sciences, law is associated with the regular action of cause and effect in physical or biological systems. Such laws are tempered by the underlying randomness of quantum processes and limited by the incalculable complexity of the material world.
