Cosmic Chemistry: Do God and Science Mix?

by John C. Lennox

Publisher:

Lion Books

, 2021

Overview

"In this accessible and engaging introduction, [John Lennox] guides us through the great debates about science and faith, and offers incisive assessments of the issues." Alister McGrath, Professor of Science and Religion, University of Oxford

Is the rigorous pursuit of scientific knowledge really compatible with a sincere faith in God?

Building on the arguments put forward in God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God?, Prof John Lennox examines afresh the plausibility of a Christian theistic worldview in the light of some of the latest developments in scientific understanding. Prof Lennox focuses on the areas of evolutionary theory, the origins of life and the universe, and the concepts of mind and consciousness to provide a detailed and compelling introduction to the science and religion debate. He also offers his own reasoning as to why he continues to be convinced by a Christian approach to explaining these phenomena.

Robust in its reasoning, but respectful in tone, this book is vital reading for anyone exploring the relationship between science and God.

Contents

CONTENTS
Preface
PART 1 Surveying the Landscape
1. Introduction 10
2. Matters of Evidence and Faith 19
3. A Historical Perspective: The Forgotten Roots of Science and Arguments from Design 26
PART 2 Science and Explanation
4. Science, its Presuppositions, Scope, and Methodology 62
5. Worldviews and Their Relation to Science: Naturalism and its Shortcomings 87
6. Theism and its Relationship to Science: God of Gaps, Complexity of God, and Miracles 110
PART 3 Understanding the Universe and Life
7. Understanding the Universe: The Beginning and Fine-Tuning 140
8. The Wonder of the Living World 157
9. The Genetic Code 170
10. A Matter of Information 186
11. Algorithmic Information Theory 192
12. Life’s Solution: Self-Organization? 207
PART 4 The Modern Synthesis
13. Life’s Solution: Evolution? 218
14. Evolution: Asking Hard Questions 231
15. The Nature and Scope of Evolution 241
16. Natural Selection 260
17. The Edge of Evolution 271
18. The Mathematics of Evolution 280
PART 5 The Information Age
19. Systems Biology 298
20. The Origin of Information: A Word-Based World 315
21. Brain, Mind, and the Quantum World 348
Epilogue: Beyond Science But Not Beyond Reason 365
Notes 375
Index 395

Praise for Cosmic Chemistry

“In this accessible and engaging introduction, [John Lennox] guides us through the great debates about science and faith, and offers incisive assessments of the issues.” Alister McGrath, Professor of Science and Religion, University of Oxford

“In a century when all the fields of science and technology converge in biology, the effort to confront the deeper meaning of life from a historical and philosophical perspective is more relevant than ever before. This book is a timely and excellent contribution to the conversation.” Sonia Contera, Professor of Biological Physics, University of Oxford

“Anyone who has understood the immense difficulties that reductionism creates in science must be impressed with the care with which the author outlines and dissects the arguments. You don’t have to be a theist to benefit from the book. Come to it with an open mind, and enjoy its challenges.” Denis Noble, Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford, CBE, FRS

“The scholarship is fine-grained, integrating dozens of fields. Best of all is the tour de force of new developments in evolutionary biology that have largely gone unreported, backed by a rich historical context running back to the ancient Greeks.” Perry Marshall, author of Evolution 2.0, founder of the $10 million Evolution 2.0 Prize

“Engagingly written […] Lennox gives a totally unique view of the physical and logical universe from his perspective as a mathematician and a Christian.” Cheryl E. Praeger, Emeritus Professor of Mathematics, University of Western Australia

“If there could be one book in the arsenal for the college-bound faithful, the apologist, or the ponderer of the complex questions of science and faith, this is the text.” James M. Tour, Professor of Chemistry, Rice University

Product Details

• Title: Cosmic Chemistry: Do God and Science Mix?
• Author: John C. Lennox
• Publisher: Lion Books
• Print Publication Date: 2021
• Logos Release Date: 2021
• Pages: 400
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Ebook
• ISBNs: 9780745981413, 9780745981406, 0745981402, 0745981410
• Resource ID: LLS:9780745981413
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-04-22T22:44:19Z

About John C. Lennox

John Lennox is a mathematician, author, apologist, and philosopher of science. He is a Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and a Fellow in Mathematics and Philosophy of Science at Green Templeton College. He is the author of numerous books on the relationship between science and religion. He is also well known for his debates on the same subject.