DEBATING SOCIETY: The Chipping Campden Debating Society met on October 28 to discuss the motion that this House believes that scientific knowledge is compatible with belief in God. The motion was proposed by Rev Dr Margaret Yee, seconded Rev Simon Oberst. They argued that science and religion complemented each other. Human life is precious and science helps us to understand the human person but that was only one perspective: there were many others. To view the world in merely physical terms would be limited. The studies by thinkers like Farrer, Polkinghorne and Greenfield show that there is compatibility.

There is nothing in scientific method which defeats belief. The past conflicts between religion and science was based on erroneous beliefs. Many churchmen were founder members of the Royal Society. The opposers, Dr Ron Bell and Mr John Sutton argued that science operates by studying objective facts, which are verifiable. The vast body of slowly accumulated scientific knowledge can only be provisional as scientific method is constantly checking. The opposers accepted the traditionally accepted concept of God but argued that there was no evidence of any divine intervention. To postulate God as the founder of the Universe would merely be to substitute one mystery with another. Darwinism removes the need for a God to explain the origin of life, nor do moral standards require a God. There is nothing in the ology that can be objectively tested and verified. There is thus a fundamental chasm between science and religion. After a lively debate the motion was carried by 36 votes to 13 with four abstentions.