God and Big Bang Theory co-exist, prof says

16 March 2017

Appears in: Archdiocesan News

It’s OK, you don’t have to choose between believing in God and in evolution.

That’s the message Denis Lamoureux has for young people in his new book, Evolution: Scripture and Nature Say Yes!

The book is based on Lamoureux’s lectures, and the science and religion course he’s been teaching at St. Joseph’s College since 1997.

“You don’t have to go A or B. There are a lot of different middle ground positions whereby you can fully embrace your religious faith and fully embrace the best of science including biological evolution,” said Lamoureux who has PhD degrees in biology and theology.

Lamoureux will be celebrating the release of his book on March 23 from 7 to 8:30 pm at St. Joseph’s College.

Denis Lamoureux

All attendees will receive a free, signed book. Those who are interested are asked to RSVP to sjcdean@ualberta.ca.

For Lamoureux, the Big Bang – the theory that an explosion started the creation of the universe – and creationism – that God created the world in six days are not mutually exclusive.

“Did it just explode all by itself, and it’s an atheistic world, or is there a God behind it? There’s no proof at this level. It’s what step do you take? I take a step of faith that I think God is behind it and through my scientific experience, the more I see the beauty, the functionality and the complexity, the more I go ‘This looks clever. This looks like it’s been loaded’,” Lamoureux said.

“The moment you say ‘It’s just a happy accident’, you have a faith just like me. And I would say I think the most reasonable step of faith is to suggest there is some sort of mind behind it all.”

He said God’s handiwork can be seen in everything from the expanses of space, the beauty of nature and humankind itself.

“It’s like everything has been set up for us to evolve, maybe that’s the way God made it, just right for us to emerge,” Lamoureux said. “If some of these things didn’t happen, we wouldn’t be here.”

Lamoureux said he wrote the book for high school and first-year university students who are struggling with science and faith, as he did.

“This is the book I wish I would have had, say in Grade 12, before showing up at university and within just four months … by Christmas time I was done with church simply because I was trapped in this ‘either-or’ thinking,” said Lamoureux, who returned to his Catholic faith after seven years as an atheist.

“When you come to university and do some science courses, the science will be absolutely amazing, but don’t think for a second that you have to give up your Catholic faith,” Lamoureux said. “You can remain a very devout Christian and you can embrace the best of science.”