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THE LAW OF THE CHURCH
Meet the American religious Sister whose canon law cases are setting some surprising precedents for lay rights - Page 9
The priest who sees Richard Dawkins’ good side The prominent atheist biologist would be amazed to hear what this UNDA philosopher thinks of him. By Robert Hiini ‘GULLIBLE’, ‘credulous’, ‘enemy of moral progress’: mindless adherents to a tragicomic ‘zombie Christ’ - a garble of outdated social mores and dangerous superstition. This is how some champions of ‘evangelical’ or ‘new’ atheism have depicted Christianity and its adherents, spreading their message on talk shows, radio programs and digital media throughout the world. Some Christians have responded in kind, wielding their own sectarian brand of self-righteousness. But Sydney-based philosopher and priest, Father Bernard Purcell is not one of those. His latest book, From Big Bang to Big Mystery: Human Origins in the Light of Creation and Evolution, was printed for a second time last year. Its treatment of some of the latest developments in science and philosophy suggests Fr Purcell has little time for “take down, drag ‘em out” debates between avowed scientists and religious apologists.
University of Notre Dame Australia philosopher Fr Brendan Purcell, whose book, From Big Bang to Big Mystery, looks at human origins in the light of creation and evolution. Fr Purcell teaches philosophy at UNDA’s Sydney campus. PHOTO: SUPPLIED
The University of Notre Dame academic says he does have a fair amount of time for the likes of Richard Dawkins and Daniel Dennett, if not for their firm conclusions. At least, Fr Purcell says, they are interested in asking the right questions.
“I have a respect for them simply because, as human beings, they are not satisfied to stay within the confines of the natural sciences,” Fr Purcell told The Record in a telephone interview from Sydney. “At times, we could say they are trespassing, going beyond
the boundaries of their science, as though their science allows them to speak about all sorts of other questions that their science doesn’t deal with. “But scientists are human beings. Even those who have an agenda which looks quite atheistic
are not satisfied with just simply ‘doing science’. “They want to know who they are and where they came from, just the same as everyone else.” The new atheists’ biggest problem, Fr Purcell says, is that Please turn to Page 7
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