My Money Is On The Jesuit

Catholic and Atheist to Debate Compatibility of Faith and Scientific Reasoning

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture at the College of the Holy Cross will sponsor a Catholic/Atheist discussion, “Contemporary Physics and Christian Faith: Conflict or Consonance?” on Monday, March 23 at 2 p.m. in Rehm Library. The event is free and open to the public.

Rev. Paul A. Schweitzer, S.J., a Holy Cross alumnus and professor of mathematics at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and Matthew Koss, associate professor of physics at Holy Cross, will try to understand each other's reasons and beliefs about a God who intervenes in the laws of nature.

Fr. Schweitzer has a long-held interest in the relationship of the physics of cosmology and quantum theory to Christian faith. For 30 years, he has defended the position that the indeterminacy of quantum mechanics combined with the theory of chaos show both “how God can act in the world without violating the laws of nature he created, and in a certain sense how we humans can have free will,” he says.

While Koss acknowledges that God could exist without violating the laws of physics, he does not believe that scientific reasoning is compatible with divine action.

“It seems that even though some of a proposed god's actions could be compatible with fundamental laws of physics,” explains Koss. “Claims of virgin birth or resurrections violate some equally important emergent laws of nature and we can find better explanations without reference to God or gods."

Fr. Schweitzer ‘58, received an honorary doctorate from Holy Cross in 1983. He also holds degrees from Princeton University, Weston College and Weston School of Theology. A professor at Pontifical Catholic University since 1971, he has also taught at the University of Notre Dame, Fairfield University, Boston College, Northwestern University, Harvard, and the University of Strasbourg.

Prior to joining the Holy Cross faculty in 2000, Koss spent a decade conducting research and teaching in the materials science and engineering department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He holds a B.S. from Vassar College and a Ph.D. in experimental condensed matter physics from Tufts University.

To learn more about this program and other Center for Religion, Ethics and Culture events, visit www.holycross.edu/crec.