Richard Dawkins has taught zoology for several decades at the universities of Oxford and California. Appointed as the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, his popular books have helped many to understand the process of evolution through natural selection.

He is also a celebrated proponent of atheism and he sees faith as a "cop out." This lecture looks at Dawkins' work with admiration for his achievement in explaining evolution but with a critical assessment of his approach to faith. The purpose of the lecture is to show that not only can there be a synthesis between science and faith, but that science provides us with the opportunity to see more deeply the wonder of the wisdom of God.

Provided here, for the convenience of those who came to this lecture, is the latest version of the text of the notes that I used. They are not for publication at present but I will write them up for publication soon.

Related Links

For convenience, I have added below links to some material that is relevant to the lecture.

• The World of Richard Dawkins - an independent website which Dawkins himself describes as "a superb resource".
• Faith Pamphlets "Reasons for Believing". The pamphlet "Can we be sure God exists?" is particularly relevant to the lecture. Faith Magazine and Faith Pamphlets can be downloaded free of charge or ordered for a small cost if you wish to have a printed copy.
• Evolution on the web for biology students gives links to various sites explaining evolution and answering objections.
• Wikipedia article on DNA if you want to learn more about DNA.
• Wikipedia article on the Big Bang if you want to learn more about the origin of the universe.
• The Big Bang Timeline - a graphical representation of the development of the universe.