Perspective on cosmos challenge
offered by theologian with a love of science

(PHILADELPHIA (April 8, 2002)--Can science divine the hand of God in the universe? Is the universe the product of design or accident? Investment tycoon Sir John Templeton wants to know and he's paying a total of $1 million to 15 scientists to try to find out, according to a weekend article in the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Nelson Rivera

And like many, including some of the scientists who've received the grant themselves, a Seminary professor with a love of science wonders aloud whether it's possible to discern scientifically whether God created the universe for a purpose connected to the notion of goodness. The Rev. Nelson Rivera, an Assistant Professor of Systematic Theology at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia (LTSP), has concentrated academically on the work of Sir Isaac Newton. He notes that Newton is better understood as a scientist than he is for his impressive credentials as a theologian of his day. Rivera, directs the Seminary's Latino Program and in September 2000 addressed the Seminary community on the historic relationship between science and faith.

Rivera notes that for centuries philosophers and scientists have tried to get an intelligible picture of the universe. "But the greatest limitation is that we are all bounded by the universe, inside of it. In order to get a complete picture, we would have to be able to step outside of it to see it from all sides, and that is impossible," Rivera says. He said true testable theories (in the scientific sense) about God and the universe "seem to dodge us time and again."

Rivera said that this latest Templeton initiative "shows a deep trust, or a kind of faith about what science can actually do or accomplish for us. It also raises questions about the nature and role of both science and religion. Does science only concern itself with facts and concrete things? Does religion only concern itself with spiritual matters?" Rivera said he believes both religion and science have something in common. "They concern themselves with what is tangible as well as what is invisible. Both activities have a strong need, in the last analysis, to make sense of the whole…"

He said also that Templeton's grant for research into God's plan for the cosmos points toward new opportunities "to bring in serious dialogue involving our most cherished beliefs, and the most challenging, if partial, conclusions about the universe, as we see it today."

But Rivera said the new research challenge "can also alert us to pitfalls that confront those of us who are never comfortable about juggling different, and sometimes contrasting, views of reality, of the place where we live, and the space and time within which our lives evolve."

Rivera received his master of divinity degree in 1987 from LTSP and holds a master of sacred theology degree from the school. He's also a Ph.D. candidate at Temple University.