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Science and Prayer
Can science tell us whether
prayer works? Does faith need evidence?
A discussion led by theologian Nancey Murphy,
professor of Christian philosophy at Fuller
Theological Seminary, and John Chibnall,
professor of psychiatry in the School of
Medicine at Saint Louis University.
Date: Thursday, Dec. 7, 2006
Time: 7 p.m.
New location: School of
Business Auditorium, 1015 Floyd Ave.
Recently, major studies have sought to answer
the question of whether intercessory prayer has
any measurable effect on hospitalized patients.
Published in two leading medical journals, these
studies failed to show any significant positive
impact of such prayer. Murphy and Chibnall will
discuss the fundamental questions of studies
such as these: Can we — should we — submit
matters of faith to the tests of science? What
harm or good is done by such studies? Can the
effects of prayer to a supernatural being
actually be studied empirically? Can scientists
interested in this topic truly agree on the
nature of prayer in order to study it? This
evening will give you — whether you are a
person of faith or not — a new appreciation
for the possible roles and boundaries of faith
and science. Murphy is one of the leading voices
in the contemporary science and religion
dialogue, and Chibnall is one of the most
coherent voices on the question of scientific
studies of prayer.
Blogs and feedback
Resources
Access reading materials for each event
through VCU
Libraries.
Featured speakers
Meet Nancey Murphy
Nancey Murphy is professor of Christian
philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary in
Pasadena, Calif. Her first book, “Theology in
the Age of Scientific Reasoning” (1990), won
prizes from both the American Academy of
Religion and the Templeton Foundation. Her most
recent book, with Warren Brown and Newton Malony,
“Whatever Happened to the Soul?” (1998) was
awarded the 1999 Prize for Outstanding Books in
Theology and the Natural Sciences from the
Templeton Foundation. She also is co-author with
George F.R. Ellis of “On the Moral Nature of
the Universe: Theology, Cosmology, and Ethics”
(1996). Murphy is a member of the board of
directors of the Center for Theology and the
Natural Sciences in Berkeley, Calif., and an
ordained minister in the Church of the Brethren.
Learn
more.
Meet John T. Chibnall
John T. Chibnall is a professor of psychiatry in
the School of Medicine at Saint Louis University
in St. Louis, Mo. He received his doctorate in
applied social psychology from Saint Louis
University. Chibnall is the author of more than
90 research publications on the social and
emotional aspects of medicine and illness,
including the role of spirituality and religion
in the medical encounter and illness experience.
He has been an invited speaker on the topic of
religion in medicine at universities,
professional conferences and community
organizations throughout the Midwest, and was
instrumental in the decision to include
spiritual aspects of health care in the School
of Medicine curriculum at SLU. Chibnall’s
article in the Archives of Internal Medicine on
the problems of conducting scientific studies of
intercessory prayer, “Experiments on Distant
Intercessory Prayer: God, Science and the Lesson
of Massah” is a notably thought-provoking
examination of this contentious topic.
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