EXPERIENCING AND INTERPRETING NATURE IN SCIENCE AND RELIGION

I trace three paths from nature to religious interpretation. The first starts from religious experience in the context of nature; examples a re drawn from nature poets, reflective scientists, and exponents of cr eation spirituality. The second, ''Natural Theology,'' uses scientific findings concerning cosmology or evolution to develop an argument fro m design-or alternatively to defend evolutionary naturalism. The third , ''Theology of Nature,'' starts from traditional religious beliefs ab out God and human nature and reformulates them in the light of current science. I point to examples of each of these paths in papers by othe r participants in this symposium, and suggest that all three paths can contribute to the task of relating science and religion today.