4/30 Muslims & Science in the Contemporary
Era
“Paving the Way…a
conversation with Muhammad Basil Altaie,” CP, 134-144
1.
Why does
Muhammad Altaie think modern science
findings support religion?
2.
What are the two levels of religious belief for
Altaie?
3.
What is his view on the ‘scientific signs’ in the
Quran?
4.
What does he mean by “If a blind person can make a
watch, then certainly he is not blind”?
Each student is to submit five reading reflection entries via Canvas over the course of the semester. Each journal entry is to be around 2-3 paragraphs, and make substantial points on the readings and/or raise relevant questions. It must be submitted before class. Because each class builds on the previous one, you may **not** do reading reflection entries in a batch. You need to do for one class at a time.
I indicated five dates on Canvas for reflection entries. However, if you like you can substitute another date for a reflection entry as long as the entry is submitted before the class it was written for. You may NOT submit an entry for a past class.
You must do ALL the readings for that day, not just part of the readings.
Entries should demonstrate that you have not gone through the readings superficially but have in fact given them serious thought and reflection.
The reading questions in the syllabus are to help you do efficient reading.
However, reading reflection assignment isn’t for answering the reading questions. [It is okay if you’d like to use some reading questions to reflect on the readings but the assignment isn’t about offering quick summary in response to them.]
Reading reflection entries must
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Be well-written, with special attention given to grammar and syntax,
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Have a clear train of thought, and not simply ramble on about random ideas in the readings
One way to think about how to write a reflection entry is to consider structuring it according to one or some of the following patterns:
“The author says ___________; I think this is interesting and thought-provoking because____________.”
“The author says___________________; this description is great but does not highlight ________ , which is important for the reader to be aware of because _________________.”
“Both authors in today’s readings are discussing the concept of __________. I found the first author’s approach most interesting because of the way she _________________.”
“He says __________; I think it is linked with the concept of _____________ that we discussed earlier.”
“She says ________________; I find this argument is weak because ______________.”
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Use main ideas from the readings to make a point, answer a question you find significant, or to reflect on the broader theme of this class, i.e. relation between faith, reason and science (basically: it should not just be a simple summary of the readings).