Apr 25, 2023 03:48 PM
(This post was last modified: Apr 25, 2023 07:04 PM by C C.)
The notion of endemic conflict between science & Christianity is a myth
https://www.irishtimes.com/science/2023/...is-a-myth/
INTRO (William Reville): Many people think science and Christianity have always and inevitably been at loggerheads. But this impression grossly misinterprets the truth of the situation as described by Nicholas Spencer in his just-published book "Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science and Religion", and by social historian Rodney Stark in "Bearing false Witness" (2016).
In fact, one respectable hypothesis claims the reason modern science arose in Europe in the 15th-17th centuries was because Europe was Christian.
I outlined this hypothesis in my column in early January and was taken to task last month by Prof David McConnell, fellow emeritus in genetics at Trinity College Dublin and honorary president of the Humanist Association of Ireland.
This hypothesis is based on the Christian concept of a rational/consistent God who created an orderly universe understandable by human reasoning and worthy of investigation. Of course, Muslim and Jewish concepts of God are similar. The hypothesis is logical and worthy of consideration, although it cannot be proved right or wrong.
This Christianity origin-of-modern-science hypothesis has a long history with some distinguished scientific supporters, such as philosopher and mathematician Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), co-author with Bertrand Russell of "Principia Mathematica" (1910-1913).
He also proposed that images of God/creation in non-European faiths were too impersonal or irrational to have sustained science, an opinion shared by sociobiologist EO Wilson (1929-2021). John Polkinghorne (1930-2020), professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University, who played an important role in discovering the quark, also supported this hypothesis... (MORE - details)
https://www.irishtimes.com/science/2023/...is-a-myth/
INTRO (William Reville): Many people think science and Christianity have always and inevitably been at loggerheads. But this impression grossly misinterprets the truth of the situation as described by Nicholas Spencer in his just-published book "Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science and Religion", and by social historian Rodney Stark in "Bearing false Witness" (2016).
In fact, one respectable hypothesis claims the reason modern science arose in Europe in the 15th-17th centuries was because Europe was Christian.
I outlined this hypothesis in my column in early January and was taken to task last month by Prof David McConnell, fellow emeritus in genetics at Trinity College Dublin and honorary president of the Humanist Association of Ireland.
This hypothesis is based on the Christian concept of a rational/consistent God who created an orderly universe understandable by human reasoning and worthy of investigation. Of course, Muslim and Jewish concepts of God are similar. The hypothesis is logical and worthy of consideration, although it cannot be proved right or wrong.
This Christianity origin-of-modern-science hypothesis has a long history with some distinguished scientific supporters, such as philosopher and mathematician Alfred North Whitehead (1861–1947), co-author with Bertrand Russell of "Principia Mathematica" (1910-1913).
He also proposed that images of God/creation in non-European faiths were too impersonal or irrational to have sustained science, an opinion shared by sociobiologist EO Wilson (1929-2021). John Polkinghorne (1930-2020), professor of mathematical physics at Cambridge University, who played an important role in discovering the quark, also supported this hypothesis... (MORE - details)
