What is the relationship between science, philosophy, and theology? In these articles one finds a more academic analysis, written by people who have training in science and either philosophy or theology. These articles tend to be more academic; for a more immediate, personal take, go to the Personal Reflections section.
Across the Universe: Happy Birthday to Us
Article (blog post) 600 words General audiences Vatican Observatory Director Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J. writes on The Catholic Astronomer blog about the 125th birthday of the Vatican Observatory, and the history that lead to its foundation by Pope Leo XIII. Reflecting on that history, Br. Consolmagno writes: But our cosmological ideas moved from Copernicus’ fixed sun, through Kepler’s elliptical orbits, to Kant’s idea of galaxies as island universes and Herschel’s measurement of our place in the Milky Way. Our modern speculations about multiple universes carry as much a tinge of science fiction as of natural philosophy. One lesson I hope we’ve learned is that no modern cosmology is a good basis for theological doctrine, simply because no matter how well founded our astronomy is we can expect it will eventually go out of date. Click here to read the full article on The Catholic Astronomer – the blog of the Vatican Observatory Foundation.
The Proofs for God’s Existence – St. John Paul II
Article 1200 words General audiences Pope John Paul II in a July 1985 General Audience discusses evidence for the existence of God to be found in observing the created universe. John Paul notes that such evidence is not the same as scientific evidence: In speaking of the existence of God we should underline that we are not speaking of proofs in the sense implied by the experimental sciences. Scientific proofs in the modern sense of the word are valid only for things perceptible to the senses, since it is only on such things that scientific instruments of investigation can be used. To desire a scientific proof of God would be equivalent to lowering God to the level of the beings of our world, and we would therefore be mistaken methodologically in regard to what God is. Science must recognize its limits and its inability to reach the existence of God. It can neither affirm nor deny his existence. However, he … Continue reading →
James Clerk Maxwell and the equations of light
Article 5000 words University level An article about physicist James Clerk Maxwell, by historian and philosopher of science Thomas Forsyth Torrance. Maxwell, a devout Christian, is one of the most important figures in the history of science. Students in physics courses everywhere study “Maxwell’s Equations” that mathematically describe electromagnetic waves. These waves include light, radio, x-rays, etc. They are how astronomers learn about the universe and they are the basis of all wireless communication technology, including smart phones. Torrance writes about Maxwell: [I]t is certainly clear that the kind of physical science which he advocated is much more congenial to Christian theology than that which developed when absolute notions of space and time were arbitrarily clamped down upon the empirical world and had the effect of reducing understanding of it to a hard and closed mechanistic system. For Clerk Maxwell himself rigorous scientific inquiry and simple devout Christian faith were life-long partners, each in its own way contributing to the strength … Continue reading →
The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Mathematics in the Natural Sciences – Eugene P. Wigner
Article 6400 words University level Physicist Eugene Wigner discusses the remarkable fact that the universe is understandable in terms of mathematics. Wigner received half of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1963 “for his contributions to the theory of the atomic nucleus and the elementary particles, particularly through the discovery and application of fundamental symmetry principles”. Wigner writes: There is a story about two friends, who were classmates in high school, talking about their jobs. One of them became a statistician and was working on population trends. He showed a reprint to his former classmate. The reprint started, as usual, with the Gaussian distribution and the statistician explained to his former classmate the meaning of the symbols for the actual population, for the average population, and so on. His classmate was a bit incredulous and was not quite sure whether the statistician was pulling his leg. “How can you know that?” was his query. “And what is this symbol here?” “Oh,” said the statistician, … Continue reading →
God and Contemporary Thought – Étienne Gilson
Article (book excerpt) 2800 words High school level and above The twentieth-century French philosopher Étienne Gilson writes on God, Immanuel Kant, Auguste Comte, and science: The present-day position of the problem of God is wholly dominated by the thought of Immanuel Kant and of Auguste Comte. Their doctrines are about as widely different as two philosophical doctrines can possible be. Yet the Criticism of Kant and the Positivism of Comte have this in common, that in both doctrines the notion of knowledge is reduced to that of scientific knowledge, and the notion of scientific knowledge itself to the type of intelligibility provided by the physics of Newton. The verb “to know” then means to express observable relations between given facts in terms of mathematical relations…. When a man falls to wondering whether there is such a being as God, he is not conscious of raising a scientific problem, or hoping to give it a scientific solution. Scientific problems are all … Continue reading →
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz – The Ultimate Origin of Things
Article (book excerpt) 3800 words High school level and above Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz is credited with the invention of the mathematics of Calculus. Isaac Newton is also so credited, but it is the notation and language of Leibniz that is used in modern calculus. Here Leibniz argues that reason points to the existence of a being outside the universe who governs it and built it: In addition to the world or aggregate of finite things, there is some unique Being who governs, not only like the soul in me, or rather like the Ego itself in my body, but in a much higher relation. For one Being dominating the universe not only rules the world but he creates and fashions it, is superior to the world, and, so to speak, extra mundane, and by this very fact is the ultimate reason of things. For the sufficient reason of existence can be found neither in any particular thing nor in the whole … Continue reading →
Pope Pius XII – The Structure of the Matter of the Created World as a Manifestation of the Wisdom and Goodness of God
Article 3200 words High school level and above A Papal Address to the Plenary Session of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, April 24, 1955. This article has been selected by the Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science (Inters.org), which is edited by the Advanced School for Interdisciplinary Research, operating at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, and directed by Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti. Pope Pius XII says to the assembled scientists: As we bid you welcome in this house, whose doors have always been opened wide to those who cultivate the arts and sciences, we desire also to express to Your Excellencies, Members of our Academy, our lively satisfaction. Your life, consecrated as is to the study of natural phenomena, enables you to observe every day more closely, and to interpret, the wonders which the Most High has inscribed on the reality of things. In very truth, the created world is a manifestation of the wisdom and goodness of God, for all … Continue reading →
Biology in a Christian University
Article 5600 words General audiences Alister McGrath is the Andreas Idreos Professor in Science and Religion at the University of Oxford. This excerpt has been selected by the Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science (Inters.org), which is edited by the Advanced School for Interdisciplinary Research, operating at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, and directed by Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti. In “Biology in a Christian University” McGrath writes: The complexity and importance of discussions about biological evolution, human identity and human beliefs is of such importance that it is essential to establish an informed forum within which they can be discussed and explored. Modern biology is beginning to rediscover the notion of teleology, and explore its possible implications. Might evolution be much more directed as a process than might hitherto have been realized? Might we begin to speak of islands of stability (Conway Morris) in biological space? This important discussion requires a community which is both biologically and theologically informed – … Continue reading →
Explaining the Unexplainable: The Limits of Language and the Power of Metaphor.
A post by Fr. James Kurzinski on the Catholic Astronomer website. “Of the many blessings I have received from writing for The Catholic Astronomer, one of them has been deepening my awareness of how we can come to understand God through understanding creation. That being said, I have also learned that there are limits to this understanding, pointing to a transcendent reality in which all language and human expression ultimately breaks down. “
Continue reading →St. Thomas Aquinas – The Knowledge of the Creatures is Useful to Avoid Errors Concerning God
Book excerpt 1400 words University level In this Summa contra Gentiles discussion on created things (that is, on the creatures or the works of God), Thomas Aquinas comments on the value for Faith inherent in understanding these things. This excerpt has been selected by the Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science (Inters.org), which is edited by the Advanced School for Interdisciplinary Research, operating at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, and directed by Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti. St. Thomas gives a number of reasons for studying the works of God: First, because meditation on His works enables us in some measure to admire and reflect upon His wisdom…. Secondly, this consideration [of God’s works] leads to admiration of God’s sublime power, and consequently inspires in men’s hearts reverence for God…. Thirdly, this consideration incites the souls of men to the love of God’s goodness…. Fourthly, this consideration endows men with a certain likeness to God’s perfection…. It is therefore evident that the consideration … Continue reading →
Some Theological Reflections on the Anthropic Principle
A pdf of an eight-page article by Dr. George Coyne exploring the Anthropic Principle and its possible theological implications. He ends with four questions that are raised about the way one normally talks about God, in light of cosmological principles.
Continue reading →A conversation imagined: The meeting of science and faith
Dr. Michelle Francl (quantum chemist at Bryn Mawr and Vatican Observatory adjunct) imagines a conversation between herself and Pope Francis about science and religion
Continue reading →Discussion: Why Do Debates On Faith And Science Almost Always Fail?
A post by Fr. James Kurzinski on the Catholic Astronomer website. “A major problem with debates between Christian faith and science is an inability to stay within the parameters of the nature of Christian faith and the nature of science”
Continue reading →Is the Tension Between Faith and Science ‘Merely’ a Breakdown in Communication?
A post by Fr. James Kurzynski on The Catholic Astronomer. “Can the perceived tension between evolution and God as Creator be fully addressed by clarifying a breakdown in communication over the word “random?” Of course, the answer is no. As is the case with many strained relationships, there isn’t just one issue that leads to a breakup. Nevertheless, I do feel that these explorations are needed for both believer and non-believer if we are to move away from faith and science as adversaries and toward a position of faith and science as dialogue partners in search of truth.”
Continue reading →Thomas Aquinas – On Creation and Time
Book excerpt 1600 words University level This discussion on creation and time, from the Summa contra Gentiles of Thomas Aquinas, contrasts and compares in interesting ways with the modern understanding of the origin of the universe as described in the “Big Bang” theory (in which neither matter, nor time, nor space exist prior to the “bang”). For example, St. Thomas argues that the act of creation is not a change of one thing that exists into another thing. Rather, appealing to both reason and to St. Basil, St. Thomas argues that both material things and time itself were formed when God created the universe, a process which St. Thomas argues was instantaneous. He says, “And so it is that holy Scripture proclaims the creation of things to have been effected in an indivisible instant; for it is written: ‘In the beginning God created heaven and earth’ (Gen. 1:1). And Basil explains that this beginning is ‘the beginning of time’.” This excerpt … Continue reading →
Biology in a Christian University
Article 5600 words General audiences Alister McGrath is the Andreas Idreos Professor in Science and Religion at the University of Oxford. This excerpt has been selected by the Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science (Inters.org), which is edited by the Advanced School for Interdisciplinary Research, operating at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, and directed by Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti. In “Biology in a Christian University” McGrath writes: The complexity and importance of discussions about biological evolution, human identity and human beliefs is of such importance that it is essential to establish an informed forum within which they can be discussed and explored. Modern biology is beginning to rediscover the notion of teleology, and explore its possible implications. Might evolution be much more directed as a process than might hitherto have been realized? Might we begin to speak of islands of stability (Conway Morris) in biological space? This important discussion requires a community which is both biologically and theologically informed – … Continue reading →
Meaning: Exploring the Big Questions of the Cosmos with a Vatican Scientist
Videos series 12 twenty five minute programs, approx. 6 hours total General audience A series of lectures by Br. Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Vatican Observatory. From the publisher, Now You Know Media: Explore the big questions of science and religion with a Jesuit astronomer. While science and religion have often been seen as contradictory forces, in reality they complement each other. Indeed, Catholics have often been at the forefront of scientific discovery; the Augustinian friar Gregor Mendel innovated the study of genetics, and the Jesuit Georges Lemaître first proposed the Big Bang Theory. More recently, Pope Francis issued Laudato Si, an encyclical that addresses global warming. Now, you can join a leading Catholic scientist in examining the most vital questions about the universe. Your guide, Br. Guy Consolmagno, S.J., an astronomer and President of the Vatican Observatory Foundation, deals with big things—stars, galaxies, and unfathomable distances—but that’s not the kind of “bigness” that you will explore here. Instead, you … Continue reading →
The New Physics and the Old Metaphysics (The Nash Lecture at Campion College, University of Regina)
- Video
- 55 minutes
- University level
The 2012 Nash Lecture at Campion College, University of Regina. A presentation by Br Guy Consomagno on how advances in modern physics work with traditional metaphysics. God is not one force among many, to be invoked to explain evolution or the big bang, but the author of the universe that allows evolution or the big bang to occur.
Interview with Eugene Selk for Creighton’s Center for Catholic thought
- Audio program
- 15 minutes
- General Audience
A 2010 audio program produced by Creighton University’s Center for Catholic Thought for their podcast Catholic Comments:
Dr. Eugene Selk of Creighon University’s Philosophy department discusses the relationship between the Catholic Church and modern science. Topics include the harmony of faith and reason, the Church’s conflict with Galileo, and the reasons so many people seem to think that they much choose between science and God.
Click here for the audio podcast from the Center for Catholic Thought.
A Theology of Everything?
During the Enlightenment most scientists, who were religious believers, were unreasonable in their approach to religious belief, since they sought to found their religious belief on purely rational grounds.
Continue reading →Book Review: A God that Could be Real: Spirituality, Science, and the Future of our Planet
Fr. George Coyne reviews the book A God that Could be Real by N. A. Abrams
Continue reading →The Two Books
Book 424 pages University level This book by Olaf Pedersen and published originally by Vatican Observatory Publications in 2007, is distributed by The University of Notre Dame Press. “In The Two Books, Olaf Pedersen traces the historical continuity of the science-religion dialogue from its pre-Socratic roots to our current pursuit of the interactions between the natural sciences and religion. In so doing, he makes a unique and important contribution to the field.” Click here for additional information from The University of Notre Dame Press. … Continue reading →
CTNS-Vatican Observatory Series on Divine Action
The CTNS/Vatican Observatory 6-voulme series focuses on the theological concept of divine action in relation to contemporary scientific theories featuring an international team of scholars scientists, philosophers, and theologians.
Continue reading →A Comprehensible Universe: The Interplay of Science and Theology
This book explores the deep roots of the mystery of rationality, from the Greek concept of rationality; to the scientific method; to relativity theory, quantum mechanics, the unification of physics, quantum gravity.
Continue reading →Esplorare l’universo, ultima delle periferie: le sfide della scienza alla teologia
In Italian. Book of chapters on science and faith topics by a number of authors, designed for use in Italian seminaries.
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