Category Archives: Science, Theology & Philosophy

Apocalyptic Themes in Isaac Newton’s Astronomical Physics

Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Article (book chapter) 9 pages Level: university This essay by Stephen D. Snobelen was published in the 2021 book Intersections of Religion and Astronomy.  One of the editors of the book is Chris Corbally, an astronomer with the Vatican Observatory.  Snobelen writes on how Newton recognized that the universe was subject to change and instability, and not eternal.  Newton believed we ought to be thankful to God for our existence and sustenance.  Snobelen writes: For Newton, the history and future of the cosmos are contained within the biblical time-frame of Genesis to Revelation: God created the earth, sustains it, renews it, and ultimately makes all things new…. [Newton] ultimately believed in the unity of all reality: all reality is God’s, created by his boundless power and sustained by his sovereign will. From the publisher (Routledge), regarding Intersections as a whole: This volume examines the way in which cultural ideas about “the heavens” shape religious ideas and are shaped by them … Continue reading →

Astronaut Jeanette Epps Finds God in the Universe

Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Audio 25 minutes Level: all audiences A 2020 interview with Dr. Jeanette Epps, aerospace engineer and a NASA astronaut, for AMDG: A Jesuit Podcast, which is a production of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States. Epps received her bachelor’s degree (in Physics) from Le Moyne College in Syracuse, NY, in 1992. Le Moyne is a Jesuit institution, and at the time of the interview Epps served on the school’s board of directors. Epps talks with host Mike Jordan Laskey about life as an astronaut, how she reacted when she found out about her upcoming mission to space, what she values about Le Moyne College, and how the wonders of the universe shape her faith in God. Click here for the interview on SoundCloud.    

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Es el Físico Teórico más citado del Mundo… y Hombre de Fe

Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Article 1000 words Level: all audiences This 2020 article published by Aleteia features physicist Juan Martín Maldacena, Carl P. Feinberg Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University. Maldacena has been recognized with numerous awards for his work in theoretical physics, including 2018 Lorentz Medal awarded by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences for important contributions to theoretical physics, the 2002 Pius XI medal from the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, a 1999 MacArthur Fellowship, and many others.  And, as Maldacena notes in his interview with, he is un hombre de fe—a man of faith. “La ciencia nos enseña cómo funciona el universo y la fe es una creencia sobre su significado último,” he says—“Science teaches us how the the universe functions and faith is a belief about its ultimate meaning.” Click here to access this article from Aleteia. An interview with Maldacena on the subject of black holes and dark matter:      

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Hobby Astronomer Priest Keeps His Eyes on the Heavens

Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Audio 40 minutes Level: all audiences A 2020 interview with James Kurzynski, a priest of the Diocese of LaCrosse, Wisconsin, who is an amateur astronomer, a writer for the Vatican Observatory Sacred Space Astronomy blog, and a presenter for the VO Faith and Science workshops. The conversation covers a variety of topics: How Kurzynski’s own interests in both the natural world (especially astronomy) and in the priesthood developed through his youth. His view on what science is—a powerful, but limited, way of describing an aspect of creation. The nuts and bolts of being an amateur astronomer, and the experiences of amateur astronomers—ranging from a tendency to overfocus on equipment, to being culturally misunderstood, to showing family members the Milky Way. His involvement with the Vatican Observatory and his role in the Faith and Science workshops.   Click here for the audio, from Minnesota Catholic Podcasts.    

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Contemplation and the Natural Sciences

Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Audio 19 minutes Level: all audiences Michelle Francl, Ph.D. discusses her work connecting contemplative spiritual practice and the study of the natural sciences. Dr. Francl is a professor of Chemistry at Bryn Mawr College in Philadelphia. She Francl maintains two blogs: Quantum Theology and The Culture of Chemistry. She is also a regular contributor to the Vatican Observatory Sacred Space Astronomy blog. Click here for this audio with addition information, from Creighton University. Click here for the audio directly, from Creighton University.    

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Finding God in the Cosmos: An Interview with a Vatican Astronomer

Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Article 1700 words Level: all audiences A 2018 interview of Vatican Observatory astronomer David Brown, S.J., by Sean Salai, S.J., for America: The Jesuit Review.  Salai writes: David Brown, S.J., is a Vatican astronomer specializing in stellar evolution and a native of New Orleans who joined the Society of Jesus in 1991 after earning his B.S. in physics at Texas A&M University. Ordained a priest in 2002, Father Brown completed his Ph.D. in astrophysics at the University of Oxford in England in 2008. Father Brown joined the Vatican Observatory in November 2008, working as a research astronomer and serving as caretaker of the telescopes in Castel Gandolfo. He is a member since 2009 of the American Astronomical Society and since 2012 of the International Astronomical Union. On Oct. 2, I interviewed him at Rockhurst High School during a lecture stop in Kansas City. The focus of the interview is the overlap between Fr. Brown’s vocation as a Jesuit and his … Continue reading →

Catholic physicist says harmony of faith, science is seamless, not effortless

Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Article 1000 words Level: all audiences This 2018 article on CatholicPhilly.com features Jonathan Lunine, a planetary scientist and physicist at Cornell University and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and a convert to Catholicism.  Lunine has worked on the Cassini mission to Saturn, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the Juno mission to Jupiter. The article also touches on the Vatican Observatory and the Society of Catholic Scientists, both of which Lupine has been involved with. Click here to access this article courtesy of CatholicPhilly.com.    

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A Quaker Astronomer Reflects

Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Book 48 pages Level: all audiences Jocelyn Bell Burnell’s A Quaker Astronomer Reflects: Can a Scientist also be Religious?, was published in 2013 by The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia. It is a short overview of what is known in astronomy, with comments relating to religious belief. This small book grew from a lecture she gave in Australia. Click here for a PDF copy of A Quaker Astronomer Reflects, courtesy of Quakers Australia. Click here for a preview, courtesy of Google Books. Burnell is an accomplished astronomer, now retired, who has served as President of the Royal Society and President of the Institute of Physics in the United Kingdom. She is perhaps best known for her role in the discovery of pulsars in 1967. She has also held leadership positions in the Quaker denomination, and in this book she touches on worship, Bible study, and St. Theresa of Avila as well as astronomy. Her theology is unorthodox, as she … Continue reading →

Al-Ghazālī – from The Incoherence of the Philosophers

Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Article (book excerpt) 630 words Level: all audiences An excerpt on religion and science from the Tahāfut al-falāsifa (or The Incoherence of the Philosophers) of Abu Hāmid Muhammad Ibn Muhammad al-Tūsi al-Ghazālī. Al-Ghazālī, who lived in the eleventh century, is one of medieval Islam’s best-known religious intellectuals. [Click here to download PDF]    

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Can Faith and Science Coexist?

Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Article (blog posts) 1700 words (in two article) Level: all audiences These are two 2015 blog posts from Scientific American, written by two authors who had a “debate” regarding Faith and Science.  These posts are the top result returned by a “Bing” search for “faith and science”, and the third result returned by a “Google” search (as checked 9-5-2018).  The two authors are John Horgan—who directs the Center for Science Writings at the Stevens Institute of Technology, who writes regularly for Scientific American, and who describes himself as “a lapsed Catholic turned psychedelic agnostic”—and John Lennox, an Oxford mathematician and a Christian, who has debated Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Michael Shermer and other prominent non-believers. Click here for Horgan’s post entitled “Can Faith and Science Coexist?”, courtesy of Scientific American.  Click here for Horgan’s post courtesy of The Stute (the student newspaper of Stevens Institute). Click here for Lennox’s post entitled “Mathematician and Christian John Lennox Responds”, courtesy of Scientific American.   … Continue reading →