Personal accounts Archives - Vatican Observatory Foundation Faith and Science

Ciencia, razón y fe: Un reto de nuestro tiempo

Article 700 words General audiences In this short 2012 article author José Manuel Giménez Amaya argues that three things are changing the relationship between science and religion. These are 1) the last two pontificates of the Catholic Church in which much emphasis has been placed on the rationality of the faith and on the question of the knowledge of the truth 2) social problems produced from the experimental sciences 3) a desire for an interdisciplinary unity of knowledge. Giménez Amaya writes: En este diálogo la cuestión de fondo es el conocimiento de la verdad. Fe y ciencia no se oponen sino que se complementan para llegar a la verdad. Es este uno de los puntos nucleares del mensaje del Papa actual: el convencimiento de que todo lo que realmente es racional es compatible con la fe revelada por Dios y con las Sagradas Escrituras. Click here to access this article, courtesy of the Grupo Ciencia, Razón y Fe at Universidad … Continue reading →

Semblanza de Michael Heller (Premio Templeton 2008)

Article 1100 words General audiences A brief discussion by Javier Sánchez Cañizares regarding the life and work of Fr. Michael Heller (Fr. Heller is an adjunct scholar with the Vatican Observatory), on the occasion of Fr. Heller being awarded the 2008 Templeton Prize. Javier Sánchez Cañizares is part of the Grupo Ciencia, Razón y Fe at Universidad de Navarra. He writes: A partir de la supremacía de una superestructura matemática ideal (un campo formal o campo de ‘racionalidad’) sobre la materia, su pensamiento conduce a la idea tradicional de un Dios trascendente que, por otra parte, es el origen creador, el fundamento del ser, del que surge el espacio-tiempo del mundo creado. Heller explica su posición así en la conferencia de recepción del premio: “Los procesos del universo pueden ser visualizados como una sucesión de estados de modo que el estado precedente es causa del siguiente (…). Hay siempre una ley dinámica que prescribe cómo un estado genera otro. Pero … Continue reading →

Physics Today: Thinking differently about science and religion

Article (Letter to Editor) and Responses 9 pages (total) General audiences In February 2018 the journal Physics Today published a letter by Tom McLeish, Professor of Physics at Durham University, chair of the Royal Society’s education committee, and author of the book Faith and Wisdom in Science (Oxford University Press, 2014). The following June Physics Today published a number of responses to McLeish’s letter, along with additional remarks from McLeish. McLeish writes: Driving an unhistorical and unrealistic wedge between science and religion has got to stop. It leads, in part, to the optionalism that we see in some public and political attitudes toward science, from climate change to vaccination. It damages the educational experience of our children, and it impoverishes our understanding of our own science’s historical context. Human beings live not only in a physical world but within historical narratives that give us values, purpose, and identity. Science sits on the branches and draws from the sap of many … Continue reading →

Father George Coyne Interviewed by Richard Dawkins

Video Approximately 1 hour General audiences This is uncut footage of a 2008 interview by Richard Dawkins with Father George Coyne, S. J., who was Director of the Vatican Observatory from 1978 through 2006. The interview was recorded for Dawkins’ television program “The Genius of Charles Darwin” for Channel 4 in the UK, but was not used. … Continue reading →

Francis Collins on God

Video 20 minutes General audiences Physician and scientist Francis Collins, who completed the first map of the human genetic code in 2000, shares his new book, “The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.” From the Charlie Rose show of Tuesday 07/25/2006. Collins discusses C. S. Lewis and his insights on God, among other things Click here for the interview on video, along with a transcript. Below is an excerpt from the transcript of the interview. 00:34 Charlie Rose: Why did you write this book? 00:37 Francis Collins: I’ve been trying to write this book for about 25 years, since I became a believer. And I was not raised in a faith tradition, so this is something that occurred to me in my 20s. 00:46 Charlie Rose: Your parents were not believers? 00:49 Francis Collins: They were not. They were respectful of religious perspectives, but they did not themselves share those perspectives, so I was raised in a … Continue reading →

The Scientism Delusion? Ian Hutchinson Explores Science and Faith at Emory University

Video 45 minute talk (+ 45 minutes of questions and answers) General audiences Ian Hutchinson is Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering and Plasma Science and Fusion Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This is a Veritas Forum talk Hutchinson gave at Emory University. From the Veritas Forum: Since its beginning, science has demonstrated its uncapped ability to uncover and explain our universe… or has it? MIT Professor and Christian Ian Hutchinson argues that the fairly recent view that science can explain everything, or scientism, makes unrealistic promises of the scientific method. Instead, Hutchinson opens up a world in which multiple ways of knowing, including science, are equally legitimate. Among them, Hutchinson argues, is faith. Join Dr. Hutchinson and the Emory audience for a discussion about science, faith, and how we come to know the world. Over the past two decades, The Veritas Forum has been hosting vibrant discussions on life’s … Continue reading →

Hunting for Supernova: Why is Humanity Wired to Explore?

Article (blog post) 1100 words General audiences Fr. James Kurzynski writes on The Catholic Astronomer blog about his participation as an amateur astronomer in “citizen science”, and his hopes of discovering a supernova in another galaxy. Fr. Kurzynski writes: I would invite you to prayerfully reflect upon this question: What are the things God has inspired you to explore? Whether your desire is to understand the world we live in and/or explore questions of meaning and purpose, realize that both types of questions ultimately point to a common origin. Our exploration of this world and our lives prepares us for life’s final exploration in which we will pass through the womb of death from this life to the next. It is through this journey that we will discover the answer to one of the most fundamental questions of life: Who am I in God’s eyes? May all of us discover today the beginnings of the answer to this question that affirms that all of … Continue reading →

God is dead; long live the eternal God

Article (blog post) 1200 words General audiences A post on The Catholic Astronomer blog by Vatican Observatory astronomer Br. Guy Consolmagno, S. J., commenting on Stephen Hawking’s ideas regarding God: Hawking does us an important favor by eliminating [a certain] image of God. The “god” that Stephen Hawking doesn’t believe in is one I don’t believe in either. God is not a force to be invoked to swell a progress, start a scene or two, and fill the momentary gaps in our knowledge. God is the reason why existence itself exists. God is the reason why space and time and the laws of nature can be present for the forces to operate that Stephen Hawking is talking about. What’s more, I believe in such a God not because of the absence of any other explanation for the origin of the universe, but because of the person of Jesus Christ — in history, in scripture, and in my own personal life … Continue reading →

Alister McGrath: How Beauty, Meaning, and Purpose Brought an Atheist to Christianity

Article (blog post, with videos) 850 words General audiences In this post on The Catholic Astronomer blog, Fr. James Kurzynski writes about science leading to faith. Fr. Kurzyski writes: One of the astonishing claims of McGrath is that the deeper he studied science, the more he became open to God, summarized in the provocative sentiment that science drove McGrath away from atheism. The heart of this conversion was that, through the complexities of science and its inability to answer questions of meaning and pursue, he began to see that Christianity did not contradict science, but Christianity allowed him to delve deeper into his science…. [N]atural theology and Hans Urs Von Balthasar give voice to the very thing that Alister McGrath has discovered through his study of science: Life cannot be reduced to the material, but there is in the material a beauty and order that points to something beyond the thing itself. Click here to read the full article on The Catholic Astronomer … Continue reading →

Astronomy Bucket List: Experiencing The Wonder!

Article (blog post) 1000 words General audiences Fr. James Kurzynski, writing for The Catholic Astronomer blog, discusses the joy one of his parishioners upon seeing the sun through a Hydrogen-alpha telescope for the first time. Fr. Kurzynski writes: As I drove home to get ready for our evening Mass with the college students, I thanked God for the experience I had with the Welsch family. It revealed to me that, even as a hobby astronomer, I had allowed myself to become a little desensitized while gazing at some of the wonders of the universe. This desensitization reminded me of my faith life and how so many beautiful aspects of Catholicism can become so common place that we forget their beauty and impact. For example, I have prayed the “Our Father” thousands of times in my life. However, do I stop and reflect on the beauty of this prayer or do I simply allow it to ramble from my lips to be quickly forgotten? … Continue reading →

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