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Christ, Science, and Reason: What We Can Know about Jesus, Mary, and Miracles
- GenresCatholic
361 pages, Paperback
Published August 6, 2024
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August 26, 2025
THE FOLLOW-UP TO HIS BOOK, ‘SCIENCE AT THE DOORSTEP TO GOD’
Fr. Robert Spitzer wrote in the Introduction to this 2024 book, “In the previous volume, ‘Science at the Doorstep to God,’ we presented evidence and formulated conclusions about the WHAT of God but were left with the question of WHO God really is. Therefore, we now investigate the evidence for Christ… The intersection of Christ and science is so pronounced that one cannot help but come away with the belief that the Lord had providentially designed it over two thousand years ago… so that it might be revealed to a scientific age becoming increasingly more resistant and skeptical to the good news of salvation.
“The scientific studies of the Shroud of Turin… reinforce an already strong scientific case for the authenticity of the Shroud and the supernatural origin of its image. When these are combined with … other dating tests, as well as the statistical debunking of the 1988 carbon dating, they set out a strong scientific and reasonable foundation for the Passion and glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Gospel accounts.
“The topic of Eucharistic miracles, long belittled by scientific audiences, has not gained scientific respectability because of the [recent] research … Though there has been considerable scholarly work surrounding the Guadalupe tilma image, the miracle of the dancing sun at Fatima, and the healings of Lourdes, a reexamination of these miracles in light of current scientific techniques shows them to be as scientifically explicable as ever---indeed, more so. When all this evidence is interrelated, it yields… the strong historical and exegetical case for … His Real Presence in the Eucharist. It also reveals the cosmic and salvific significance of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her answer to our prayers…
“Though it might be justly said that I am predisposed to ‘Catholic miracles’ because I am a Catholic priest, that is not the real reason why I have spent three chapters on these Catholic themes. The real motivation arises out of the plain fact that the most remarkable and best scientifically researched manifestations … just happen to be related to the Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary… the evidence should not be hidden from the public just because it is Catholic; rather, it should be shared … so that people can make their own decisions about the … veracity of the Church He founded… if Jesus founded the Catholic Church, why would He not validate it for a scientific age?... My purpose is simply to shine a light on this providential ‘conspiracy.’” (Pg. 15-17)
He observes, “reason and objective evidence alone leave many questions unanswered… For example… What does this intelligent Creator consider to be good---and evil? … If God is good, why does He allow suffering?... Is there a Hell? If so, why would a loving God allow that?... Can it be that the intelligent Creator has created us with intelligence, self-consciousness, moral and spiritual awareness, and free will sufficient to ask the above questions without at the same time providing some path to obtain the answers? Did the intelligent Creator create us to be universally and irresolvably frustrated, like a cosmic joke? If this seems to be inconsistent… then He must provide some other way of answering the above questions.” (Pg. 24-25)
He summarizes his argument: “Science and philosophy strongly imply the existence of an intelligent Creator and a transphysical soul capable of surviving bodily death… science and philosophy … cannot enlighten us on the heart of that intelligent Creator… therefore, He must reveal Himself to us… The consensus among all the major world religions is that love truly is the highest way to eternal bliss… Therefore, Jesus Himself is… the highest way to eternal bliss in the transcendent reality… if we seek to know and follow Jesus and His revelation of love … This in turn will reveal the transcendent eternal dignity and destiny intended for us… by the loving intelligent Creator from all eternity.” (Pg. 29)
He concludes, “the early Church proclaimed Jesus to be risen in glory… This experience was so powerful and undeniable that the apostles and disciples proclaimed it at great cost to themselves…He bestowed on them the Holy Spirit and immense power to work miracles in the name of Jesus… When we combine these historical facts with … the empty tomb, and the unanimity of the Gospels and Saint Paul on Jesus’ glorious Resurrection, we can see why the vast majority of historical and critical scholars believe that the apostles and early Christians really did have… a transformation... entailing a supernatural cause.” (Pg. 80-81)
Turning to the Shroud of Turin, he asserts, “the authenticity of the Shroud was seriously questioned by a 1988 carbon dating that placed the Shroud’s origin between A.D.1260 and 1390. However, this carbon dating has recently been discredited by further analysis of the raw data from the tests as well as by the heterogeneous composition of fibers taken from the sample site. Though five new dating tests and other extrinsic dating evidence point to a first-century origin of the Shroud in Judea, additional testing must be done… we must test for certain cosmogenic isotopes… before doing another carbon dating. If the Shroud’s image was produced by a low-temperature nuclear reaction coming from the disintegration of all the stable atomic nuclei in the Shroud man’s body, then carbon dating cannot be used to determine the date of the cloth.” (Pg. 97-98)
He explains, “There are two major hypotheses that may explain an errant dating by Carbon-14 testing: 1. The sample had fibers from a later period embedded in it (which could have come from repairs after the fire of Chambery)… 2. Particle radiation might have significantly increased the C-14 content of the cloth.. There are several tests that can be done to determine whether C-14 was created through a blast of neutrons and protons during nuclear disintegration of the body…” (Pg. 101-102)
He reports, “there appear to be Roman coins on the eyes of the man in the Shroud… some scientists believe that the cloth is too coarse to admit of such fine imaging, but this is not certain… we must still answer the question of how imprints of a coin could make their way onto the cloth… If heavy charged particle radiation can make intelligible imprints on coarse fabric, then [this] … could indicate coins… on the Shroud man’s eyes.” (Pg. 147-148)
He argues, “Even if we suppose that an ingenious medieval forger took a … victim … and then wrapped the dead man’s body in a cloth soon after, we confront the problem of how the Shroud could have been taken off the dead body without .. smearing most or all of the 372 bloodstains on the Shroud.” (Pg. 153)
Of the Guadalupe tilma, he asserts, “First, the coarse fabric of the tilma … should have disintegrated nearly 500 years ago. There is no natural explanation for how it retains its biochemical structure with relatively little decomposition. Second, there is no natural explanation for how the pigment … has no cracking, flaking… or degradation in the brightness of color after nearly 500 years. All the features that were painted or touched up with paint manifest all these aspects of degradation.” (Pg. 198)
Of the ‘dancing Sun’ at Fatima, he comments, “[There are] two… naturalistic explanations---a meteorological one… and an astronomical one… However, they both fall short of a COMPLETE explanation … [because] such complexes of rare natural causes are so exceedingly improbable to occur naturally…” (Pg. 241)
Of Lourdes, he notes, “it should not be surprising that only 1%... of unexplained cures of severe diseases at Lourdes are ‘officially’ declared a miracle… many of those cured do not want to go through the extensive process of being physically examined… as well as multiple and follow-up examinations. They appear to be happy with their cure…” (Pg. 246)
This book may appeal to VERY ‘conservative’ Catholics, for whom the idea of such ‘miraculous’ events is very credible.
Fr. Robert Spitzer wrote in the Introduction to this 2024 book, “In the previous volume, ‘Science at the Doorstep to God,’ we presented evidence and formulated conclusions about the WHAT of God but were left with the question of WHO God really is. Therefore, we now investigate the evidence for Christ… The intersection of Christ and science is so pronounced that one cannot help but come away with the belief that the Lord had providentially designed it over two thousand years ago… so that it might be revealed to a scientific age becoming increasingly more resistant and skeptical to the good news of salvation.
“The scientific studies of the Shroud of Turin… reinforce an already strong scientific case for the authenticity of the Shroud and the supernatural origin of its image. When these are combined with … other dating tests, as well as the statistical debunking of the 1988 carbon dating, they set out a strong scientific and reasonable foundation for the Passion and glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ as depicted in the Gospel accounts.
“The topic of Eucharistic miracles, long belittled by scientific audiences, has not gained scientific respectability because of the [recent] research … Though there has been considerable scholarly work surrounding the Guadalupe tilma image, the miracle of the dancing sun at Fatima, and the healings of Lourdes, a reexamination of these miracles in light of current scientific techniques shows them to be as scientifically explicable as ever---indeed, more so. When all this evidence is interrelated, it yields… the strong historical and exegetical case for … His Real Presence in the Eucharist. It also reveals the cosmic and salvific significance of the Blessed Virgin Mary and her answer to our prayers…
“Though it might be justly said that I am predisposed to ‘Catholic miracles’ because I am a Catholic priest, that is not the real reason why I have spent three chapters on these Catholic themes. The real motivation arises out of the plain fact that the most remarkable and best scientifically researched manifestations … just happen to be related to the Holy Eucharist and the Blessed Virgin Mary… the evidence should not be hidden from the public just because it is Catholic; rather, it should be shared … so that people can make their own decisions about the … veracity of the Church He founded… if Jesus founded the Catholic Church, why would He not validate it for a scientific age?... My purpose is simply to shine a light on this providential ‘conspiracy.’” (Pg. 15-17)
He observes, “reason and objective evidence alone leave many questions unanswered… For example… What does this intelligent Creator consider to be good---and evil? … If God is good, why does He allow suffering?... Is there a Hell? If so, why would a loving God allow that?... Can it be that the intelligent Creator has created us with intelligence, self-consciousness, moral and spiritual awareness, and free will sufficient to ask the above questions without at the same time providing some path to obtain the answers? Did the intelligent Creator create us to be universally and irresolvably frustrated, like a cosmic joke? If this seems to be inconsistent… then He must provide some other way of answering the above questions.” (Pg. 24-25)
He summarizes his argument: “Science and philosophy strongly imply the existence of an intelligent Creator and a transphysical soul capable of surviving bodily death… science and philosophy … cannot enlighten us on the heart of that intelligent Creator… therefore, He must reveal Himself to us… The consensus among all the major world religions is that love truly is the highest way to eternal bliss… Therefore, Jesus Himself is… the highest way to eternal bliss in the transcendent reality… if we seek to know and follow Jesus and His revelation of love … This in turn will reveal the transcendent eternal dignity and destiny intended for us… by the loving intelligent Creator from all eternity.” (Pg. 29)
He concludes, “the early Church proclaimed Jesus to be risen in glory… This experience was so powerful and undeniable that the apostles and disciples proclaimed it at great cost to themselves…He bestowed on them the Holy Spirit and immense power to work miracles in the name of Jesus… When we combine these historical facts with … the empty tomb, and the unanimity of the Gospels and Saint Paul on Jesus’ glorious Resurrection, we can see why the vast majority of historical and critical scholars believe that the apostles and early Christians really did have… a transformation... entailing a supernatural cause.” (Pg. 80-81)
Turning to the Shroud of Turin, he asserts, “the authenticity of the Shroud was seriously questioned by a 1988 carbon dating that placed the Shroud’s origin between A.D.1260 and 1390. However, this carbon dating has recently been discredited by further analysis of the raw data from the tests as well as by the heterogeneous composition of fibers taken from the sample site. Though five new dating tests and other extrinsic dating evidence point to a first-century origin of the Shroud in Judea, additional testing must be done… we must test for certain cosmogenic isotopes… before doing another carbon dating. If the Shroud’s image was produced by a low-temperature nuclear reaction coming from the disintegration of all the stable atomic nuclei in the Shroud man’s body, then carbon dating cannot be used to determine the date of the cloth.” (Pg. 97-98)
He explains, “There are two major hypotheses that may explain an errant dating by Carbon-14 testing: 1. The sample had fibers from a later period embedded in it (which could have come from repairs after the fire of Chambery)… 2. Particle radiation might have significantly increased the C-14 content of the cloth.. There are several tests that can be done to determine whether C-14 was created through a blast of neutrons and protons during nuclear disintegration of the body…” (Pg. 101-102)
He reports, “there appear to be Roman coins on the eyes of the man in the Shroud… some scientists believe that the cloth is too coarse to admit of such fine imaging, but this is not certain… we must still answer the question of how imprints of a coin could make their way onto the cloth… If heavy charged particle radiation can make intelligible imprints on coarse fabric, then [this] … could indicate coins… on the Shroud man’s eyes.” (Pg. 147-148)
He argues, “Even if we suppose that an ingenious medieval forger took a … victim … and then wrapped the dead man’s body in a cloth soon after, we confront the problem of how the Shroud could have been taken off the dead body without .. smearing most or all of the 372 bloodstains on the Shroud.” (Pg. 153)
Of the Guadalupe tilma, he asserts, “First, the coarse fabric of the tilma … should have disintegrated nearly 500 years ago. There is no natural explanation for how it retains its biochemical structure with relatively little decomposition. Second, there is no natural explanation for how the pigment … has no cracking, flaking… or degradation in the brightness of color after nearly 500 years. All the features that were painted or touched up with paint manifest all these aspects of degradation.” (Pg. 198)
Of the ‘dancing Sun’ at Fatima, he comments, “[There are] two… naturalistic explanations---a meteorological one… and an astronomical one… However, they both fall short of a COMPLETE explanation … [because] such complexes of rare natural causes are so exceedingly improbable to occur naturally…” (Pg. 241)
Of Lourdes, he notes, “it should not be surprising that only 1%... of unexplained cures of severe diseases at Lourdes are ‘officially’ declared a miracle… many of those cured do not want to go through the extensive process of being physically examined… as well as multiple and follow-up examinations. They appear to be happy with their cure…” (Pg. 246)
This book may appeal to VERY ‘conservative’ Catholics, for whom the idea of such ‘miraculous’ events is very credible.
July 4, 2025
The content of this book is thorough and well-researched. It will make for a handy reference guide for what we know about several "evidences" of the Catholic faith: 1) the historical/written evidence for Jesus, 2) the Shroud of Turin, 3) Eucharistic miracles, 4) the tilma of Our Lady of Guadalupe, 5) the miracle at Fatima, and 6) Lourdes. The final chapter is an excellent summary of the Church's historical relationship with science, including a chronicle of what really happened in the notorious Galileo affair. The appendix is even worth the time. Here Fr. Spitzer asks, "if the Catholic faith isn't the most authentic version of Christianity, why do we have these countless documented miracles that are tied to peculiarly Catholic doctrines? If these doctrines were false (such as Catholic veneration of Mary, the Eucharist as the real presence of Christ, and the power of relics)...wouldn't God withhold the miraculous from those who sought His help through these mediums to avoid confusion about the faith?
The only reason this book is four stars is the sheer repetitiveness of the writing style. Fr. Spitzer clearly had an English teacher that said "tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them." It's a logical formula, but applied formulaically over and over again, it makes for tedious reading. This is a feature present in all of Fr. Spitzer's writing...and while it is regrettable, it does not negate the significant value of this and other works by him.
The only reason this book is four stars is the sheer repetitiveness of the writing style. Fr. Spitzer clearly had an English teacher that said "tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them." It's a logical formula, but applied formulaically over and over again, it makes for tedious reading. This is a feature present in all of Fr. Spitzer's writing...and while it is regrettable, it does not negate the significant value of this and other works by him.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews