Faith, Science, & Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge

by Christopher T. Baglow, Stephen M. Barr (Foreword), Cory J. Hayes (Editor)

In our modern scientific and technological culture, it is not an option for Catholics to ignore or have a shallow understanding of the relationship between religious faith and scientific knowledge. Such a lack of understanding limits our ability to spread the Gospel in a world that so needs the Good News of Jesus Christ. Dr. Chris Baglow’s "Faith, Science, & Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge, Second Edition," presents this necessary knowledge. According to recent data, 70% of young adult Catholics view science and religion as being in conflict with each other. Yet this is not a problem limited to young Catholics! The culture around us accepts the false belief that faith and reason cannot be reconciled, many even believing that science has shown that the Christian faith is irrational. We need the tools to show that both scientific inquiry and the Catholic faith ask questions and seek knowledge about the same universe, working together to come to know the truths of God wherever they may be found. This book unveils the history of science as something that grew out of, rather than in opposition to, the Catholic faith. It describes the relationship between science and spirituality, the biblical creation accounts, the Galileo Affair, the problem of evil, the historical roots of the warfare model of science and faith, the incredible advances in the sciences of human origins, and numerous other topics essential to understanding the Church’s approach to science. Ideal for anyone seeking a greater understanding of the relationship between science and the Catholic faith!

Genres: Theology, Science

360 pages, Hardcover

First published November 28, 2009

Reviews

[Jeffrey Romine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Catholic perspective on origins, theistic evolution throughout, this book is well organized and nicely formatted, giving an appropriate feel of a textbook.

[Jennifer Fitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book - very well done. Intelligent, thorough -- excellent overview of the topic for those who need to know what the Church teaches, but aren't sure where to begin. For those with a very strong science background, this will be more of a jumping-off point, but a what jump! Covers the philosophical underpinnings of different views of faith and science, the history of Catholicism and science, and offers an attempt at reconcile the Catholic view of the faith with the current findings in paleontology.

I gave it four stars because I predict some of the science in the last chapters will get outdated quickly, and because the approach to creation is going to tick off some very faithful and pious Catholics, but you've got to give the author credit for making a honest effort. Otherwise the book is excellent, and I don't think these "shortcomings" are a serious problem for most readers.

(To those who are wary of anything that argues against young-earth, remember, MTF is the publisher. They don't monkey around with the faith.)

Of course no book is necessarily a must-read for everybody. But I do think that anyone teaching the faith above about a 3rd grade level needs to know the ideas presented in this book -- those working below that level need someone to teach the core concepts to them. This is the topic that is going to be the big thing in apologetics for the decades to come.

--> I would not dream of considering a young Catholic's education complete until they've mastered this material. If your students are not capable of working through this book prior to high school graduation, they really need to limit their higher-ed to Newman Guide schools.

This book is the prep that gets faithful Christian kids ready to deal with the attack on the faith that's going to happen in secular and lightly-Catholic colleges. A timely and valuable edition to MTF's always-excellent line-up.

[Jara Senbeto · Rating 3 out of 5]

An excellent book. Written in a simple way to explain such a vast topic.

[April · Rating 1 out of 5]

Concordist propaganda.