Faith, Science, and Reason Theology on the Cutting Edge

by Christopher T. Baglow

The raging controversies over the compatibility of the Christian Faith and modern science that have divided public opinion in the United States have swirled around the introduction of theological ideas and interpretation into science textbooks in public schools, creating a confusion of categories and methodology that threatens to handicap both science education and authentic theological instruction. In this pioneering textbook designed for Catholic high schools and colleges, theologian and author Christopher Baglow takes a different approach--the inclusion of science in a theology textbook for the purpose of rediscovering faith on the frontiers of science. The result is a stunning reconsideration of the relationship that delivers new insights into the Christian Faith while preserving the integrity, and the astounding heritage, of modern science. A sample of the chapter titles reveals the comprehensiveness of Baglow's treatment and gives a sample of his easy, accessible
Faith and At the Crossroads of Nature and Spirit
The Big Bang about Is Sacred Scripture Anti-Science?
Patroness or Persecutor? The Catholic Church and Scientific Discovery
The Biggest Has Science Disproved God?
The Twist in the Modern Science versus Scientific Atheism
Going "Deeper than Darwin": Faith and the Origins of Living Things
The Emergence of the Modern Science and the Origins of Humanity
Signs and Wonders at the Crossroads of Faith and Science Beautifully illustrated and thoroughly faithful to the Christian Faith and the teaching of the Catholic Church, this book is a must-read for anyone struggling to understand the credibility of the Christian Faith in the light of modern science and the possibility of a friendly reunion of faith and science in contemporary society.

Genres: Theology, Science

292 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.