Cognisant
cackling in the trenches
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I think there has been a schism between Christianity and Science, like how there was a schism between the Catholics and Protestants during the Reformation, but this didn't happen all at one, rather there's been a series of scientific discoveries, that have conflicted with religious doctrine, which have driven a wedge between Christianity and Science.
The first big one was Copernicus' "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) which refuted geocentrism (that Earth is the center of the solar system and possibly the universe) and instead asserted that the Sun is the center of our solar system and that all the planets revolve around it. Galileo's championing of Copernican heliocentrism was met with opposition from within the Catholic Church and the matter was investigated by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, which concluded that his opinions contradicted accepted Biblical interpretations. The matter remains an embarrassment to the Catholic Church to this day as heliocentrism has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt and their treatment of Galileo remains a persistent stain on their reputation, despite efforts at historicalrevisionism polishing.
Now I ask you, does this matter, was Christianity proven false by heliocentrism?
If you are a Christian does the refutation of geocentrism challenge your faith?
Of course not, and that proves that it was never a matter that concerned the legitimacy of Christianity, rather (and this is the important part) the Catholic Church made an issue of it because it challenged their anthropocentric sensibilities.
It offended them, and this offense stems from hubris, from their pride.
They pridefully believed that Earth must be the center of the universe, because Man must be the center of the universe, because God is the metaphorical center of the universe and as servants of God that must put them at least God-adjacent.
The reality was humbling, and I think there's an important lesson in that.
The next wedge between Christianity and Science was of course Charles Darwin and his controversial theory of natural selection, so controversial in fact that for many it remains a dividing line between Christians and non-Christians. Again I think this is a matter of anthropocentric sensibilities born of hubris, that Christians find it offensive that Man, who was supposedly created in the image of God, evolved from apes which themselves evolved from lesser things going all the way back to the first vertebrate worms crawling in the primordial mud.
Personally I don't find that offensive, I find that amazing, I see it not as a tainted lineage but rather a march of progress worth celebrating, I like to imagine those worms would be incredibly proud to see what their descendants have become and I genuinely hope that we too will be the forebears of entities greater than we can ever imagine.
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I would like to bring that joy of curiosity to Christianity and the humility to accept that I don't know God, but I'm on the path of discovery and every path of Discovery is ultimately a path to God, because it all came from the same place.
In this way we can heal the schism and the pursuit of knowledge and technological advancement becomes the study of the divine.
Likewise I think the academic/scientific world is hurting for a lack of spiritual grounding, just as Christianity needs Science to keep them congruent with reality and avoid the pitfalls of dogmatism, likewise Science needs an appreciation for the unknown. Not as a god-of-the gaps "urr you don't know everything" sentiment, rather it is a detriment to the scientific method and damaging to the integrity of Science to lose sight of how much we don't know. What I'm saying is that the limits of our knowledge and capabilities should be celebrated by Christianity as opportunities to further the pursuit of knowing God. (which has the benefit of keeping the academic/scientific world from becoming arrogant and thinking they know everything)
That if a scientist should ever fear that we may someday know everything there is to be known a priest can reassure them that the path of discovery is the pursuit of knowledge of God and God is infinite, he will always have more to teach us.
The first big one was Copernicus' "De Revolutionibus Orbium Coelestium" (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres) which refuted geocentrism (that Earth is the center of the solar system and possibly the universe) and instead asserted that the Sun is the center of our solar system and that all the planets revolve around it. Galileo's championing of Copernican heliocentrism was met with opposition from within the Catholic Church and the matter was investigated by the Roman Inquisition in 1615, which concluded that his opinions contradicted accepted Biblical interpretations. The matter remains an embarrassment to the Catholic Church to this day as heliocentrism has been proven beyond all reasonable doubt and their treatment of Galileo remains a persistent stain on their reputation, despite efforts at historical
Now I ask you, does this matter, was Christianity proven false by heliocentrism?
If you are a Christian does the refutation of geocentrism challenge your faith?
Of course not, and that proves that it was never a matter that concerned the legitimacy of Christianity, rather (and this is the important part) the Catholic Church made an issue of it because it challenged their anthropocentric sensibilities.
It offended them, and this offense stems from hubris, from their pride.
They pridefully believed that Earth must be the center of the universe, because Man must be the center of the universe, because God is the metaphorical center of the universe and as servants of God that must put them at least God-adjacent.
The reality was humbling, and I think there's an important lesson in that.
The next wedge between Christianity and Science was of course Charles Darwin and his controversial theory of natural selection, so controversial in fact that for many it remains a dividing line between Christians and non-Christians. Again I think this is a matter of anthropocentric sensibilities born of hubris, that Christians find it offensive that Man, who was supposedly created in the image of God, evolved from apes which themselves evolved from lesser things going all the way back to the first vertebrate worms crawling in the primordial mud.
Personally I don't find that offensive, I find that amazing, I see it not as a tainted lineage but rather a march of progress worth celebrating, I like to imagine those worms would be incredibly proud to see what their descendants have become and I genuinely hope that we too will be the forebears of entities greater than we can ever imagine.
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I would like to bring that joy of curiosity to Christianity and the humility to accept that I don't know God, but I'm on the path of discovery and every path of Discovery is ultimately a path to God, because it all came from the same place.
In this way we can heal the schism and the pursuit of knowledge and technological advancement becomes the study of the divine.
Likewise I think the academic/scientific world is hurting for a lack of spiritual grounding, just as Christianity needs Science to keep them congruent with reality and avoid the pitfalls of dogmatism, likewise Science needs an appreciation for the unknown. Not as a god-of-the gaps "urr you don't know everything" sentiment, rather it is a detriment to the scientific method and damaging to the integrity of Science to lose sight of how much we don't know. What I'm saying is that the limits of our knowledge and capabilities should be celebrated by Christianity as opportunities to further the pursuit of knowing God. (which has the benefit of keeping the academic/scientific world from becoming arrogant and thinking they know everything)
That if a scientist should ever fear that we may someday know everything there is to be known a priest can reassure them that the path of discovery is the pursuit of knowledge of God and God is infinite, he will always have more to teach us.
