The Scientific & the Divine

Examines the perennial issues that keep science and religion at arm's length, clarifies those issues, and fits them into an historical framework—from Plato, to Aquinas, to today's thinkers.

There have been many—too many—attempts over the centuries to bring science and religion into harmony. James A. Arieti and Patrick A. Wilson survey and assess these various efforts, from Plato to Aquinas to present-day philosophers and theologians. The Scientific & The Divine examines the perennial issues that keep science and religion at arm's length, clarify those issues, and fit them into an historical framework. This book is ideal for use as a textbook in any course that discusses the interplay between science and faith. Arieti and Wilson do not push an agenda—they take a critical, analytical look at the theories that started when the ancient Greeks realized the religious implications of scientific discovery. The Scientific & The Divine shows the historical continuity of both the central issues and the many potential solutions, and demonstrates which of these theories comes closest to saving the marriage between science and religion.

Chapter 1
Chapter One: Science and Religion
Chapter 2 The Problem
Chapter 3 Is Human Reason Able to Explain the World?
Chapter 4 What Is Science?
Chapter 5 The Origin of Scientific Attempts to Explain the World
Chapter 6 The God of Ancient Philosophers
Chapter 7
Chapter Two: Reconciling Science and Religion
Chapter 8 General Considerations Concerning the Reconciliation of Science and Religion
Chapter 9 Plato
Chapter 10 Philo of Alexandria
Chapter 11 Reconciling Science and Religion in Medieval Islam
Chapter 12 Reconciling Science and Religion in Medieval Judaism
Chapter 13 Reconciling Science and Religion in the Christian Middle Ages
Chapter 14 Reconciling Science and Religion from the Renaissance through the Enlightenment
Chapter 15 Science and Religion in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries
Chapter 16 Science and Religion at the End of the Twentieth Century
Chapter 17 Conclusion