Faith and Science: What is True?

Posted by Chris Baglow & Christina Leblang on Mar 10, 2021 10:26:51 AM

Editorial Note: This post is part of our #FaithAndScience series exploring the relationship between science and religion, and contains excerpts from the textbook Faith, Science, & Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge, 2nd edition (Midwest Theological Forum, 2019).

How do we know what is true? Is truth discovered from majority opinion or is it grounded in something else? 

The answer to this question depends on what kind of truth someone is looking for. For example, someone might ask if it is true that the universe began with a “Big Bang,” or someone might ask if it is true that Mary, the Mother of God, was conceived without sin. In the first example, we are talking about scientific or material truth—the truth about how something works in the material world. In the second instance, we are talking about a spiritual truth—the truth about meaning. What does it mean to say Mary was conceived without sin, and why is this important?

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Topics: faith and reason, science and religion, Immaculate Conception, truth

Fides et Ratio: St. John Paul II on Faith and Reason

Posted by Fr. John Bayer on Nov 24, 2020 7:03:00 AM

The story of “doubting” Thomas (cf. John 20:19–31) is a gospel passage that can make people cringe. This passage is, sadly, often interpreted as though it were contrasting reason, on the one hand, with faith (or gullibility), on the other. For example, one very influential atheist, Richard Dawkins, refers to the story of doubting Thomas in The Selfish Gene to argue Christians think the “greatest virtue” of faith is that it is “blind” and “doesn’t need evidence” at all (330).

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Topics: St. John Paul II, faith, faith and reason, science and religion

Faith and Science: Heroes of Catholic Science

Posted by Chris Baglow on Aug 18, 2020 11:34:10 AM

Editorial Note: This post is part of our #FaithAndScience series exploring the relationship between science and religion, and is excerpted from the author's textbook Faith, Science, & Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge, 2nd edition (Midwest Theological Forum, 2019).

Perhaps there is no better way to see the witness of Sacred Tradition regarding science than to observe how many great scientists the Church has had within her ranks throughout history. Stretching back to ancient times and forward to the present day, Catholic men and women have understood God’s call to include investigating the natural world, and have made major contributions to science. An impressive number could even be considered game changers, scientists who either founded whole branches of science or whose original discoveries advanced understanding for all ages to come. Here are just a few stories of some of the lesser-known heroes of Catholic science:

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Topics: holiness, faith and reason, science, science and religion

Faith and Science: A Model of Sanctity for Catholic Scientists

Posted by Chris Baglow on Aug 4, 2020 7:05:00 AM

Editorial Note: This post is part of our #FaithAndScience series exploring the relationship between science and religion, and is excerpted from the author's textbook Faith, Science, & Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge, 2nd edition (Midwest Theological Forum, 2019).

Important Catholic scientists have existed since the first millennium of the Christian era. The lives and scientific contributions of these individuals leave no doubt that a commitment to science is in the very spiritual DNA of the Church, part of her very life and consciousness. One such scientist has recently been held up by the Church as a witness to Catholic scientists: Blessed Nicholas Steno.

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Topics: communion of saints, creation, faith and reason, science, science and religion

Free Resource on the Relationship between Faith and Science

Posted by Sarah Wallace on Jul 29, 2020 8:14:36 AM

A growing number of people today assume that the pursuit of the natural world—science—must move us farther and farther from God. Recent studies have confirmed that great numbers of young people are leaving the Church because of the “conflict” between faith and science and the lack of scientific evidence for religion (see Faith, Science and Reason: Theology on the Cutting Edge, 24). Popular narratives aside, science and faith are not enemies. In fact, through the years, Christianity has been essential to the progression of science and it is only in recent decades that such misconceptions have ingrained themselves into the cultural subconscious. Yet it stands that the conversation about the relationship between faith and science is an important one that we are all bound to encounter, whether in our classrooms, parishes, workplaces, or homes. For the good of Catholic young people and the future of science, this vision must be restored, because it is only when faith and science are seen together that one can come to see clearly the truth of both the world and the glory of God. 

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Topics: faith and reason, science and religion, educational resources

Living and Handing on the Faith

The McGrath Institute Blog helps Catholics live and hand on their faith in Jesus Christ, especially in the family, home and parish, and cultivates and inspires everyday leaders to live out the fullness and richness of their faith in the simple, little ways that make up Church life.

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