God and Galileo

God and Galileo takes us on a journey back in time to when Galileo wrote a letter to describe the circumstances of his being censored by The Church. It was when he came up with some of his Astronomy theories that flew in the face of accepted church theories on the origin of the Universe.

Galileo was able to prove that the Earth is not the center of the universe. As such, he came under fire for going against Copernicus and the accepted belief that the Earth was the center of the universe and everything orbited the Earth. Instead he showed how the Sun was what the Earth orbited and thus we were relegated to being a bit less important in the scheme of things.

David Block takes us from how the Church was the authority to how Science is now seen as the authority. But he brings us back to Galileo and the concept that the Church and Science should be able to coexist. One does not trump the other. But they are complimentary.

I found his hypothesis interesting and enjoyed reading the views that he is pushing forward. I think this book will give you much to think about and much to talk about with your science friends.

Enjoy!

"God and Galileo," a collaborative project by astronomer and inspirational speaker David Block and astronomer Kenneth C. Freeman, rehashes many of the familiar arguments in the ongoing debate between religion and science within the context of Galileo Galilei's 1615 Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany. The authors structure their history on certain passages of this letter, using it to draw together an argument calling for a greater degree of humility in the sciences. The history spans familiar territory as it seeks to reconcile the two domains of knowledge of Science and Religion, referred to as the Book of Nature and the Book of Revelation, respectively. Galileo and his humble attitude towards science is used as a pinpoint to show how the two may be peacefully reconciled; the philosopher and mathematician Blaise Pascal is another. For anyone who has followed the ongoing Science and Religion debate, this book will offer little new information, however in this age of polarized opinions and with the science/religion question often posited as an all or nothing game, the message bears reiterating. The authors argue for the sciences to take a more humble approach and not to claim more than their facts present; a belief in the Multiverse Theory is here referenced as an Act of Faith. The authors also write that many elements of the sciences of nature are still just foothills to knowledge, or "known unknowns.;' in astronomy, several examples are given: what is dark matter? why do spiral galaxies have their spiral shape? how are galaxies getting the gas supply to produce new stars?

More importantly, the book asks that readers remain humble and open in the search for truth, and not to be swayed by the opinions of powerful personalities, such as Richard Dawkins.

Although frequently redundant and with little new information, "God and Galileo" gives an important and humble perspective to the life and beliefs of one of the world's greatest astronomers during a time of upheaval in the traditional relationship between science and belief.

Reviewed in exchange for a free copy from Netgalley

This was an interesting book and I enjoyed learning about Galileo and his beliefs, however, it was at times too technical for me.
I received this book free form the publisher for the purpose of an honest review.

We see before us two books, as Galileo did: the book of nature (a book of process, unfolding the mysteries of our universe step by step according to scientific methodologies)and the Bible, the book of Scripture. The book of Scripture is a book of purpose. The blindness of Galileo's opponents was to force the book of Scripture to say what it does not say. The nature of truth spans a vast horizon, not being restricted to science or to the book of nature alone.

How the pendulum swings. As the church back in Galileo's day thought the earth was the center, when in truth the Sun is and now we today think of ourselves as the center of all things. Where we are still in confusion of what is truth. In this text Galileo's struggle was against the church's ideals and their own agendas and that his own fight on what is truth is an example for us today as we struggle for truth. The culture says your truth matters and the reality of that stinks. It does not hold to reality. The text is historical but also cultural in the age of Christianity as it plainly points that two truths do not contradict each other.

The fight for truth matters as it clearly displays God. In my opinion, truth matters because it affects how we worship him and ultimately how we love others. If you find yourself in your search for the truth, looking back historically in Galileo's life and fight teaches us that faith and science ultimately do not contradict each other, but strengthen each other.

A Special Thank you to Crossway Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

God and Galileo: What a 400-Year-Old Letter Teaches Us about Faith and Science is a wonderfully written book that presents the ever present conflict between science and faith in a very unique way. The author’s/astronomer’s purpose in writing this book is to share their “thoughts on the grace of God in the context of science.” With combined scientific careers spanning more than 95 years, these two scientists offer their thoughts and experiences on the God they “have come to know both through scripture and experience,” bringing a unique perspective to the science and faith debate. Today when many scientists believe that God is unnecessary, these two scientists/authors argue that true science does not disprove the existence of God and state that “God is ultimately known not through human logic or experiment but through His self revelation.” Hoping to push back against the notion that science and faith are at odds and to change the perception that they are continually opposites, these scientists start at the beginning during Galileo’s time where the conflict between science and faith first began, when science and faith stood so dangerously at odds. By explaining why the conflict happened and how it could have been avoided, the authors theorize that if it could have been avoided the contention between science and faith may not even exist today.

Part 1 of this book discusses Galileo’s conflict with the church and how “Galileo sowed the seed for the apparent divorce between science and faith” by supporting Copernicus’ theory of the universe which stated that the sun (NOT the earth) was the center of the universe. Galileo supported this because of what he observed through his telescope. However, this theory was in direct opposition to the then accepted Aristotelian view that the sun orbited around the earth and the churches interpretation of the Biblical creation account.

The authors use Galileo’s famous 1615 letter dedicated to the Grand Duchess Christina of Tuscany for further insight into the conflict of faith and science. In this letter Galileo presents a recurring theme of tension between what he observed with his telescope and what the theologians of his time believed. Galileo believed that the study of the universe would provide a clearer understanding of the scriptures and he saw no conflict between his research and his faith in God. The theologians erroneously thought that understanding of the physical world was imposed by the literal sense of the sacred scripture. They did not understand that there were “two realms of knowledge, one which has its source in revelation and one which reason can discover by its own power. To the later belong the experimental sciences and philosophy.” The church allowed Galileo to continue his work provided he presented his findings as theory. However, Galileo could not restrain himself and thus began the trial by Inquisition in 1633.

Here the authors present the two realms of truth as two books. There is the Book of Scripture which is a revelation of God to Humanity over thousands of years. This book relies on faith not experiment or observation. In great contrast there is the Book of Nature which encompasses the knowledge of observational and theoretical science that are transient with ever changing goals. In the Book of Scripture God exists outside of space and time, his love is timeless. It is a book with its own context. It is not a scientific textbook. It does not explain the universe and space. It focuses on the spiritual, on mans place in the universe, on God’s people and His purposes for mankind. The Book of Nature in contrast, is ever changing, a work of progress. Here scientists observe a universe “calculated to be 92 billion light years across, filled with billions of stars and galaxies in which mankind seems insignificant.” Science is an ever evolving study that is never the truth but only a set of partial truths as set up in the scientific method.

Galileo understood that there were two books. He was not threatened spiritually by what he observed. He saw the two books “as if in balance.” Through his telescope he saw the universe and he clearly understood that the scriptures are about Gods relationship and purposes for mankind. He did not see the scriptures as scientific. He also understood that the Book of Nature enabled progress. Galileo as a sincere believer was more perceptive with regards to the two books than the theologians that opposed him. In Galileo’s day his scientific discoveries were in conflict with the literal interpretation of scripture. In his letter he suggested that the church listen to St. Augustine on the “need for caution in coming to a firm conclusion about obscure matters which cannot be readily understood by the use of reason alone.” At the time of Galileo’s letter, Scripture was the only source of truth which Galileo explained was out of balance because it didn’t allow for scientific observation.However, the church would never allow the Book of Nature to rule over the Book of Scripture.

What I liked most was how the authors explain how the opposite situation exists today. It’s “equally out of balance to the other extreme.” The shoe is now on the other foot. The Book of Nature is where many high profile scientists look for the living truths. The Book of Scripture is seen as only something mythical and irrelevant and thus abandoned entirely as a source of truth. Today political correctness and high profile scientists act as the Inquisition. Science has its own power play agenda and science is revered as today’s God with many believing that science has made God unnecessary. Today, like in Galileo’s day science and faith can both be embraced. A major point in this section is that science cannot describe the spirit of God and its laws thus faith should not be expected to be the authority of nature. Throughout this section the authors, through Galileo’s letter, help to explain the universe and scripture, the importance of grace, the opinions of time, Galileo’s time of transition and how science is an evolving “discipline in which lie many mysteries.”

I personally I felt that part 1 was filled with a vast amount of knowledge about Galileo’s time, his letter and today’s conflict between science and faith. It took me quite a while to organize this wealth of information into a review. The next two parts jumped around a bit and were somewhat confusing in their set up. So I choose to quickly highlight what they described and to not go into any great detail.

Part 2 is labeled Historical Vignettes and it goes beyond the historical conflict of Galileo’s time and delves into the creation of the spyglass and descrbes the authors trip to Murano, Venice. It also introduces Pablo Scarpi and his key role in the history of the telescope. In this section they also retrace the background of Galileo’s letter and focus on why the Vatican has its own observatory at the Popes summer residence in Italy and its involvement in astronomical research today.

Part 3 has personal experiences of faith and of Gods presence, the life of Blaise Pascal and how he came away from his work with a wonder of actually knowing God and experiences in South Africa.

The authors at the beginning of this book stress that this book is not about Galileo but rather it’s written to offer a different perspective, allowing that science can illuminate the glories of creation but that its “beyond the domain of science to infer that God does not exist. God exists outside of space and time. Science does not have the weapons to expunge Gods spirit or the revelation of his spiritual kingdom.” They state that this book is about the God they have come to know and that He is “ultimately known not through human logic or experiment but through his self revelation.” The authors clearly state that they are determined not to add another book to the debate but to share their thoughts on “the grace of God in the context of science” as two professional astronomers “reflect on the universe and space.” It is my opinion that they accomplished these goals marvelously.

I thoroughly enjoyed God and Galileo! I found it refreshing considering today’s prevailing belief in science with little consideration to faith. It was somewhat surprising to discover a book about spirituality and faith that was written by two knowledgeable and experienced scientists/ astronomers. I recommend this book to anyone interested in reading about history, faith and science and anyone who sees science as a way to discover not just the mysteries of the universe but to discover the grace of God.

I thank the publishers for a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.
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