I read "Atheist Delusions: The Christian Revolution and Its Fashionable Enemies" and found it packed full of facts, details and assessments that inform on the matter of faith and culture like no other book I have ever read. The author, David Bentley Hart, is clearly a scholar and spends considerable time describing events in history using original sources. He examines the early Christian Church that birthed western culture using facts that describe the actual history (rather than the standard myths that disparage the church). The brightest light in this book shines on the early church (100-1000 AD) with repeated clarifications and references to ancient and primary sources (but his clear command of historical knowledge is evident in other periods as well.)
The author is not Catholic but that makes his arguments and clarifications even more compelling. His fluency in ancient literature and events is precisely what is needed to dispel the false notions often cited concerning Christianity. One myth is that Christianity has long been at war (and is still at war) with science even though Christianity birthed and nurtured science as an academic discipline. The uniformed idea that there was a period called the "Dark Ages" (the transitional period from Roman Empire to Christian Europe) which was less civilized than the Roman Empire is addressed. There is also the astounding idea that Christianity suppressed the rights of woman and slaves (when in fact they systematically freed and uplifted relative to all cultures around them). There is no way for me to provide a complete review so I focus only on those parts that seemed most well done.
Aristotle had a lock on science for more than a millenia that was broken by Christian free thinkers like St. Thomas, Copernicus and Galileo. Ptomley was focused on astrology and never saw the implications of his careful measurements (that gave him the power to predict planetary and astronomical events). Copernicus was NOT an isolated genius in the desert of western culture but rather someone and influenced by those who trained, tutored and challenged him to understand the heavens and the natural order absent direct divine action. Technology (in practical applications during the Christian period) rapidly advanced at a rate unparalleled in the previous Hellenistic and Roman era's. The author speculates that the slow dismantling of slavery may have nurtured innovations that made human labor more productive during these "Dark Ages" which were in fact anything but "dark".
A considerable amount of time is spent on the Galileo affair. This event, often cited by those who wish to describe the typical and systematic posture of church and science at war. Details (facts) are provided so that the reader can have a better understanding what actually transpired and how this event was a rare event of the church overstepping self imposed bounds. The church asked that Galileo prove his assertion of the earth and planet orbiting the sun (virtually all of them agreed with the Copernican model that eased the ability to predict the placement of planets and stars in the sky). The assertion of a rapidly spinning earth speeding at unrealistic speed in an orbit about the sun was later found to be correct but Galileo lacked the evidence that satisfied scientifically informed critics who understood his assertion fully. Galileo had errant explanations for the tides (sloshing about as a result of the spinning earth failed to recognize the role of inertia which would not be articulated for a hundred more years), he failed to explain the lack of parallax in star location, he failed to explain the lack of retrograde motion of the stars when compared to the planets along with other numerous shortcomings. The Earth certainly appeared to be stationary to those who were on the earth. So while the Copernican treatment made locating planets in the sky easier it was not clear to scientific minds that this meant that the earth (and planets) were truly orbiting the sun. Galileo's critics appear more grounded in empirical-scientific reasoning than a Galileo that believed in mathematics trumping reality.
The real story of this event was how personal relationships can be strained, friends can be alienated and those of great talent can neglect the need to relate in productive ways with those around them. Galileo was a physicist who interpreted data with great insight but he was by some accounts arrogant (almost condescending) and vindictive. His his inability to maintain productive discourse with those in the church who provided him great comfort and privilege contributed to the house arrest and forced his retirement while well cared for in a luxurious villa. The church (at the time) was struggling with charges that it was compromising scripture, facing schisms and failing to confront heresies. These factors (lack of transparent reasoning, personality and political pressure) all culminated in an event that the church has long regretted and asked forgiveness for.
The anlysis of culture was well done. While he has plenty to be disappointed about in the now post christian west (that still benefits from the christian culture that fermented it) he does not end the book in despair. He points to the past Christian response to similar challenges of the faithful in moving to the desert at the edges of society to reflect, and pray and change. He looks for the presently marginalized Christian culture to rise up and empower the faithful in Africa, Asia and South America even as it retreats in the shrinking populations focused on materialism in Europe and the United States.
This is one book I will reference in the future again and again. Packed with facts and presented by a master.
The author is not Catholic but that makes his arguments and clarifications even more compelling. His fluency in ancient literature and events is precisely what is needed to dispel the false notions often cited concerning Christianity. One myth is that Christianity has long been at war (and is still at war) with science even though Christianity birthed and nurtured science as an academic discipline. The uniformed idea that there was a period called the "Dark Ages" (the transitional period from Roman Empire to Christian Europe) which was less civilized than the Roman Empire is addressed. There is also the astounding idea that Christianity suppressed the rights of woman and slaves (when in fact they systematically freed and uplifted relative to all cultures around them). There is no way for me to provide a complete review so I focus only on those parts that seemed most well done.
Aristotle had a lock on science for more than a millenia that was broken by Christian free thinkers like St. Thomas, Copernicus and Galileo. Ptomley was focused on astrology and never saw the implications of his careful measurements (that gave him the power to predict planetary and astronomical events). Copernicus was NOT an isolated genius in the desert of western culture but rather someone and influenced by those who trained, tutored and challenged him to understand the heavens and the natural order absent direct divine action. Technology (in practical applications during the Christian period) rapidly advanced at a rate unparalleled in the previous Hellenistic and Roman era's. The author speculates that the slow dismantling of slavery may have nurtured innovations that made human labor more productive during these "Dark Ages" which were in fact anything but "dark".
A considerable amount of time is spent on the Galileo affair. This event, often cited by those who wish to describe the typical and systematic posture of church and science at war. Details (facts) are provided so that the reader can have a better understanding what actually transpired and how this event was a rare event of the church overstepping self imposed bounds. The church asked that Galileo prove his assertion of the earth and planet orbiting the sun (virtually all of them agreed with the Copernican model that eased the ability to predict the placement of planets and stars in the sky). The assertion of a rapidly spinning earth speeding at unrealistic speed in an orbit about the sun was later found to be correct but Galileo lacked the evidence that satisfied scientifically informed critics who understood his assertion fully. Galileo had errant explanations for the tides (sloshing about as a result of the spinning earth failed to recognize the role of inertia which would not be articulated for a hundred more years), he failed to explain the lack of parallax in star location, he failed to explain the lack of retrograde motion of the stars when compared to the planets along with other numerous shortcomings. The Earth certainly appeared to be stationary to those who were on the earth. So while the Copernican treatment made locating planets in the sky easier it was not clear to scientific minds that this meant that the earth (and planets) were truly orbiting the sun. Galileo's critics appear more grounded in empirical-scientific reasoning than a Galileo that believed in mathematics trumping reality.
The real story of this event was how personal relationships can be strained, friends can be alienated and those of great talent can neglect the need to relate in productive ways with those around them. Galileo was a physicist who interpreted data with great insight but he was by some accounts arrogant (almost condescending) and vindictive. His his inability to maintain productive discourse with those in the church who provided him great comfort and privilege contributed to the house arrest and forced his retirement while well cared for in a luxurious villa. The church (at the time) was struggling with charges that it was compromising scripture, facing schisms and failing to confront heresies. These factors (lack of transparent reasoning, personality and political pressure) all culminated in an event that the church has long regretted and asked forgiveness for.
The anlysis of culture was well done. While he has plenty to be disappointed about in the now post christian west (that still benefits from the christian culture that fermented it) he does not end the book in despair. He points to the past Christian response to similar challenges of the faithful in moving to the desert at the edges of society to reflect, and pray and change. He looks for the presently marginalized Christian culture to rise up and empower the faithful in Africa, Asia and South America even as it retreats in the shrinking populations focused on materialism in Europe and the United States.
This is one book I will reference in the future again and again. Packed with facts and presented by a master.
===================================================
Please note that the views expressed here by me do not represent the views of McGill-Toolen Catholic High School, Archdiocese of Mobile or any part of the Universal Catholic Church.
