Science and Western Civilization’s
Debt to Catholic Church

Foundation  For  Science

The Da Vinci Code implies that the Catholic Church stood in the way of scientific development.  And in an interview on ABC Dan Brown states that Leonardo lived in a time when science was synonymous with heresy.  While this false characterization is a common misconception among many an objective examination shows that it was God’s Divine Revelation through His Church that made possible the scientific revolution and the discoveries of which we enjoy today.

Good Bible exegesis is not only compatible with science it also has helped lay the foundation from which science was able to grow.  There have been examples of the Bible being misinterpreted in such ways that some where slow to accept certain scientific discoveries.  However, the converse is also true.  There have been examples of bad science which has led some to discriminated against the Christian faith. 

Also, see sidebar articles on the Galileo case, which was an aberration to the norm.

Also see the Flat Earth Myth at this web site which explains how modern academia created their own fictionalized history in an attempt to discredit the previous generations and those of religious faith.

Dr. Anthony Rizzi states that science grew out of Catholic Europe.

Although Aristotle, for example, made significant discoveries, his classical Greek culture was unable to maintain and nurture further development. The perspectives of the pagan culture in which he lived had certain draw backs.  If the world was controlled by the whim of combative, immature, and impulsive pagan gods then there would be no real laws of nature to discover.  

When the Jesuits went to China they were amazed at the Asians lack of progress in their understanding of the world.  Some Muslims did make some progress in their discoveries, however it must be remembered that these people had been Christian centuries earlier before Mohammed came along in 6^th century.  And so, they had been influenced by the Christian perception of the world. 

It was the Christian understanding that the world was both good and intelligible to us that laid the foundation for science to both take root and for this society to pass onto successive generations the discoveries that were made.

Another unique aspect of the a Judaic-Christian culture was the concept that time had a beginning.  While the pagans viewed time as strictly cyclical, Western Europe informed by Divine Revelation viewed time as having a beginning and an end. The understanding that space-time-matter had been created by a Divine Law Giver has extremely positive ramifications.

Pagan cultures, on the other hand, created a view of the world that inhibited scientific advancement.  The Pagans did not view the world as rational.  They viewed things as being controlled by many gods and magical powers.  They did not view the world as something that was governed by natural laws that could be discovered.

Hinduism, for example, which views every part of creation as being part of the one god does not lend itself to scientific experimentation.  For example, if that chair or table is god it may not want me to experiment on it.

Whereas, the Divine Revelation of the Judaic-Christian culture, specifically that which was made manifest through the Catholic Church, did give rise to scientific thinking and progress.  The world and all the physical things in it are created by a Father God.  Physical objects are created outside of God Himself and are bound the Natural Law he made to govern them. 

There were some great scientific minds that sprang up in other cultures, such as the ancient Greek, Roman, and Egyptian cultures to name a few, and there were some great minds in Islam as well who worked individually or in small groups.  However, these societies did not have the culture to absorb and pass on those advancements to their successive generations the same way that Christian Europe could - whose culture had been greatly influenced by God’s Divine Revelation.   

In the first few centuries it was illegal to be a Christian.  Once it was legalized, and the Church was able to fight off the invasions of the Visigoths, Vandals, and other Barbarians and was able to establish peace they were able to establish a Catholic culture. 

And so, this culture was able to start the university system around 1200 AD and was able to effectively pass on what was learned to successive generations. 

Some of the most important universities were founded by the Popes.  They are located in Rome, Pisa, Ferrara, Toulouse, Valladolid, Heidelberg, Cologne, and Erfurt.  Many of the other universities which are likewise quite old were begun by the combined efforts of both Popes and princes.  They are the Universities of Coimbra, Florence, Prague, Vienna, Cracow, Alcalá, Upsala, Louvain, Leipzig, Rostock, and Tübingen, not to mention many others.

St. Albert the Great, (circa 1200-80) was even called by that title, “Great,” in his own lifetime and was later given the title of Universal Doctor.  Albert was one of the greatest intellectuals of the Medieval times. He had encyclopedic type knowledge of biology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, and geography. One of his treatises proved that the earth was spherical in shape. He is also noted for his important contributions in botany and zoology.  He also wrote extensively about logic, metaphysics, and mathematics, as well as, of course, about the Bible, and theology.

One of his most prestigious students was an Italian Dominican named Thomas Aquinas, who became the most famous theologian in the high Middle Ages. In addition to his religious accomplishments he also made significant scientific contributions as well. He is noted for contributions to the study of scientific methodology. Influenced by Albert, he saw physics as a discipline prior to metaphysics, and even necessary for the latter’s foundation.
 

For further reading see:

The Savior of Science or
The Origin of Science and the Science of its Origins,
by Stanley L. Jaki.

Also, as an overview of religion in

Western Civilization, Progress and Religion,
by Christopher Dawson.

As to the intelligibility of the world, see
City of God by Augustine and
Introduction to St. Thomas Aquinas, Anton C. Pegis, Ed.

“Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale?”
St. Augustine, The City of God, Book IV, Chap. 5

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Church Promoted  Science

Galileo

The Galileo case is a complicated one and an aberration to the norm in the relationship between science and religion.

How Galileo Brought His Troubles With The Church On Himself
This Rock Magazine

Galileo
by Anne W Carroll

Catholicism and Science

by Rodney Stark, professor of sociology at
the University of Washington. This piece
is excerpted from a longer piece,
“False Conflict: Christianity Is Not Only
Compatible with Science—It Created It,”

Professor Stark has a good way of getting to the point.  He says,

“The progress achieved during the ‘Dark Ages’ was not merely technological.
Medieval Europe excelled in philosophy
and science. The term
‘Scientific Revolution’ is in many ways
as misleading as ‘Dark Ages.’ Both were
coined to discredit the medieval Church.
The notion of a ‘Scientific Revolution’
has been used to claim that science
suddenly burst forth when a weakened
Christianity could no longer prevent it,
and as the recovery of classical learning made it possible. Both claims are as false as those concerning Columbus and the flat earth. …”

“The ‘Enlightenment’ was conceived
initially as a propaganda ploy by
atheists attempting to claim credit
for the rise of science.”

Retelling the Story of Science
This is an excellent and insightful article by Professor Stephen M. Barr who did his graduate work at Princeton University. He examines the prejudices by many in the world of science against the faith and how modern science actually vindicates the reasonableness of faith.

Modern Physics & Ancient Faith I:
The Design of the Universe
By Stephen Barr

The Church in History

The Christian roots of modern science

An Absentee God?
By Dinesh D'Souza

Myth 2: Religion Does More Harm Than Good
By Father Thomas D. Williams, LC

Science and the Church
Catholic Encyclopedia: In-depth Article

Faith and Reason by IOANNES PAULUS PP. II   (JP2)