PDF Science Was Born of Christianity Stacy Trasancos Paul Haffner 9780989969611 Books

Product details Paperback 208 pages Publisher Habitation of Chimham Publishing (June 16, 2014) Language English ISBN-10 0989969614

Science Was Born of Christianity Stacy Trasancos Paul Haffner 9780989969611 Books Reviews

• First I have to admit that I was privileged to several drafts of this book before publication. My opinions are well-formed since I am very familiar with the material and with much of Fr. Jaki's work.
  
  My background is almost identical to the author's Ph. D. in Physical Chemistry, steeped in the lore of scientific materialism and finally a convert to The Catholic Church. I have read extensively in theology and philosophy and I feel very comfortable in my 5-star recommendation.
  Jaki's work has spent too long in the shadows; it deserves the recognition and explanation Ms. Trasancos has given it. She has presented the case for the necessity of the Catholic/Christian world view to explain the explosive development of quantitative science from the early Middle Ages. Jaki's exhaustive research provides the evidence for this inescapable conclusion and this book presents that clearly, concisely and supported by adequate references so that that the interested reader can dig further into the cited works.
  Some will disagree with her conclusion citing many mathematical and scientific discoveries made in other cultures, even prior to the beginning of the rapid development of quantitative science in Europe. That is not denied but what is clearly proven is that the religious/cultural climate in those populations never succeeded in creating the framework that eventually produced an Isaac Newton, his predecessors and his contemporaries, all who saw the predictable nature of the world when studied in context of Catholic /Christian Theology. The belief in the creation of the universe, a cosmos of predictable phenomena, provide the nurturing to build quantitative science.
  Jaki insisted that the failure of many scholars to see these truths revolved around poorly conceived definitions of 'science' itself. His view......"science is the quantitative measurement of quantities in motion......"(I paraphrase see the book for exact wording) is the key to the argument. Any discussion outside this definition becomes Reasoned Discourse, the domain of philosophy and in Jaki's view based on his strong Faith---theology. He shows that this is where science 'goes off the rails' in trying to explain the 'why' of the universe without admitting of a by a transcendental divinity. In the Catholic/Christian west, that is of course God the Father and His only .begotten son, Jesus Christ.
  As a scientist for many years doing basic research in universities I was always troubled by that nagging question “I know what happens now in this system I am studying but I don't know the ultimate “why.” Of course, having no faith in those days, in fact a rampant atheism which was so popular among the students and young faculty of the 60s and 70s, I had no basis to answer the question or even frame it correctly. That atheism today still blocks any understanding by the majority of practicing scientists.
  If I had my way about it every serious science student studying today would have this book as required reading along with some solid courses in the philosophy of Aristotle and St. Thomas Aquinas. The stakes are high because science is rolling off into unknown directions with no ethical or moral base against which to judge its actions and discoveries.
  The book moves along briskly and for me, with a deep interest in the history and philosophy of science and in theology, it is a page-turner.
• "Stacy, my 14 year old read your book just to get some ammunition against his Science teacher, who is Catholic and said that Religion always squashes Science. He read it in one sitting ... When he was done he looked at me and said 'I love being Catholic'..."
• Anyone interested in science's attitude toward religion, especially Christianity, would do well to familiarize themselves with the works of the remarkable genius Stanley Jaki. His encyclopedic knowledge of science, cultures and religion led him to insights and revelations about the development of 'modern' science which have exposed the falsehood of generations of urban legends. Jaki wrote dozens of books meticulously assembling the pieces which proved his premises. Unfortunately, most people lack the time and resources to teack down, read, and digest Jaki's books. BUT Stacy Trasancos has spared us that effort. This book explains the pieces and assembles them for us. That alone would be worth acquiring this book, but, she does that in an engaging style which holds one's interest. I do not claim this is a page turner of a suspense novel, but, I was very happy I read it. I learned a great deal and was left reeling satisfied but regretful that the book ended.
• This is a well researched and well written book, big thanks to the author for her work.
• Dr. Trasancos has created a beautiful, readable, and truly original synthesis of the arguments of Fr. Stanley Jaki, the polymath physicist and eminent historian and philosopher of science. She teaches us how the birth of modern exact science was frustrated by stillbirths throughout history. Every one of these stillbirths was in some way animated by ill-formed pagan or religious intuitions. But here is where you need to be careful. What delayed the eventual birth of modern science was not that these prior intuitions about the cosmos were religious, it was that they were ill-formed. This book shows you how Christianity and its notion of Christ as the LOGOS, the creative reason that makes all things ordered, was the kindling that sparked the scientific revolution. Such ideas were radical departures from ancient mythologies of the timeless universe without beginning or end.
  
  This timely book explains how, far from being an ancient superstition, Christianity is in fact a vital, demythologizing force in in the history of ideas. There is no greater realism than Christian realism.
  
  Read this book, and give copies of it to your college bound children.
• Thank you, Trasancos, for bringing Jaki to a wider audience. God bless.
• Sifting the essentials out of Fr. Stanley Jaki’s prolific writing is a challenging task and Stacy Trasancos has done well with careful documentation in that effort. It is becoming increasingly evident that neither science nor Christianity would have progressed to where they are today without the other. Fr. Jaki’s extensive work has helped us understand how much the growth of science has depended upon its relationship to Christianity. By summarizing his views, Stacy Trasancos has made his work recognizable to a wider audience.
• Easy to read, clear, very well argued. Highly recomended.
  
  I enjoyed it a lot