Slaying the Dragons: Destroying myths in the history of science and faith

Are science and faith, particularly Christianity, inevitably in conflict, as the New Atheists proclaim? Have they not always been so? Weren't early scientists hounded for their discoveries until Darwin burst on the scene and sent faith packing? Not if you look at the facts, says Dr Allan Chapman, who teaches the History of Science at the University of Oxford. History shows us that Galileo was not the victim of Church persecution - nor did Huxley 'win' the debate with Wilberforce. Drawing on contemporary sources, Dr Chapman proves that the history of science and of faith always have been closely intertwined. From the leading scientists of medieval times, many in Holy Orders, to the seventeenth-century Popes who maintained an astronomical observatory in the Vatican, to the Christian people of science today, science and faith have grown up together.

Table of Contents:
Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 6 1 MYTHS, MONOTHEISM, AND THE ORIGINS OF WESTERN SCIENCE 9 2 THE ORIGINS OF UNBELIEF Part 1: Ancients and Early Moderns 24 THE POPULAR MYTH THAT ATHEISM IS NEW 24 CLASSICAL AND MEDIEVAL UNBELIEF 26 THOMAS HOBBES, MATERIALISM, AND MAN THE MACHINE 31 ATHEISTS, DEISTS, AND UNBELIEVERS 37 3 THE ORIGINS OF UNBELIEF Part 2: Dreams of a Brave New World 43 ROMANTIC AND REVOLUTIONARY ATHEISM 43 ROBERT OWEN, GEORGE HOLYOAKE, AND THE VICTORIAN SECULAR ATHEISTS 50 THE MYTH THAT SIMPLE FAITH WAS DESTROYED BY DARWIN IN 1859 56 4 THE HISTORICAL ROOTS OF ANTI-CHRISTIANITY Part 1: Two Persistent Myths 57 THE MYTH OF THE MEDIEVAL “DARK AGE” 57 THE MYTH OF THE “ENLIGHTENMENT” 65 5 THE HISTORICAL ROOTS OF ANTI-CHRISTIANITY Part 2: Myths of Changing Circumstances 75 THE PROBLEM OF ETERNAL DAMNATION 75 BIBLICAL CRITICISM, “MYTH”, AND EARLY BIBLICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 79 NATIONALISTIC CHRISTIANITY 89 THE GROWTH AND POWER OF SCIENCE 92 6 SOME POPULAR MYTHS ABOUT SCIENCE AND RELIGION 94 CHRISTIANITY AND SCIENCE IN “CONFLICT”: TWO NINETEENTHCENTURY AMERICAN “ATHEISTS” 94 ALL CHRISTIANS ARE REALLY BIBLICAL FUNDAMENTALISTS 98 THE CHURCH HAS ALWAYS PERSECUTED SCIENCE AND SCIENTISTS 100 RELIGION CAUSES THE WORLD’S TROUBLES: ONLY SECULARISM CAN BRING PEACE 107 7 MONKEYING AROUND WITH HISTORY: THE MYTH OF THE BIG 1860 “OXFORD DEBATE” ON EVOLUTION 113 8 THE MYTH OF THE YOUNG EARTH AND THE ORIGINS OF EVOLUTIONARY IDEAS 121 DATING THE CREATION 121 THE ORIGINS OF LIFE: PRE-DARWINIAN IDEAS OF “EVOLUTION” 130 9 CHARLES DARWIN: MONKEY, MAN, AND MYTH 136 10 COUNTERING THE “BIG LIE” 149 WHY IS NATURE CONGRUENT? 149 WHY DO HUMANS RESPOND SO POSITIVELY TO BEAUTY AND ELEGANCE? 151 SCIENCE DESCRIBES EFFECTS, RELIGION TALKS OF CAUSES AND PURPOSES 156 11 DOES SCIENCE CHALLENGE RELIGION? THE GREAT ATHEIST MYTH 160 LACK OF NEW SECULARIST IDEAS 160 WHY HAS RELIGION FAILED TO DIE AWAY? 166 ARE ATHEISM AND SECULARISM MORE SUPERSTITIOUS THAN CHRISTIANITY? 169 DOUBTING SCEPTICISM 173 SEDUCTION BY REDUCTION 176 12 THE AGE THAT LOST ITS NERVE: THE DILEMMA OF CHRISTENDOM IN THE MODERN WORLD Part 1: Myths and Mechanisms 180 THE MYTH OF A SECULAR SOCIETY 182 FORCED TO ACT: MECHANISM AND EVOLUTIONARY AND NEUROLOGICAL DETERMINISM 186 THE HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF SOCIAL SCIENCE EXPLANATIONS, AND THEIR EXPLOITATION BY SECULARIST MYTH-MAKERS 194 13 THE AGE THAT LOST ITS NERVE: THE DILEMMA OF CHRISTENDOM IN THE MODERN WORLD Part 2: The Myth of Secular Transcendence 204 THE MYTH OF HUMAN PERFECTIBILITY 205

About the Author :
Allan Chapman teaches history of science in the University of Oxford. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and author of eight books.

Review :
"The dragons of the title are the myths, half-truths and downright untruths that have ... distorted strongly the Science-Religion debate. The author attacks these dragons with the passion of a latter-day St George and in a book that is forthright, clear, readable, convincing and sometimes humorous, he sets the record straight." -- John Bryant, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at the University of Exeter. "A very enjoyable and instructive read." -- Keith Ward, Fellow of the British Academy and Professional Research Fellow at Heythrop College, London. "From an encyclopaedic knowledge of his subject matter, Dr Allan Chapman systematically exposes the multiple myths and flagrant falsehoods propagated by the so-called 'New Atheists'." -- The Revd Dr Rodney D. Holder, The Faraday Institute, Cambridge "Allan Chapman offers a robust and highly readable response to the 'not-so-New' Atheism." -- Edmund Newell, Christ Church, Oxford "This is a fascinating, timely and highly accessible study ... after reading this book, no-one can doubt that the supposed clash of science and religion has been greatly distorted." -- John Pritchard, Bishop of Oxford “The dragons of the title are the myths, half-truths and downright untruths that have … distorted strongly the Science-Religion debate. The author attacks these dragons with the passion of a latter-day St George and in a book that is forthright, clear, readable, convincing and sometimes humorous, he sets the record straight.” “A very enjoyable and instructive read.” “From an encyclopaedic knowledge of his subject matter, Dr Allan Chapman systematically exposes the multiple myths and flagrant falsehoods propagated by the so-called `New Atheists’.” “Allan Chapman offers a robust and highly readable response to the 'not-so-New' Atheism.” “This is a fascinating, timely and highly accessible study … after reading this book, no-one can doubt that the supposed clash of science and religion has been greatly distorted.”