18 March 2014

This man has a master's degree in chemistry

Back when Pope Francis was still going by the handle of Jorge Bergoglio, he earned a master's degree in chemistry from the University of Buenos Aires...

Modern-day science writer and Jesuit Guy Consolmagno studies asteroids and meteorites at the Vatican Observatory... “Doing science is like playing a game with God, playing a puzzle with God,” Consolmagno once told the Canadian Broadcasting Center. “God sets the puzzles, and after I can solve one, I can hear him cheering, 'Great, that was wonderful, now here’s the next one.' It’s the way I can interact with the Creator... Religion needs science to keep it away from superstition and keep it close to reality, to protect it from creationism, which at the end of the day is a kind of paganism -- it's turning God into a nature god." 
More on science and Catholicism at International Business Times.

Photo credit: REUTERS/Max Rossi 

5 comments:

  1. He certainly looks like a chemist. A chemistry prof gave lectures on how to reconcile science and religion at my uni, which was very disheartening. It's like Richard Dawkins says religiosity is determined by the exposure to indoctrination as a child and some people can go on happily compartmentalizing opposing views in their heads, that's what religion is among other things - accepting contradiction.

    Still it's curious how to reconcile thermodynamics say with a belief in creator: Enthalpy and Entropy as prime movers of all things material, the sole cause behind every chemical reaction including all of biology are IMHO even harder to square with faith than even evolution

    But science itself has the unknown as a subject, which coincidently is also the subject of religion. Science may given us all the right answers, but it's hard and time consuming and far beyond the scope of a single individual, the reason why religion thrives is because sometimes wrong answers are a better advice than no answer at all.

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  2. I have very mixed reactions to this, but anything to pull the creationist (intelligent design) folks out of their entrenchments. Catholics have long had an ambiguous love affair with science.

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  3. The whole chapter is relevant to this discussion, but to be succinct:
    1 Corinthians 1:18
    King James Version (KJV)
    For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

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  4. I have often wondered why it is so difficult to work hand in hand with people of strong faith while I try to uncover the wonders of the universe and they seek out the glory of creation. It frustrates me to no end that some people must insist that we are looking at different pictures - and even more that if both of us are honest in our efforts, we seem to consistently come up with observations that differ by very predictable amounts.

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