In his op-ed piece last Sunday in USA Today , Edward O. Wilson makes a sweeping pronouncement: “The two world views—science-based explanations and faith-based religion—cannot be reconciled.” I agree: one cannot reconcile them, because they do not need to be reconciled. They do not need to be reconciled, because they do not conflict. They do not conflict, because no assertion made by one contradicts any assertion made by the other. I am speaking of my own “faith-based religion”, Catholicism. If there were any accepted science-based explanation that conflicted with what my Church teaches, I think I would have noticed it at some point during my thirty years as a research scientist. Prof. Wilson’s pronouncement comes out of the blue. There is nothing in the rest of his op-ed piece—or indeed in his other writings—that backs it up. Is it too much to expect a scientist to stick to facts, while extolling the virtues of sticking to facts?
(Click here to email the author about this item. Stephen Barr is a theoretical particle physicist at the Bartol Research Institute of the University of Delaware, and a member of the editorial board of F IRST T HINGS .)
In addition to which :
The Vatican has issued firm directives about homosexuality and the priesthood. Influential Catholic voices say the instruction can be ignored with impunity. Is the pontificate of Benedict headed for a crisis of authority? These are questions addressed by Richard John Neuhaus in the February issue. In the same issue, Timothy George provides a surprising perspective on contemporary evangelicalism, and Avery Cardinal Dulles explains why the pope likes some parts of Vatican II more than others. Also: Jews and the “religious right,” the brilliant errors of Stanley Hauerwas, and Robert P. George on why private acts are not beyond the law. To subscribe to F IRST T HINGS , click here .
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The Church in the Age of Therapy
In 1966, Philip Rieff wrote in The Triumph of the Therapeutic that “Religious man was born to…
Canada’s Deadliest Blind Spot
On September 20, the Daily Mail ran a story with the provocative headline, “Our 83-year-old Christian grandmother…
The Faithful Joy of Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen
Dolly Parton and Fulton Sheen seem to have had little in common. She favored rhinestones; he wore…
