Customer Reviews

History of the Conflict Between Religion and Science

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I found this to be an amazing book, comparable to HG Well's Outline of History. Before I read it I checked on the biography of the author, as I wanted to make sure he had the intellectual standing to write such a book before I invested my time in it. He does. You can check him on Wikipedia. He is contemporary (1881) with great events regarding the relationship between science and religion, yet everything he covers is applicable in today's world. He recognized the importance of the conflicts that were emerging and investigated the history of the relationship between science and religion, observed their present state, and makes what turns out to be very accurate predictions of exactly the situation we are in today. I am a student of history and I could find no fault with his presentation of historical facts, though he presents them in a context is unique to him at that time.
With the publication of Stephen Hawkin's book, "The Grand Design" we are seeing a replay of the same conflict again between a static belief system and a system that is constantly expanding, making Draper's book all the more relevant in understanding just what is happening and why.
As a plus, the author is an excellent writer of his time and I enjoyed his civility, and how he uses his words. A great relief from the "yell at you" style that seems popular now. If anyone is interested in a well thought out and intelligently presented explanation of why civilization finds itself in the conflicts we see everyday in the news, I recommend this work.
BTW the University of Va. has a copy of this book in it's online library. I'd recommend reading the preface there to see if you'd like it. May be able to get a sample on the Kindle also.

What a refreshing encapsulation of the history of religion and how it stifled science! I was shocked to find that the author is from the mid-19th century. I have picked up many new insights into all religions and the politics of religion. Well written, though sometimes tough to follow author's thoughts (due to (unavoidable) inaccuracies in transcription). Will read more by author and further investigate some of his claims regarding very early astronomy - just the kind of action that reading a good book should generate! I loved it!

This book should be called "A history of religion and philosophers". I got it to research the attitudes of those opposed to science in history, and there was not much I could lift from it. However it's quite interesting, just not much about science.

Draper is a man who predicted advances in science when many of those things hadn't been considered by those more skilled and qualified than himself.

It is quite amazing to read the predictions of a man made in 1874. His thoughts on what he considers the precipice of the information age. He couldn't possible have known what was in store for this world as it progressed through the late 19th and early 20th century. He certainly would not have understood that the later half of the 20th century would give rise to more knowledge, advent, discover and technology... to more science and understanding than the entire history of humanity thus far. Yet here in his own words he shows that with forethought one can have an idea about how things will pan out.

Draper seen the conflict of Religion and Science as ultimately lost by religion if it simply did not adapt to the new knowledge being uncovered in his day and what was to follow. It was probably okay in the 16th, 17th or 18th century to have a 50 year debate on a single subject since science moved rather slowly. It was NOT okay to do that in 1874... and its suicide to think people will do so now with a world of data at their fingertips. In his mind Religion picked a fight they knew they could not win by insisting on absurdity when demonstration said otherwise and that continuing in this manner would simply spell the death of religion. The ultimate threat of 'forget your idea or we will kill you' is now simply gone. Which leaves demonstration in place of forced subservience.

For its part in the 1800' those proselytizing science as an 'understanding' of the word tended to face off against religion giving it essentially a forum to make its point.

Since this time scientists have learned not to bother questioning religious doctrine. To them the battle is won and most don't care what the worlds religions say. They now simply get on with the job and the voices of those in the religions camp may do as they wish. This is one of the reasons Japanese, Chinese, European and Indian scientists agree the situation in the USA is terrible... but really couldn't be bothered to do anything about it. They know that either the science will demonstrate itself, or it will be forcibly curtailed... either way those are political things that might happen and will not impact on the philosophy of science or its knowledge base. Once discovered and used you simply can't put the science genie back into the box.

This book was added to a list of 'banned books' by the catholic hierarchy. Its still on that list even though the catholic church now accept every word of it. But in the In the 1870's that was more or less a sales aid and only served to increase sales of the book. Moreover I find it interesting that to ban such a book someone inside the church had to read it. Surely if its okay for them and only served to have them ban it, then its okay for their congregations?

Drapers work in this book was mostly a discussion of the works of others.

I find it amazing that although this book is over 140 years old, and even though the things we can easily demonstrate to ourselves on a kitchen table in 2012 are known by many... that some people still see the world in the light of nonsense that those lesser educated did in the centuries before even this book was written.

Moreover almost every point raised by those who argue for creation mythology is mentioned and quashed in this book from 1874! These things were known then...we've passed an entire century and there are still people who think the world is 6k years old...

Home schooling is not an excuse either... Draper himself was home schooled by his father, a creationist clergyman.

I would recommend this easy to read tome to anyone with an interest in the social and scientific evolution of the United States.

Now, after seeing one review on here, I have to make my thoughts known. This is an absolutely amazing book. How anyone doesn't think that it clarifies exactly what the title dictates, is beyond me. There is a disturbing story that brought tears to my eyes: monks took an educated woman, the bishop was jealous of, stripped her naked - dragged her into the church, where Peter the reader bludgeoned her to death - then scraped the flesh from her bones and burned it all in the fire. I totally see how the conflict between science and religion started, escalated and continues on. It is a great book and extremely well written.

I found this to be an amazing book, comparable to HG Well's Outline of History its a whiz bang book

There are two problems with this book: First, its title and introduction lead one to believe that it will be an objective depiction of the anatomy of a conflict. Instead, it is a polemic against Christianity (mostly Roman Catholicism) and an endorsement of Science. Second, although its conspicuous copyrite year is 2010, the book was actually written in the late 19th century.

The book presents very detailed historical material of the evolution of science and Christianity from the time of their origins up to the late 1800s, and concludes that Christianity, during most that time, severely hampered the vigor and freedom of scientific inquiry. The essence of the author's thesis is that in trying to explain everything about everything Christianity had, in large part, stepped on ground that would have been better served by observation and experimentation. In its determnation to maintain the upper hand, and in vacating the ideational ground upon which Christ stood, Christianity ultimately killed people, stifled free thinking and stymied the progress of civilization for at least a millenium before the Protestant Reformation. At least the author implies as much.

This seems axiomatic from the standpoint of the 21st century and it might be true that Christianity lost its way within a short period after Christ's death. But, in the author's 19th century zeal to extol the virtues of science he omits an examination of what Christianity did accomplish on ground that it rightly stood. For instance, "Seminal Christianity" is not designed to be scientific but rather to be interpretive; it's not to explain what the universe is but why it is there; it doesn't speak to the human mind but to the human heart. To paint Chrisitrianity, in general, negatively in contrast to the neoreligion of science might have worked in a culture bathing in the first glow of Darwinism. However, those brush strokes don't impress the modern mind that knows religion and science try to do different things, knows that any religion is not monolithic, notwithstanding the indiscriminate carpet-bombings of Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, et al. As one tradition steps on the ground of the other, it is wrong.

Draper was drunk with the miracles of late 19th century science and was understandably myopic. This reader, by virtue of the times he lives in, is not.

This book isn't really about science or religion per se, though it says a lot about both subjects, it's more a handbook of opinions and how to not write authoritatively. After reading it, I wonder if the FOX channel knows about it. Bigotry and Ignorance are part and parcell of this man's writings.