14. Revelation and Science

Do Revelation and Science contradict each other?

— No; Revelation and Science do not, and cannot, contradict each other, for both are of God.

1. There may at times be an apparent conflict between faith and science; but this is only apparent, and never real. God cannot contradict Himself. He cannot lead us into error.

True Science is the handmaid of Religion. Science and the scientific method are means of arriving at the truth, and Religion is Truth. The greatest scientists have been Christians; a majority of outstanding leaders in science were Catholics, and many were priests. Only the shallow dabblers in science absurdly pretend that there is a conflict. The apparent conflicts arise from false interpretations, as when one takes for scientific truth what is false or not proved, or accepts as a doctrine of faith something not taught by the Church.

2. There can never be a real conflict between Revelation and Science, because in Scripture God addresses man directly, whereas in created things, He addresses man indirectly. Proceeding from one source, Faith and science cannot be in real contradiction.

The Bible's purpose is to teach salvation; but people make the mistake of considering it a treatise on Science. St. Thomas and St. Augustine taught that when the Bible describes some phenomenon of nature, it sets it down in terms of its appearances.

3. No scientific experiment or theory can dispense with the necessity of a Creator. Unless His existence is accepted, we can never explain: (a) the origin of matter, even the most elementary; (b) the origin of motion; (c) the origin of the first living organisms, and of the spiritual soul of man; and (d) the origin of the order and law so apparent in the universe.

Some Catholic Scientists

As a practical demonstration that there is no contradiction between Divine Revelation and Science, we here list some of the thousands of scientists who through the ages have been practising members of the Catholic Church and at the same time outstanding in Science. These men not only found no conflict between science and religion, but became more firm in their faith as they delved deeper into science. As Marconi, one of the greatest scientists of our time, declared: "Science alone is unable to explain many things, and most of all, the greatest of mysteries -- the mystery of our existence. I believe, not only as a Catholic, but also as scientist." We do not include here the names of Catholics preeminent in navigation, architecture, art, music or literature, limiting ourselves to natural and physical science.

What are the only difficulties found by some scientists in the Biblical account of the creation?

— The only difficulties found by some scientists in the Biblical account of the Creation are connected with the order or sequence of events followed in the Book of Genesis.

1. If we study the proper interpretation, even these difficulties will be found not to exist.

Between Scripture and science, in their essence, there is neither contradiction nor confusion. Rather, they always cohere one with the other. Sometimes they are difficult to understand because of their depth, but always, when clearly known, they are seen to be in conformity with the superior exigencies of reason. (Pius XII, 1955)

2. Without making a specific definition on how to interpret Genesis, the Church has insisted that it is infallibly true and substantially historical.

Catholics are free to accept the interpretation that they prefer, so long as they also accept the facts taught: that God created all things, including the angels and the first man and woman.

3. Concerning the age of the world, men of science stipulate billions of years, while Scripture indicates that the history of man is restrained to less than 6000 years. These two angles of knowledge are not contradictory if we take man’s creation for the starting point of man’s history. The true interpretation of Scripture leaves both options open.

A Catholic is free to hold a serious scientific theory, provided he is prepared to submit to the judgement of the Church, the divinely appointed caretaker of Scripture.

Algue, a priest, invented the barocyclonometer, to detect approach of cyclones.

Ampere was founder of the science of electrodynamics, and investigator of the laws of electromagnetism.

Becquerel, Antoine Cesar, was the founder of electrochemistry.

Becquerel , Antoine Henri, was the discoverer of radio-activity.

Binet, mathematician and astronomer, set forth the principle, "Binet's Theorem."

Braille invented the Braille system for the blind.

Buffon wrote the first work on natural history.

Caesalpinus, a Papal physician, was the first to construct a system of botany.

Carrell, Nobel prize winner in medicine and physiology, is renowned for his work in surgical technique.

Cassiodorus, a priest, invented the watch.

Columbo discovered the pulmonary circulation of the blood.

Coulomb established the fundamental laws of static electricity.

Copernicus, a priest, expounded the Copernican system.

De Chauliac, a Papal physician, was the father of modern surgery and hospitals.

Descartes founded analytical geometry.

De Vico, a priest, discovered six comets.

Dumas invented a method of ascertaining vapor densities.

Endlicher, botanist and historian, established a new system of classifying plants.

Eustachius, for whom the Eustachian tube was named, was one of the founders of modern anatomy.

Fabricius discovered the valvular system of the veins.

Fallopius, for whom the Fallopian tube was named, was an eminent physiologist.

Fizeau was the first to determine experimentally the velocity of light.

Foucault invented the first practical electric arc lamp; he refuted the corpuscular theory of light; he invented the gyroscope.

Fraunhofer was initiator of spectrum analysis; he established laws of diffraction.

Fresnel contributed more to the science of optics than any other man.

Galilei, a great astronomer, is the father of experimental science.

Other scientists

: Agricola, Albertus Magnus, Bacon, Bartholomeus, Bayma, Beccaria, Behalm, Bernard, Blondo, Biot, Bolgano, Borrus, Boscovitch, Bosio, Bourgeois, Branly, Caldani, Cambou, Camel, Cardan, Carnoy, Cassini, Cauchy, Cavaliere, Caxton, Champollion, Chevreul, Clavius, De Rossi, Divisch, Dulong, Dwight, Eckhel, Epee, Fabre, Fabri, Faye, Ferrari, Gassendi, Gay-Lussac, Gordon, Grimaldi, Hauy, Heis, Helmont, Hengler, Heude, Hilgard, Jussieu, Kelly, Lamarck, Laplace, Linacre, Malus, Mersenne, Monge, Muller, Murphy, Murray, Nelston, Nieuwland, Nobili, Nollet, Ortelius, Ozaman, Pelouze, Piazzi, Pitra, Plumier, Pouget, Provancher, Regnault, Riccioli, Sahagun, Santorini, Schwann, Schwarz, Secchi, Semmelweis, Spallanzani, Takamine, Tieffentaller, Toscanelli, Tulasne, Valentine, Vernier, Vieta, Da Vinci, Waldseemuller, Winckelmann, Windle, and a host of others, too many to mention.

Galvani, one of the pioneers of electricity, was also an anatomist and physiologist.

Gioja, father of scientific navigation, invented the mariner's compass.

Gramme invented the Gramme dynamo.

Guttenberg invented printing.

Herzog discovered a cure for infantile paralysis.

Holland invented the first practical submarine.

Kircher, a priest, made the first definite statement of the germ theory of disease.

Laennec invented the stethoscope.

Lancisi, a Papal physician, was the father of clinical medicine.

Latreille was pioneer in entomology.

Lavoisier is called Father of Modern Chemistry.

Leverrier discovered the planet Neptune.

Lully is said to have been the first to employ chemical symbols.

Malpighi, a Papal physician, was a botanist, and the father of comparative physiology.

Marconi's place in radio is unsurpassed.

Mariotte discovered Mariotte's law of gases.

Mendel, a monk, first established the laws of heredity, which gave the final blow to the theory of natural selection.

Morgagni, founder of modern pathology; made important studies in aneurisms.

Muller was the greatest biologist of the 19th century, founder of modern physiology.

Pascal demonstrated practically that a column of air has weight.

Pasteur , called the "Father of Bacteriology," and inventor of biotherapeutics, was the leading scientist of the 19th century.

Picard, a priest, was the first to measure accurately a degree of the meridian.

Regiomontanus, a Bishop and Papal astronomer; was the father of modern astronomy.

Scheiner, a priest, invented the pantograph, and made a telescope that permitted the first systematic investigation of sun spots.

Secchi invented the meteorograph.

Steensen, a Bishop, was the father of geology.

Theodoric, a Bishop, discovered anesthesia in the 13th century.

Torricelli invented the barometer.

Vesalius was the founder of modern anatomical science.

Volta invented the first complete galvanic battery; the "volt" is named after him.