A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom
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Author | Andrew Dickson White |
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Published | 1896 |
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A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom was published in two volumes by Andrew Dickson White, a founder of Cornell University, in 1896. White chronicles the gradual emancipation of science from theology in various fields.
In the introduction White states the original goal of his 1874 lecture on The Battlefields of Science and elaborated in a book The Warfare of Science the same year:
In all modern history, interference with science in the supposed interest of religion, no matter how conscientious such interference may have been, has resulted in the direst evils both to religion and to science, and invariably; and, on the other hand, all untrammelled scientific investigation, no matter how dangerous to religion some of its stages may have seemed for the time to be, has invariably resulted in the highest good both of religion and of science.
Content
- Chapter 1 From Creation to Evolution
The literal interpretation of Genesis, including denial of all death and of animals not of use to man before the introduction of sin, gives way to the recognition of the enormous number of species in the world. Various evolutionary ideas opposed progressively by Linnaeus, Cuvier and Agassiz led up to the theory of natural selection proposed by Darwin and Wallace. The initial theological opposition gradually gave way to compromise by most churches.
- Chapter 2 Geography
The spherical ideas of
- Chapter 3 Astronomy
Despite earlier more literal ideas, the
- Chapter 4 From "Signs and Wonders" to Law in the Heavens
- Chapter 5 From Genesis to Geology
Early Greek germs of explanations of fossils received no attention in
- Chapter 6 The Antiquity of Man, Egyptology, and Assyriology
The Biblical record was traditionally taken as a standard for the antiquity of mankind with estimates of 5199 BC under Pope
- Chapter 7 The Antiquity of Man and Prehistoric Archaeology
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4a/Bifaz_micoquiense.jpg/220px-Bifaz_micoquiense.jpg)
From early ages people had found "
- Chapter 8 The "Fall of Man" and Anthropology
The Biblical view of the perfect creation of humans followed by a fall is paralleled by stories of a
- Chapter 9 The "Fall of Man" and Ethnology
Studies of groups of people in the early stages of development show many similarities with evidence of Egyptian or Jewish archaeology, demonstrating development. This was opposed by several otherwise liberal men, including
- Chapter 10 The "Fall of Man" and History
History shows many examples where weaker bodies of men driven out of society have not relapsed to barbarism but have risen even under the most unfavourable circumstances. Other civilizations that have declined have been replaced by richer. Thus "Anthropology and its handmaids Ethnology, Philology and History, have wrought out, beyond a doubt, proofs of the upward evolution of humanity".
- Chapter 11 From "The Prince of the Power of the Air" to Meteorology
The conceptions of the early church about the weather were largely concerned with the (solid)
- Chapter 12 From Magic to Chemistry and Physics
- Chapter 13 From Miracles to Medicine
Christianity brought hospitals and infirmaries following the lead of Jesus the healer. But there was a tendency to elevate normal acts of healing into subsequent accounts of miracles, as in the case of
- Chapter 14 From Fetich to Hygiene
Pestilences were frequent in medieval times but an idea took hold that cleanliness betokens pride and filthiness humility, leading to many of the great saints not washing for years. Since holy relics were regarded as cures, the church grew richer at times of epidemics. In the 16th century the blame for disease was often placed on heretics and witches who were widely tortured. But only in the 19th century was scientific hygiene widely introduced.
- Chapter 15 From "Demoniacal Possession" to Insanity
In Greek and Roman times, the idea of
- Chapter 16 From Diabolism to Hysteria
As early as the 11th century there are accounts of diabolic possession taking the form of epidemics of raving, dancing and convulsions, particularly among women and children. This became pronounced at the end of the 14th century after the
- Chapter 17 From Babel to Comparative Philology
Every people held that its language was given to it by its own deity. The Hebrew story recounts the story of the
- Chapter 18 From the Dead Sea Legends to Comparative Mythology
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/MountSodom061607.jpg/220px-MountSodom061607.jpg)
Myths and legends abound in all countries and from all periods to explain natural phenomena. For centuries those of the countries surrounding Palestine were studied in comparison to each other, but never those of Palestine itself. But the legends such as the pillar of salt said to be
- Chapter 19 From Leviticus to Political Economy
The fathers of the church from
- Chapter 20 From the Divine Oracles to the Higher Criticism
During the Renaissance,
Reception
Historian of science Lawrence M. Principe writes, "No serious historians of science or of the science-religion issue today maintain the warfare thesis...The origins of the warfare thesis lie in the late 19th century, specifically in the work of two men - John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White. These men had specific political purposes in mind when arguing their case, and the historical foundations of their work are unreliable." [2]
Principe goes on to write "Despite appearances, White’s arguments are scarcely any better than Draper’s. White uses fallacious arguments and suspect or bogus sources. His methodological errors are collectivism (the unwarrantable extension of an individual’s views to represent that of some larger group of which he is a part), a lack of critical judgement about sources, argument by ridicule and assertion, failure to check primary sources, and quoting selectively and out of context. White popularized the baseless notions that before Columbus and Magellan, the world was thought to be flat and that the Earth’s sphericity was officially opposed by the Church. He is also responsible for the equally fallacious notion that the Church forbade human dissection. The notion - eternally repopularized by Hollywood - that the medieval Church condemned all science as devilry runs throughout White; this view is likewise baseless."[3]
In his course on science and religion, Principe points out a couple of examples of White's poor scholarship, "Let’s start with a simple and a notorious example: the idea that before Columbus people thought that the world was flat. Well, in fact, it is Draper and White, specifically, both of them, who bear most of the blame for popularizing this baseless view to the extent that nowadays, 80 percent of school teachers still foist this upon poor innocent school children. The fact is that of course the sphericity of the Earth was well established by the fifth century BC by the Greeks, and a good measure of its circumference made by the third century BC. And these facts were never forgotten in learned Western Culture."
Principe goes on to say, "White tells of a brave Columbus who fought mightily for the revolutionary notion of the earth’s sphericity. And here he helps us out (damning himself) with a footnote that reads “W. Irving, Life of Columbus” Yes, indeed, this is
Principe sums up White's book this way: "Refuting White is like shooting fish in a barrel. With his combination of bad sources, argument by assertion, quoting out of context, collectivism, and general reliance on exclamation, rather than evidence and argument, White’s is not a book to be taken seriously. Its real value is as a relic of its particular time and place, and as a museum of how not to write history...While we can look today with astonishment upon the shoddy character of Draper and White’s writings, their books have had enormous impact, and we can’t deny that. Much of this is due to their great success in their creating a myth for science as a religion. Their myth of science as a religion is replete with battles, and martyrdoms, and saints, and creeds. And as we know, or should know, myths are often much more powerful than historical realities."[5]
The
Christian historian of science, Ted Davis, has commented, "White was an historian himself, and for several generations his riveting narrative of enlightened and progressive science triumphing over ignorant and obscurantist theology set the tone for many other historical studies of science and religion. In the past few decades, however, historians of science have decisively rejected the ‘warfare’ view, along with many of the widely believed myths that White and Draper promulgated—such as the fictitious claim that John Calvin cited Psalm 93 against Nicolaus Copernicus or the wholly unfounded assertion that most Christians prior to Christopher Columbus believe in a flat earth. By insisting that all aspects of the history of science and religion must fit into one poorly chosen conceptual box, the ‘warfare’ view lied by gross oversimplification and led numerous scholars to overlook the large amount of historical material that just didn't fit into that box."[7]
Historian of science and agnostic Ronald Numbers has stated, in a collection dealing with inaccuracies made by White and others, "Historians of science have known for years that White's and Draper's accounts are more propaganda than history."[8]
Critical works
In response to many of White's assertions, James Joseph Walsh wrote a historical response called The Popes and Science: The History of the Papal Relations to Science During the Middle Ages and Down to Our Own Time in 1908.[9]
References
- ^ Lindberg, David C.; Numbers, Ronald L. (1987), Beyond War and Peace: A Reappraisal of the Encounter between Christianity and Science, retrieved 22 Aug 2013
- ^ Principe, Lawrence M. (2006). Science and Religion. The Teaching Company. p. 7.
- ^ Principe, Lawrence M. (2006). Science and Religion. The Teaching Company. p. 9.
- ^ Principe, Lawrence M. (2006). Science and Religion. The Teaching Company. p. Lecture 2.
- ^ Principe, Lawrence M. (2006). Science and Religion. The Teaching Company. p. Lecture 2.
- ^ Tom Flynn - The Science vs. Religion Warfare Thesis, Point of Inquiry, February 22, 2008, retrieved 21 Aug 2013
- ^ Davis, Ted. "Christianity and Science in Historical Perspective". Archived from the original on 2013-06-23. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
- ISBN 9780674057418.
- ISBN 9781440053023. text online
7 John William Draper, History of the Conflict Religion, D. Appleton and Co. (1881)
External links
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- History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom at Project Gutenberg
- History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom Vol 1 at Internet Archive
- History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom Vol 2 at Internet Archive
A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom public domain audiobook at LibriVox