Skeptics And True Believers
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- £5.49
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- £5.49
Publisher Description
Acknowledging that the scientific and the spiritual communities are increasingly split, Raymo builds strong bridges between them. He ilustrates his arguement with an array of thought-provoking stories, such as the remarkable migratory flight of a small bird called the Red Knot; the long, glorious glide of the Comet Hyakutake across the night sky; a hilarious alien abduction that didn't happen. Together, they are compelling evidence that religion should embrace the reliable knowledge of the world that science provides, while at the same time science should respect and nourish humankind's need for spiritual sustenance. 'Miracles are explainable, ' Raymo paraphrases the writer Tim Robinson, 'it is the explanations that are miraculous'. For anyone drawn to reflect on life's meaning and purpose, Chet Raymo's uncomprimising skepticism and reverence for mystery will affirm and inspire.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Responding in part to the rise of millennial-driven New Age spirituality, Raymo (Honey from Stone: A Naturalist's Search for God) writes along the tender edges of mystery that bind off objective science from religious faith. Using a light journalistic style, Raymo seeks to find some common ground upon which to construct mutual appreciation between science and religion. Sources diverse as John Donne, Charles Darwin, Gerard Manley Hopkins and Albert Einstein enliven the discussion. Raymo begins with a brief autobiographical sketch of his early life in Roman Catholicism. He moves on to his college-aged discovery of the satisfaction in the complete, verifiable and reproducible, if limited, answers that science affords. A scientist through and through, Raymo yet maintains an appreciation for the ineffable in life. While the author does not disguise his scientific preferences, it will take readers some time to see that this is not an evenhanded discussion. By lumping astrology, UFO enthusiasts and fundamental religionists together, Raymo's intellectual prejudices and disdain for what he calls "True Believers" finally becomes apparent. The work lacks proper responses by contemporary philosophical theologians, as well. Still, Raymo's book will prove worthwhile for those curious about science as the myth of the modern age. Rights (except world English, translation, audio): Palmer & Dodge.
