Comparing Galileo And Darwin's On The Origin Of Species

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The integration of science and faith has been evolving since the development of science and rationalism. Many early scientist acknowledged the Christian faith as a framework for understanding science. Theology, however, was seen as superior to science and conflict between the two, as in the case of Galileo, would occasionally arise. The publication of Darwin’s On the Origin of Species heralded a new challenge to the traditional framework for integrating science and faith (Entwistle, 2010, p. 27). Science was now seen as separate from faith. Faith is being rejected and integration is no longer deemed necessary. Within the field of psychology, a similar disparity is occurring. Reactions within the Church and academic circles have varied, some …show more content…
David Myers (2014) attempts to address the apparent conflict between science and religion by quoting Galileo who said, “The bible teaches us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go” (Galileo, as cited in Myers, 2014, p. 141). Myers (2014) seems to dismiss the idea that the bible does tell us how to go to heaven. He writes, “Today, Darwin’s theory lives on in the second Darwinian revolution: the application of evolutionary principles to psychology” (p. 141). However, if the Bible really does tell us how to go to heaven, should not Biblical principles also be incorporated into psychology rather than evolutionary principles …show more content…
The differing perspectives on the nature of God and of humans in both disciplines can challenge the assumptions of the other. As a Christian, I value all truth as God’s truth. God has granted us reason so that it can be used. Solomon, in Proverbs 25:2 writes, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings” (The New International Version). Discovering truth in psychology and theology is a high calling. Properly integrating the two disciplines can yield a greater understanding of both God and human nature than either discipline could

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