Between Science and Religion

The Engagement of Catholic Intellectuals with Science and Technology in the Twentieth Century

Phillip M. Thompson

• Publisher: Lexington Books
• Year: 2009
• eBook ISBN: 9798216295495
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Denominations

In exploring the role of Catholic intellectuals in engaging science and technology in the twentieth century, this book initially provides a background context for this evolution by examining the Modernism crisis in the first chapter. In order to unpack the subsequent evolution, Thompson then concentrates in separate chapters on the distinctive contributions of four specific Catholic intellectuals, Jacques Maritain (1882–1973), Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955), Bernard Lonergan (1904–1984), and Thomas Merton (1915–1968). All of these intellectuals experienced some degree of official restraint in their efforts but through their distinctive intellectual trajectories, they contributed to a different engagement of the Church with science and technology. In the final chapters, the book first reviews the changes within the institutional Church in the twentieth century toward science and technology. Finally, it then applies some key ideals of the four intellectuals to anneal and extend John Paul II's approach of "critical openness" to suggest how the Church can now engage science and technology.

Table of contents

• Between Scienceand Religion
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: The Legacy of theModernist Crisis
• Chapter 2: Jacques Maritain’s Searchfor Wisdom (1882–1973)
• Chapter 3: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955) and the Operation of the Divine in the Universe
• Chapter 4: Bernard Lonergan’s (1904–1984) Cognitive Project
• Chapter 5: Thomas Merton’s (1915–1968) Contemplative Critique
• Chapter 6: The Transformative Century
• Chapter 7: The Path of Critical Openness
• Concluding Reflections
• Bibliography
• Index
• About the Author