I wonder if Jesuit, Brother Guy Consolmagno, gets caught up in these kinds of discussion. Probably not. Probably just goes on doing his science work at the Vatican Observatory:
Quote:
In spring 2000 he held the MacLean Chair for Visiting Jesuit Scholars at St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, and in 2006-2007 held the Loyola Chair at Fordham University, New York. He has also been a visiting scientist at the Goddard Space Flight Center and a visiting professor at Loyola College, Baltimore, and Loyola University, Chicago.
Consolmagno has served on the governing boards of the Meteoritical Society; the International Astronomical Union's (IAU) Division III, Planetary Systems Science (secretary, 2000 - present) and Commission 16, Moons and Planets (president, 2003-2006); and the American Astronomical Society Division for Planetary Sciences (chair, 2006-2007).
He has coauthored five astronomy books: Turn Left at Orion (with Dan M. Davis; Cambridge University Press, 1989); Worlds Apart (with Martha W. Schaefer; Prentice Hall, 1993); The Way to the Dwelling of Light (U of Notre Dame Press, 1998); Brother Astronomer (McGraw Hill, 2000); and God's Mechanics (Jossey-Bass, 2007). (Our Publications Page will help you to obtain these.)
http://www.vaticanobservatory.org/GConsolmagno.html
Yup, seems pretty busy. But it wouldn't be the first time that a Catholic was doing some important scientific work. Where would we be without Catholic priest, George Lemaitre, and his work on what he called his 'hypothesis of the primeval atom'? That was back in the 1920s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
Of course it's not just Catholics, within the Christian community, who think science and religion are compatible. In fact, it's not just Christians, within the wider religious community who think so:
Quote:
Theistic evolution and evolutionary creationism are similar concepts that assert that classical religious teachings about God are compatible with the modern scientific understanding about biological evolution. In short, theistic evolutionists believe that there is a God, that God is the creator of the material universe and (by consequence) all life within, and that biological evolution is simply a natural process within that creation.
...
This view is generally accepted by major Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church and some mainline Protestant denominations; some Jewish denominations; and other religious groups that lack a literalist stance concerning some holy scriptures. Various biblical literalists have accepted or noted openness to this stance, including theologian B.B. Warfield and evangelist Billy Graham.
...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_evolution
Other Christians who are currently working in various scientific fields:
John Polkinghorne
(born 1930) British particle physicist and Anglican priest who wrote Science and the Trinity (2004) ISBN 0-300-10445-6. Winner of the 2002 Templeton Prize.
Owen Gingerich
(born 1930) Mennonite astronomer who went to Goshen College and Harvard. An old picture of Goshen is shown. Mr. Gingerich has written about people of faith in science history.
Robert T. Bakker
(born 1945) Paleontologist who was a figure in the "dinosaur Renaissance" and known for the theory some dinosaurs were Warm-blooded. He is also a Pentecostal preacher who advocates theistic evolution and has written on religion.
John D. Barrow
(born 1952) An English cosmologist who did notable writing on the implications of the Anthropic principle. He is a United Reformed Church member and Christian deist. He won the Templeton Prize in 2006. He once held the position of Gresham Professor of Astronomy, so their crest is pictured.
Christopher Isham
(born ????) Theoretical physicist who developed HPO formalism. He teaches at Imperial College London, part of which is pictured to the side. In addition to being a physicist, he is a philosopher and theologian.
Martin Nowak
(born 1965) Evolutionary biologist and mathematician best known for evolutionary dynamics. He teaches at Harvard University, hence the Harvard seal to the side. [37]
John Lennox
Mathematician and Pastoral adviser. His works include the mathematical The Theory of Infinite Soluble Groups and the religion-oriented God's Undertaker - Has Science buried God? He has also debated religion with Richard Dawkins. He teaches at Oxford, which is pictured.
More if anyone is interested:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ers_in_science