Post by auntym on Oct 16, 2014 11:06:48 GMT -6
www.smh.com.au/national/people/the-popes-astronomer-on-space-the-bible-and-alien-life-20141015-116nrl.html
The Pope's astronomer on space, the Bible and alien life
October 16, 2014
by Cameron Atfield / Brisbane Times and Sun-Herald journalist
Papal astronomer Brother Guy Consolmagno says the greatest revelation to come out of astronomy, for him, was the "joy that we all live under the same stars". Photo: Bradley Kanaris
Science and religion have often appeared at loggerheads, but Papal astronomer Brother Guy Consolmagno says there is no need for conflict.
Brother Consolmagno said while literal readings of the Bible suggested the world was young, the perpetration of that belief, despite the scientific evidence to the contrary, was simply "bad theology".
"It's almost blasphemous theology," he told Fairfax Media during a visit to Brisbane on Wednesday.
"It's certainly not the tradition of Catholicism and never has been and it misunderstands what the Bible is and it misunderstands what science is."
And that was why Brother Consolmagno, a decorated planetary scientist, struggled when asked how he reconciled his faith with his science.
For him, there was nothing to reconcile.
"I grew up with the nuns in my school teaching me science," Brother Consolmagno said.
"Science is a way of getting close to creation, to really getting intimate with creation, and it's a way of getting intimate with the creator.
"It's an act of worship."
Brother Consolmagno, who has returned to his native United States after more than 20 years at the Vatican, said any science book more than three years old was probably at least partially out of date.
So, in that regard, the Bible should not be used as a basis for scientific study.
"Science goes out of date – it's supposed to," Brother Consolmagno said.
"Now, if you're turning the Bible into a science book, then you're saying you should throw it out after three years and you don't want to do that.
"...The very concept of a science book didn't exist when the Bible was written – that's the misunderstanding of theology, of the Bible."
Brother Consolmagno said science, like religion, was not literal.
"The search for literalism, the search for absolute truth, isn't what science is about and it's not what religion is about," he said.
"If you want a sound bite answer [to the reconciliation question], my religion tells me God made the universe and my science tells me how he did it."
Brother Consolmagno's path to the Vatican Observatory was in part, he said, because he was "remarkably unsuited" for regular priestly duties, such as helping people with their problems.
"I'm too much of a nerd to really be able to relate to that," he said.
But mostly, Brother Consolmagno said, he went to the Vatican "under obedience" when he arrived in 1993.
"Somebody higher up had seen my resume and said 'you're going to the Vatican, you have to eat that terrible Italian food, look at that boring scenery and, oh yeah, they've got a collection of 1000 meteorites', which was my specialty, that I was to curate," he said.
"So, I didn't do anything, I didn't apply for it, I merely obeyed and while I joke about it, I really did want to teach.
"I really didn't want to go there, but it turned out to be the best thing I ever did."
Brother Consolmagno said the modern Vatican Observatory, which was established by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, was smaller than other research facilities in which he had worked, such as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
But it had its advantages.
CONTINUE READING: www.smh.com.au/national/people/the-popes-astronomer-on-space-the-bible-and-alien-life-20141015-116nrl.html#ixzz3GKS0fjWG
The Pope's astronomer on space, the Bible and alien life
October 16, 2014
by Cameron Atfield / Brisbane Times and Sun-Herald journalist
Papal astronomer Brother Guy Consolmagno says the greatest revelation to come out of astronomy, for him, was the "joy that we all live under the same stars". Photo: Bradley Kanaris
Science and religion have often appeared at loggerheads, but Papal astronomer Brother Guy Consolmagno says there is no need for conflict.
Brother Consolmagno said while literal readings of the Bible suggested the world was young, the perpetration of that belief, despite the scientific evidence to the contrary, was simply "bad theology".
"It's almost blasphemous theology," he told Fairfax Media during a visit to Brisbane on Wednesday.
"It's certainly not the tradition of Catholicism and never has been and it misunderstands what the Bible is and it misunderstands what science is."
And that was why Brother Consolmagno, a decorated planetary scientist, struggled when asked how he reconciled his faith with his science.
For him, there was nothing to reconcile.
"I grew up with the nuns in my school teaching me science," Brother Consolmagno said.
"Science is a way of getting close to creation, to really getting intimate with creation, and it's a way of getting intimate with the creator.
"It's an act of worship."
Brother Consolmagno, who has returned to his native United States after more than 20 years at the Vatican, said any science book more than three years old was probably at least partially out of date.
So, in that regard, the Bible should not be used as a basis for scientific study.
"Science goes out of date – it's supposed to," Brother Consolmagno said.
"Now, if you're turning the Bible into a science book, then you're saying you should throw it out after three years and you don't want to do that.
"...The very concept of a science book didn't exist when the Bible was written – that's the misunderstanding of theology, of the Bible."
Brother Consolmagno said science, like religion, was not literal.
"The search for literalism, the search for absolute truth, isn't what science is about and it's not what religion is about," he said.
"If you want a sound bite answer [to the reconciliation question], my religion tells me God made the universe and my science tells me how he did it."
Brother Consolmagno's path to the Vatican Observatory was in part, he said, because he was "remarkably unsuited" for regular priestly duties, such as helping people with their problems.
"I'm too much of a nerd to really be able to relate to that," he said.
But mostly, Brother Consolmagno said, he went to the Vatican "under obedience" when he arrived in 1993.
"Somebody higher up had seen my resume and said 'you're going to the Vatican, you have to eat that terrible Italian food, look at that boring scenery and, oh yeah, they've got a collection of 1000 meteorites', which was my specialty, that I was to curate," he said.
"So, I didn't do anything, I didn't apply for it, I merely obeyed and while I joke about it, I really did want to teach.
"I really didn't want to go there, but it turned out to be the best thing I ever did."
Brother Consolmagno said the modern Vatican Observatory, which was established by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, was smaller than other research facilities in which he had worked, such as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
But it had its advantages.
CONTINUE READING: www.smh.com.au/national/people/the-popes-astronomer-on-space-the-bible-and-alien-life-20141015-116nrl.html#ixzz3GKS0fjWG