One of the prevailing myths of modern intellectual and cultural history is that there has been a long-running war between science and religion, particularly over evolution. This book argues that what is mistaken as a war between science and religion is actually a pair of wars between other belligerents--one between evolutionists and anti-evolutionists and another between atheists and Christians. In neither of those wars can one align science with one side and religion or theology with the other. This book includes a review of the encounter of Christian theology with the pre-Darwinian rise of historical geology, an account of the origins of the warfare myth, and a careful discussion of the salient historical events on which the myth-makers rely--the Huxley-Wilberforce exchange, the Scopes Trial and the larger anti-evolutionist campaign in which it was embedded, and the more recent curriculum wars precipitated by the proponents of Creation Science and of Intelligent-Design Theory.
Kenneth W. Kemp is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the co-translator of Archbishop Józef Życiński’s God and Evolution: Fundamental Questions of Christian Evolutionism.
“The War That Never Was is a highly informative narrative of historical relations between science and religion. Telling a story that will attract both experts and novices, Kenneth Kemp’s historical details and persuasive analyses are eye-opening. Kemp shows that there has often been conflict between old ideas and new ideas, and sometimes, between new ideas and new ideas. But he thoroughly refutes the idea that there has been unrelenting conflict between science and religion.”
—Philip Rolnick, Professor of Theology, University of St. Thomas; author of Origins: God, Evolution, and the Question of the Cosmos
“It is commonly said that ‘religion,’ specifically Christianity, has been at war with science over evolution, the origin of man, and the age of the earth. The real history was more complex and far more interesting, as shown in this wonderful book, which combines elegant writing, thorough historical research, and crystal-clear analyses of the philosophical, theological, and scientific issues. One of the most illuminating and enjoyable books I have read in a long time.”
—Stephen M. Barr, theoretical particle physicist; President, Society of Catholic Scientists
“Using the complex and entangled relationship between Darwinian biology and Christian theology as a historical example, philosopher Kenneth Kemp provocatively claims that the so-called war between science and religion was not a conflict between these two fields of human inquiry. Rather, it should be described as a struggle between new ideas and old ones that were challenged and attacked within science itself and within various churches and ecclesial communions. Intriguing.”
—Nicanor Pier Giorgio Austriaco, OP, Professor of Biology and Theology, Providence College; Director, ThomisticEvolution.org
“Behold, I tell you a mystery—this book is mainly about Protestant attitudes toward natural history, and primarily historical rather than philosophical in orientation, yet the author is an accomplished Catholic philosopher. The happy combination makes an original, refreshing, and highly interesting contribution to our understanding of Christianity and science.”
—Edward B. Davis, Distinguished Professor of the History of Science, Messiah College
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