Cosmic Roots: The Conflict Between Science and Religion and How It Led to the Secular Age
About the Book
Cosmic Roots traces the five-thousand-year conflict between science and religion — and how it has shaped our modern secular worldview. Told with rare clarity and striking insight, this fascinating and thought-provoking book focuses on the history of cosmology and its sister science astronomy. For it was discoveries within these great disciplines which first led to the conflict between science and religion. The story begins with the cosmological beliefs of the ancients — from the flat Earth models of the Sumerians and Hebrews to the Greek notion of the orbits of planets as divine circles. Topics progress from Aristotle and Ptolemy’s integrated planetary models to the Sun-centered cosmologies of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and the great Isaac Newton. Their combined scientific achievements stand as testimony to the power and imagination of the human mind.
This meticulously researched narrative also traces the roots of Western religion, based on historical events and archeological evidence. It takes us on a captivating journey through Western religious history — from ancient paganism to the ethical monotheism of the Hebrews, Christians, and Moslems. Along the way, we follow the rise and fall of civilizations, of empires, cycles of war and peace, unification and division.
The book concludes with how Darwin came up with his theory of evolution and the impact of modern physics on religious beliefs. The cumulative effect of the scientific discoveries presented in Cosmic Roots has, for better or for worse, led to the separation of science and religion we see in Western culture today.
PURCHASE ON LINE
Introduction
Over luminous days and crystalline nights, ancient humans watched the Sun, Moon, stars and planets wheel around the sky. The heavenly bodies were gods. Their gift was time. Telling mortals when to sleep, to wake, to sow, to reap.
Thus began a quest to predict the motions of celestial objects—one which would come to throw man out from his vaulted place at the center of the universe. It was an epic journey, covering some 150 generations and nearly 5000 years—punctuated by brilliant leaps of insight, at times against great resistance by religious authorities. From this emerged scientific achievements which stand as testimony to the power and imagination of the human mind.
This book is about that quest. About science. About religion. About their entwined history of conflict and insights which has come to define and shape our modern worldview.
Contents
- The Sumerians: The Word’s First Civilization and their Flat Earth Cosmology
- Gods and the One God: The Ancient Hebrews and their Fifteen-Century Path to Ethical Monotheism
- Lovers of Wisdom: The Ancient Greeks, Socrates, Plato, and Divine Circles
- The Great Astronomers: Aristotle, Ptolemy and the First Integrated Geometric Models of the Universe
- Zeus vs. YHWY: Alexander the Great and the Hellenization of Biblical Judea
- The Apocalypse: The Book of Daniel, John the Baptist, and Historical Jesus
- The Thirteenth Apostle: Paul, his Conversion, and Opening to Gentiles
- The Remarkable Spread of Christianity: The Age of Martyrs and Constantine the Great
- Rebirth: Islamic Science, the Crusades, Genghis Khan and the Renaissance
- The Scientific Revolution: Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo
- The Great One: Isaac Newton, His Laws of Motion and Universal Gravitation, and their Religious Implications
- Enlightenment: The Age of Reason, John Locke, Voltaire, and Wollstonecraft
- Two Giants: Laplace’s “No Need for God” and Le Verrier’s Uranus Prediction
- Life: Charles Darwin, his Theory of Evolution, and Religious Reactions
- The Secular Universe: Brief Overview of Modern Physics and its Religious Implications
Supplementary Material – Cosmic Roots
Watch The Cosmic Roots Videos
Paul Heckert, Professor Emeritus of Physics and Astronomy, Western Carolina University, Author: Physics 101 Tutorial Series
“Interesting and informative . . . Debunks common misconceptions.” (Scientific Revolution)
Joyce C. Schiffman, Student, OSHER Lifelong Learning Institute, University of Miami
“A masterpiece.”
Darold Rorabacher, BAE Systems Ret.
WOW!!! A great book!! Excellent writing, easy to read, fascinating. Very interesting and informative.”
Peter Luykx, Emeritus Professor of Genetics, University of Miami
“Written in an engaging style. I enjoyed reading it.” (Darwin story)
Laura Hernandez, Amazon *****
“A great book! Cosmic Roots is a fascinating book about the conflict between science and religion over time. I liked how the author entwined history, religion, and science (both physics and biology). Despite this being a subject that I would normally not read I found myself wanting to read more. The chapters had a wealth of information and included figures that made it easier to visualize and the sidebars added complementary anecdotes. I found it captivating how the author first described the historical character’s personality and upbringing, which made it more personal. Additionally, the author included humor which made the book more entertaining.”
Robert A. Lawler, Science and Science Fiction Blog. scienceandsf.com
“This book tells an important story and tells it well .. . it brings out quite a few details that I had never heard of . . . It is interesting and well written . . Everyone who wishes to be considered an educated individual needs to know the basics of this story and Cosmic Roots is a good way to learn it.”
Mom
“The most amazing book I have ever read.”