Written by distinguished historians of science and religion, the 30 essays in this volume survey the relationship of Western religious traditions to science from the beginning of the Christian era to the late-20th century. This wide-ranging collection also introduces a variety of approaches to understanding their intersection, suggesting a model not of inalterable conflict, but of complex interaction. Tracing the rise of science from its birth in the mediaeval West through the scientific revolution, the contributors describe major shifts that were marked by discoveries such as those of Copernicus, Galileo, and Isaac Newton and the Catholic and Protestant reactions to them. They assess changes in scientific understanding brought about by 18th- and 19th-century transformations in geology, cosmology and biology, together with the responses of both mainstream religious groups and such newer movements as evangelicalism and fundamentalism.
The book also treats the theological implications of contemporary science and evaluates recent approaches such as environmentalism, gender studies, social construction and postmodernism, which are at the centre of current debates in the historiography, The contributors include: Colin A. Russell, David B. Wilson, Edward Grant, David C. Lindberg, Alnoor Dhanani, Owen Gingerich, Richard J. Blackwell, Edward B. Davis, Michael P. Winship, John Henry, Margaret J. Osler, Richard S. Westfall, John Hedley Brooke, Nicolaas A. Rupke, Peter M. Hess, James Moore, Peter J. Bowler, Ronald L. Numbers, Steven J. Harris, Mark A. Noll, Edward J. Larson, Richard Olson, Craig Sean McConnell, Robin Collins, William A. Dembski, David N. Livingstone, Sara Miles, and Stephen P. Weldon.