This is exactly what I was talking about ...

... when I wrote my review of Angels & Demons:

The movie, which I saw this past weekend, poses the question that science and religion may be able to join forces, bridge the gap, and come full circle together - a concept I've been pondering for three decades.

In the movie, the scientific properties of "anti-matter" are also labeled as the "God element," even though it's criminally used as a potential weapon of mass destruction against religion - Catholicism namely - and the Vatican City.

Or, on the other hand, will science and religion forever remain as polar opposites, each heading in opposite directions with opposing purposes, agendas, and properties? Something to think about on this back-to-work Tuesday, whether you're among the faithful or not.

Those deep thoughts from Jerry Davich, the metro columnist for the Post-Tribune newspaper (Chicago). In my review I had remarked that "my biggest concern with Angels & Demons has not been with what it proposes as much as with what it reinforces, namely, the convenient but thoroughly false notion that the Catholic Church is an enemy—even a violent, bloody one—of science and reason." Davich's comment hangs on that misconception, but one of Davich's readers provides a more ripe example of a confident assertion based on complete nonsense and delivered with assured condescension:

The problem is that theists require that you acccept their answer based merely on their word while actively ignoring any evidence that may be presented to you. The beauty and power of science is that it allows people to "not fool themselves". I can make any claim I want about science or the natural world for that matter. You don't need to take my word for it, you can perform the experiment yourself. Note that "doubt" in the christian religion is one of the worst sins one can commit. On the other hand, science actively encourages doubt and holds it in high regard.

The track records of religion and science speak for themselves. Science has consistently marched forward since its conception, delivering real tangible gains in the quality of life. The computer that you're reading on, ample food, clean water, and modern medicine are all tribute to the power of science. Since antiquity, religion has opposed science, from murdering Copernicus to opposing the teaching of evolution. The war between science and religion has been largely one-sided since the dark ages, as science has steadily progressed. On the other hand, while the war is being won, battles are being lost, particularly in the Middle East and Texas.

Or, as the character Robert Langdon puts it succinctly in Dan Brown's novel, “[o]utspoken scientists like Copernicus . . . [were] murdered by the Church for revealing scientific truths. Religion has always persecuted science.” That is the standard blueprint for "religion and science" most people are force fed from the time they are sent off to the public propaganda chambers at the age of five (or younger); they hear it repeatedly and so assume it must be true. And then it is reinforced by stupid novels, vapid television shows, and laughable movies. And...

But you probably know all of this. So what can be done? One thing (among others) is to be familiar with some of the basic historical facts and issues. A good starting point, I think, is the just published book, Light and Shadows: Church History amid Faith, Fact and Legend  (Ignatius Press), by Fr. Walter Brandmüller, who is president of the Pontifical Committee for Historical Sciences and who taught Church history at the University of Augsburg, Germany, for 27 years. Topics addressed in the book include the papacy, the roots and formation of Europe, historical facts and the Gospels, the Inquisitions, the Crusades, the Reformation, the Baroque period, the Enlightenment, Vatican II, and more. Read part of the introduction on Ignatius Insight.

Related IgnatiusInsight.com Links/Articles:

• Dark Ages and Secularist Rages: A Response to Professor A.C. Grayling | Carl E. Olson
• Are Truth, Faith, and Tolerance Compatible? | Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger
• Are Christians Intolerant? | Michael O'Brien
• On Adapting to "Modern Times" | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.
• Is Religion Evil? Secularism's Pride and Irrational Prejudice | Carl E. Olson
• Atheism and the Purely "Human" Ethic | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.
• A Short Introduction to Atheism | Carl E. Olson
• The Crusades 101 | Jimmy Akin
• The Inquisitions of History: The Mythology and the Reality | Reverend Brian Van Hove, S.J.
• The Spanish Inquisition: Fact Versus Fiction | Marvin R. O'Connell
• Were the Crusades Anti-Semitic? | Vince Ryan
• Crusade Myths | Thomas F. Madden
• Urban II: The Pope of the First Crusade | Régine Pernoud
• The Truth About Joan of Arc | Régine Pernoud
• Mistakes, Yes. Conspiracies, No. | The Fourth Crusade | Vince Ryan