I know that I'm going a little St. Thomas Aquinas crazy here today, but it's not just because this Doctor of the Church and I share a first name (which is about the only thing we have in common). He really is one of the giants, and is important today because his writings in philosophy and theology show the link between faith and reason. There are many today who try to say that science and religion are incompatible. While the so called "new atheists" say this in a derisive manner, claiming that the scientific method is the sole measure of reality, many believers buy into this secular dogma in a more subtle way. We will often talk about having to make a "leap of faith" when confronted with an apparent contradiction between what Divine Revelation tells us and what scientific reason points out. We will throw up our hands and say, "Well, I believe what the Bible tells me in spite of the evidence. That's the price of faith, I guess."
This is completely wrong.
We don't make a "leap," but do need to accept the mystery of God and reality in humility, and then continue to ponder, reflect and throw into the deep waters the nets of our honest curiosity. As Fr. Barron points out in
the video I posted previously, if there seems to be a contradiction between faith and science we are either dealing with bad science or faulty theology. Which ever it is we are called to use our minds to unlock the mysteries of God manifested in nature and revelation. But always in a spirit of humility, knowing that pious faith trumps great learning, and all the philosophies and sciences of the world are as straw compared to the glory that is God, and the eternal gifts he has in store for us.
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