Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science (Student Edition)

by Stacy A. Trasancos

Overview

Ask a young Catholic why they are walking away from the Church and one of the main reasons is usually a perceived conflict between science and Christianity. The student edition of Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science aims to help Catholic high school students find real answers to real questions about the interaction of science and faith.

What is the origin of life?

Does the Big Bang prove God?

Can a Christian accept the theory of evolution?

Teacher and scientist Dr. Stacy A. Trasancos—who converted to Catholicism while confronting similar concerns about science and faith—addresses these and many other probing questions in the student edition of Particles of Faith, a book designed for use in a high school theology or science course. At the end of the book, students will be able to not only answer key questions about the faith but also to explain those answers to others.

The Particles of Faith Teacher Resource Guide can be found online in the Classroom Resource section of the Ave Maria Press website and helps teachers adapt the book’s material as a separate unit in regularly-scheduled courses such as morality, social justice, life science, or in in chemistry and physics courses. Lesson plans in the Particles of Faith Teacher Resource Guide include quizzes and tests. Trasancos also has produced videos with related content in conjunction with Bishop Robert Barron and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries.

She employs encyclicals such as Pope Francis’s Laudato Sí, the deep reflections of theologians such as St. Thomas Aquinas, and the exacting work of Catholic scientists such as Fr. Georges Lemaître—who proposed the game-changing Big Bang theory—to show how science and faith are interwoven lights meant to guide students on the path to truth. Trasancos also explains how the Catholic faith and science work together to reveal the truth of Christ through the beauty of his creation. She leads with the understanding that science awakens the wonders of the foundational statement of the faith: that God is Creator of all, seen and unseen.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594719059
Publisher:	Ave Maria Press
Publication date:	09/13/2019
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	740,516
File size:	4 MB
Age Range:	15 - 17 Years

About the Author

Stacy A. Trasancos is executive director of the St. Philip Institute of Catechesis and Evangelization in the Diocese of Tyler. She is a fellow for Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire Institute and teaches theology at Seton Hall University and science at Holy Apostles College and Seminary. Trasancos is the author of Particles of Faith, Science Was Born of Christianity, and 20 Answers: Bioethics.

She has written numerous articles for publications including National Catholic Register, Catholic World Report, St. Austin’s Review, and Catholic Answers. Trasancos has appeared on Salt + Light Television, SiriusXM’s The Catholic Channel, Relevant Radio, Redeemer Radio, Ave Maria Radio, Radio Maria, EWTN radio, and Catholic Answers Live.

Trasancos earned a bachelor’s degree in science from East Texas State University, a doctorate in chemistry from Penn State University and a master’s degree in dogmatic theology (summa cum laude) from Holy Apostles College and Seminary. She previously worked as a research chemist at DuPont.

Trasancos and her husband, José, live in Hideaway, Texas, with their family.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Introduction: Welcome to a Course on Faith and Science! xi

tUnit I Science in the Light of Faith 1

1 The Navigation Process 3

2 What Does Christianity Contribute to Science? 27

Unit II Questions in the Physical Sciences 43

3 Does the Big Bang Prove God? 45

4 How Should We Understand the World of Atoms? 65

5 Does Quantum Mechanics Allow for Free Will? 89

Unit III Questions in the Biological Sciences 111

6 Did We Evolve from Atoms? 113

7 Can a Christian Accept the Theory of Evolution?

Part 1 Theology and Evolution 131

Part 2 The Science of Evolution 154

8 When Does a Human Life Begin? 193

Summary: We Don't Need to Choose between Faith and Science 207

Glossary 213

Notes 223

Index 233

Editorial Reviews

"Particles of Faith is the perfect book for our time. Stacy Trasancos explains the most fascinating concepts of science in terms that anyone can understand. She cracks open the treasure chest of wonders we encounter as we examine science through the lens of faith." --Jennifer Fulwiler, Catholic radio host and author of Something Other than God

"Many believers today feel caught between two seemingly contradictory worlds: that of their Christian faith and that of rational science. Stacy Trasancos precisely and methodically presents the harmony she has found. Particles of Faith will no doubt be a gift to the more scientifically minded who mistakenly think they must check their brain at the door of the church." --Rev. Dave Dwyer, Executive Director of Busted Halo Ministries

"Among many people today, it's presumed that faith and science are at odds. We are encouraged to choose between the objective facts of biology or physics and the comforting pieties of religion. But, in Particles of Faith, Stacy Trasancos shows why this is a false choice through her own personal story as a scientist and a Catholic. She navigates many controversial touch-points between faith and religion such as cosmology, evolution, and quantum mechanics to reveal how science is supportive of the Catholic faith. Give this book to an atheist friend or any Catholic curious about whether faith can stand alongside science." --Brandon Vogt, Catholic author, blogger, speaker, and content director of Word on Fire Catholic Ministries

From the Publisher