Unbelievable: 7 Myths About the History and Future of Science and Religion

by Michael Newton Keas

Overview

Lies Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson Told Me 

You’ve probably heard the stories before. They’re everywhere. Maybe you heard them from Bill Nye the “Science Guy,” or celebrity astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson, or the late Carl Sagan.

And what do the stories say?

That science and religion have been at war with each other for centuries. That ­religion is anti-science.

There’s just one problem: these stories are pure myth.

Unbelievable explodes seven of the most popular and pernicious myths about science and religion. Michael Newton Keas, a historian of science, lays out the facts to show how far the conventional wisdom departs from reality. He also shows how these myths have proliferated over the past four centuries and exert so much influence today, infiltrating science textbooks and popular ­culture.

The seven myths, Keas shows, amount to little more than religion bashing—especially ­Christianity bashing. 

Unbelievable reveals:

• Why the “Dark Ages” never happened
• Why we didn’t need Christopher Columbus to prove the earth was round
• Why Copernicus would be shocked to learn that he supposedly demoted humans from the center of the universe
• What everyone gets wrong about Galileo’s clash with the Church, and why it matters today
• Why the vastness of the universe does not deal a blow to religious belief in human significance
• How the popular account of Giordano Bruno as a “martyr for science” ignores the fact that he was executed for theological reasons, not scientific ones
• How a new myth is being positioned to replace religion—a futuristic myth that sounds scientific but isn’t
• In debunking these myths, Keas shows that the real history is much more interesting than the common narrative of religion at war with science.

This accessible and entertaining book offers an invaluable resource to students, scholars, teachers, homeschoolers, and religious believers tired of being portrayed as anti-intellectual and anti-­science.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781610171533
Publisher:	ISI Books
Publication date:	01/07/2019
Edition description:	1
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	3 Months to 18 Years

About the Author

Michael Newton Keas, PhD, is a senior fellow at Discovery Institute and a former Fulbright scholar. After earning a PhD in the history of science from the University of Oklahoma, he won research grants from such organizations as the National Science Foundation and the American Council of Learned Societies. Keas serves as lecturer in the history and philosophy of science at Biola University and on the board of directors of Ratio Christi, an alliance of apologetics clubs on college campuses.

Table of Contents

Introduction The Truth Is Out There 1

Part 1 7 Myths About Science and Religion at War

1 Bigger Is Better 9

2 Idiots in the Dark 27

3 Flat Earthers 41

4 Burning Bruno 57

5 Gagging Galileo 75

6 Copernican Demotion 91

7 Extraterrestrial Enlightenment 109

Part 2 Seeking Sources and Solutions for the Warfare Myths

8 Creating ET: Science Fiction as Futuristic Myth 127

9 Preaching Anti-theism on TV: Cosmos 139

10 Kepler, Devout Scientist 157

11 Remembering America's Harmony of Science and Faith 173

12 Telling the Larger Truth 183

Appendix A The First Urban Myth of the Space Age 197

Appendix B A New Argument for Pascal as a Copernican 201

Notes 205

Acknowledgments 237

Index 239

Editorial Reviews

Unbelievable should be on the shelf of every science popularizer and college astronomy professor. Perhaps then we can begin to purge our culture of the ‘science is the enemy of religion’ myths Michael Keas slays in his refreshingly contrarian book.”
—Guillermo Gonzalez, Assistant Professor of Astronomy, Ball State University; coauthor of The Privileged Planet

“Not content to knock down the myths about the alleged conflict between science and religion, Mike Keas shows where they came from and how science popularizers like Carl Sagan have used them to further their own agendas. Using a wide range of sources, including textbooks and television shows, Keas explains how these myths got into the bloodstream of our culture. An invaluable resource.”
—James Hannam, author of God’s Philosophers and The Genesis of Science

“Michael Keas decisively debunks an array of myths that have long impeded our understanding of the histories of science and of religion. Unbelievable may earn Keas plenty of enemies, but nobody concerned with real evidence can dismiss his argument out of hand. This is a brilliant, engaging, and important contribution to a debate about truly universal matters.”
—Dennis Danielson, Professor Emeritus, University of British Columbia; editor of The Book of the Cosmos

“Michael Keas does a splendid job dispelling viral myths and common errors about the relationship between science and Christianity. This book is well documented and written in a pleasing style accessible to the general reader as well as scholars.”
—Jeffrey Burton Russell, Professor of History Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara; author of Inventing the Flat Earth

“The notion of inevitable, perpetual conflict between science and religion is one of the most prevalent grand narratives in the modern West. It takes many specific forms, and Michael Keas deftly disposes of myths like these with lively, thoroughly researched stories that will leave readers much better informed.”
—Edward B. Davis, coeditor of The Works of Robert Boyle

“The supposed warfare between science and Christianity has long been a staple of science textbooks and popular science. Michael Keas skewers the most popular myths used to illustrate that warfare, displaying his deep knowledge of the history of science. If you want to understand the true, and positive, relationship between science and Christianity, you should read Unbelievable.”
—Jay W. Richards, bestselling author of Infiltrated and Indivisible

From the Publisher