The Constant Fire: Beyond the Science Vs. Religion Debate

by Frank, Adam

• ISBN13: 9780520254121
• ISBN10: 0520254120
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-01-06
• Publisher: Univ of California Pr

Summary

Eloquent, urgent, and inspiring,The Constant Firetackles the acrimonious debate between science and religion, taking us beyond its stagnant parameters into the wider domain of human spiritual experience. From a Neolithic archaeological site in Ireland to modern theories of star formation, Adam Frank traverses a wide terrain, broadening our sights and allowing us to imagine an alternative perspective. Drawing from his experience as a practicing astrophysicist and from the writings of the great scholars of religion, philosophy, and mythology, Frank locates the connective tissue linking science and religion--their commonality as sacred pursuits--and finds their shared aspiration in pursuit of "the True and the Real." Taking us from the burning of Giordano Bruno in 1600 to Einstein and on to today's pressing issues of global warming and resource depletion,The Constant Fireshows us how to move beyond this stale debate into a more profound experience of the world as sacred--a world that embraces science without renouncing human spirituality.

Author Biography

Adam Frank is Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Rochester.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue: House of the Rising Sun

The Map: Reimagining Science, Myth, and the Sacred

The Roots of Conflict: Science and Religion before Divorce

The Conflict We Know: Religion, Science, and the Modern World

Science and the Sacred: Telescopes, Microscopes, and Hierophanies

Not the God You Pray To: The Varieties of Scientists' Religious Experience

Science, Myth, and Sacred Narratives: The Universe as Story

The Terrain: Sacred Narratives in Science and Myth

The Origin of Everything: Big Bangs, the Multiverse, and the Parade of Ants

The Deluge This Time: Climate Change and Flood Myths

A New Path to the Waterfall: Science, Myth, Truth, and the Future

Music of the Spheres: Truth, Myth, and Science

A Need Born of Fire: Mythos, Ethos, and Humanity's Most Dangerous Century Epilogue: Fire in the Open Mind Notes

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