Magisteria

'This book, though, is surely [Spencer's] magnum opus. It is astonishingly wide-ranging and richly informed So much complex history, theology and science could be heavy. What lightens the book is its clarity and the effervescent writing.' The Sunday Times 'With patience, balance and deep learning, Spencer dismantles the myths that have accumulated around Galileo Galilei, Charles Darwin and other scientific figures Filled with wit and wisdom.' Philip Ball, TLS 'Fascinating prepare to read something genuinely fresh in what can be an extremely hackneyed debate.' New Scientist 'Magisterial and brilliant.' Professor John Milbank Easily the best exploration of the complex relation between science and religion I have ever read. As exemplary in his even-handedness as in his patient research I suspect it will become the classic work on its subject.' Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and his Emissary 'Spencer knows his history of science. He recounts the set pieces of any such story the trial of Galileo, Huxley vs Wilberforce, the Scopes monkey trial with bravura.' Spectator A must-read for anyone interested in this vital topic, and outstanding for its destruction of old myths about the war between religion and science, and for showing how complex, and various, and often positive relations have actually been. Church Times, BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR '[Spencer] has a lot of interesting things to say about how exactly the often fraught relationship between science and faith has fared over the centuries Mr. Spencer carefully reconstructs what actually happened. Its interesting to read how the stories have become simplified and exaggerated over time Mr. Spencers most important corrective is to show that Galileos theory raised scientific and theological questions that had not been answered at the time a fascinating tour through a history of a difficult relationship, the fate of which is still unclear.' Wall Street Journal 'This page-turner of a book compellingly tracks the relation between science and religion, eternally bickering siblings, across two millennia. The ironies of the collaborations and oppositions between the two are brilliantly set out. You dont have to have religious belief to recognise that science doesnt always have the right answers. The real question: who has the authority to make statements about the natural world? Nicholas Spencer well shows that this authority formerly in the hands of religious authorities, now usually scientific ones has been effortfully constructed and disagreed over across time.' Chris Wickham, author of The Inheritance of Rome 'This sweeping and comprehensive look at the "war" between religion and science lays it bare as a nineteenth-century myth. Studying Gods Works what we call "science" was historically as important to Christianity as studying his Word. The battles weve mythologised from the ancient mathematician Hypatias murder by a Christian mob, to Galileo kneeling before the Inquisition, to the 1925 Scopes monkey trial were not about ideology, but authority. A compelling act of myth-busting.' Nancy Marie Brown, author of The Abacus and the Cross 'Illuminating Even (or especially) those readers inclined to disagree with him will find his narrative refreshing [Spencer] is one of Britains most astute observers of religious affairs He offers an engaging tour of the intersection of religious and scientific history Mr Spencer insightfully revisits the dust-ups involving Galileo, Darwin and John Scopes (prosecuted in Tennessee in 1925 for teaching evolution). He traces the interaction of the two disciplines in often fascinating detail.' Economist 'Highly readable... Spencer convincingly shows how, until the modern period, re

Nicholas Spencer is Senior Fellow at Theos, a Fellow of International Society for Science and Religion and a Visiting Research Fellow at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is the author of a number of books including Darwin and God, The Evolution of the West and Atheists. He has presented a BBC Radio 4 series on The Secret History of Science and Religion, and has written for the Guardian, Telegraph, Independent, New Statesman, Prospect and more.