Faith & Wisdom in Science

In this densely argued and erudite book, physicist Tom McLeish takes a new point of departure in the science-religion debate by pursuing the theme of natural philosophy as the 'love of wisdom of natural things' to reframe these issues by drawing on our theological and cultural roots. He questions the inadequate narrative of science as 'replacing an ancient world of myth and superstition with a modern one of fact and comprehension.' Science certainly illuminates nature with new ways of understanding, and the author feels it is important that science captures both the chaotic and random as well as the regular and smooth. He traces thinking about what might be behind the appearance of the world back to fourth century BC, seeing science as a deeply human activity that is more about imaginative and creative questions than methods. In this context, there is a long cultural relationship between faith and science, which the author examines in considerable detail. His central chapter on the book of Job runs to nearly 50 pages of detailed analysis, although it is surprising that the commentary by CG Jung and his correspondence with Father Victor White is not mentioned. In developing a theology of science, McLeish focuses on participation in reconciliation with respect to the natural world. This can be restorative and calls for a new kind of narrative of wisdom, especially in relation to the looming environmental challenges, one that focuses on what he calls a softer kind of mastery.