Magisteria: The Entangled Histories of Science & Religion | 
pickAfter I finished Knausgaard's The Morning Star, which is a book that deals with religion in an interesting way that I haven't read in awhile in litfic or genre fic, my hold on Magisteria came through on Libby. It seemed the right time to dive into this chunkster on the supposed "war" between religion & science, which the author tries to debunk through a survey of scientific inquiry & its relationship to Christianity in Western civilisation
batsy It's a book that's jam-packed with facts & anecdotes, so it's not exactly fast-paced. That's probably why it took me so long to get through. But I did find it compelling & worth thinking about. There's a lot that's lost when religion & science are now monopolised by the loudest & worst factions; i.e. the conservatives wanting to limit rights for every other human & the billionaire venture capitalist tech bros who tend to stand in for "science". 10mo
batsy The thing that struck me the most is how much we've lost in terms of knowledge & inquiry; the way in which thought is shaped now via the issues that get the most attention, that social media has only worsened (?). But there's literally a whole world out there with multiple ways of thinking about things; about thinking through things together. Even as an atheist I appreciated this. But FYI the book is limited to what Spencer knows: Christianity. 10mo
Hamlet This is a wonderful, thoughtful review. You are spot-on with your comment about what is lost when the worst factions dominate the conversation to the detriment of honest inquiry. I also greatly appreciate your atheist perspective in your eclectic, open-minded reading. Brava! 10mo
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Amiable An absorbing review—thank you for sharing your thoughts! 10mo
sarahbarnes Great review and serendipitous book timing! 10mo
batsy @Hamlet That's so kind of you. Thank you! I truly appreciated that the book showed how intertwined the disciplines are. It does feel like an immense loss. 10mo
batsy @Amiable Thank you! 10mo
batsy @sarahbarnes Thank you! Gotta love a bit of book serendipity 💫 10mo
Suet624 Definitely not a summer beach read I see. 😳😂 10mo
batsy @Suet624 😅 10mo