When Science and Christianity Meet

`When Science and Christianity Meet' edited by David Lindberg and Ronald Numbers is a collection of essays discussing the historic intersection of religion and science within the Western Judeo-Christian framework. In many ways it represents a sequel to their earlier anthology of related issues, God and Nature published in 1986. Within the history of science field there are several broad explanatory theses that provide a lens to examine the religion-science relationship. At one end of the spectrum there is the view of conflict wherein the two domains are seen contradictory at a fundamentally level. While at the other extreme, there is the opinion that science and religion are by definition mutually supportive. The essays in the present text, while skewed toward the latter view, are generally balanced and appropriately nuanced. Overall, this is a nice collection of papers. As with any anthology some contributions are more helpful than others - this will in significant part depend on the reader's interests. For my money, Lindberg's discussion of the Galileo affair and Larson's overview of the Scopes trial were particularly well done. Readers interested in these specific issues may find Lindberg's free audio lecture available on-line through the Faraday Institute and Larson's award winning book "Summer of the Gods" worth a look. I recommend this book for readers interested in the history of science and its interactions with religion. The hard cover edition is good value for money.