Table of Contents

Preface

Essay 1: The Catholic Church—Midwife and Nursemaid to Science

SECTION 1: Prologue: the Greek World

SECTION 2: St. Augustine, a Theologian for our Times

SECTION 3: The Medieval Church, Midwife and Nursemaid to Science

SECTION 4: Science “versus” the Church?

Essay 2: Ways of Knowing; The Limits of Science

SECTION 1: Faith and Revelation

SECTION 2: Rational Inquiry

SECTION 3: How Science Works

SECTION 4: What Science Can’t Tell Us

Essay 3: Creatio ex Nihilo and Cosmology

SECTION 1: Creatio ex Nihilo—Theology

SECTION 2: In the Beginning—Cosmology

SECTION 3: Intersections—Theology and Cosmology

Essay 4: The Anthropic Principle—Are We Special?

SECTION 1: The Anthropic Principle and its Cousins

SECTION 2: Evidence from Physics 

SECTION 3: Evidence from Chemistry and Planetary Science

SECTION 4: Evidence from Molecular Biology 

SECTION 5: The Anthropic Principle: Evidence for “Intelligent Design”?

Essay 5: Evolution

SECTION 1: What is Catholic Teaching on Evolution?

SECTION 2: How Did life begin?

SECTION 3: Evolution, Theories and facts

Essay 6: Can Computers Have a Soul?

SECTION 1: Catholic Teaching about the Soul

SECTION 2: What Philosophers Say about Computer Souls

SECTION 3: Science Fiction Stories about Computer Souls

Essay 7: Miracles

SECTION 1: What is a Miracle?

SECTION 2: Examples of Miracles

SECTION 3: How the Church Judges Miracles

SECTION 4: Can a Scientist Believe in Miracles?

Science Background

SECTION 1: The Physics of Motion

SECTION 2: The Science of Energy: Thermodynamics and its Laws

SECTION 3: Elements of Astronomy and Relativity

SECTION 4  Elements  of Chemistry and Molecular Biology; Probability

SECTION 5: Elements of Geology, Anthropology

SECTION 6: Elements of Neuroscience

References