Faith, Science and the Unity of Truth

APAVM SG • 481 views • 1 years ago

Ever since Galileo faced off with Pope Urban VIII in the 17th century, faith and science have been at war. Many today assume that a choice must be made between faith or science, since the two are naturally incompatible. But is this true? This talk will show that faith and science are natural allies, two complementary ways of knowing truth. From Newton to Pasteur, from Lavoisier to Kepler, from Copernicus to Faraday, from Heisenberg to Mendel, many outstanding scientists have been religious believers. This is natural when we understand that science relies on an ordered, intelligible universe and religious belief tells us the exact same thing.

The Mystery of Eucharistic Miracles

APAVM SG • 295 views • 1 years ago

At the heart of the Christian faith is the belief that God took human form in Jesus of Nazareth two thousand years ago. This "incarnation" was complex: Jesus was fully divine and fully human, a seemly contradictory state which defies human comprehension. Catholics understand that Jesus is perfectly present in the Eucharist. Recalling the words of Jesus at his farewell meal with his disciples, they recall the words recited over bread and wine. "This is my body, This is my blood." Using beautiful artistic images, our talk traces the Jewish origins to modern manifestations of Christ in Eucharistic miracles attested to by the Catholic Church.

Catholic Cosmologies: From St. Paul to the Big Bang

APAVM SG •295 views • 1 years ago

As long as humans have been trying to make sense of the universe, they have been proposing cosmological theories. From angels and demons to photons and quarks, we've always been curious about how the universe works. But every cosmology, from materialism to Catholicism, is based on assuming things that we may not even realize we are assuming things we take on faith. And so our cosmologies can be as fun and quirky as the people who invented them! We'll look into the stories behind how St. Paul, St, Augustine, Galileo and Kepler and Newton, and on up to Stephen Hawking, have all cast their own peculiar take on the big questions of the universe.

Transhumanism: The Imperfect Scientific Quest for Human Perfection

APAVM SG • 193 views • 1 year ago

Would genetically engineered "designer babies" be a dream come true or a nightmare? The transhumanist movement thinks that it is time to use biotechnology to radically enhance human intelligence, strength, mood, memory, lifespan, and even romantic love well beyond what medicine considers healthy. Yet these smarter, faster, prettier enhanced "transhumans" are just part of the transitional phase to a new superior "posthuman". This talk will explore how the ancient wisdom of the Church responds to the questions about human happiness and perfection raised in the transhumanist efforts to overcome the limits of biology through technology.

The Vatican Observatory: 400+ Years of Science and Faith

APAVM SG • 121 views • 1 year ago

The Vatican Observatory is an astronomical research and education institution originally founded in 1582 to explain and defend the new Gregorian Calendar. Over the centuries, the Observatory's Mission and location has shifted several times over. The Church has had a long-standing interest in astronomy, due to the astronomical basis by which holy days and Easter are determined. This talk will explore and illuminate the Observatory's historic role in scientific research, as well as its endeavors at the frontier of faith, science, and politics. It will focus on the work of Jesuits Christopher Clavius (d. 1612), Angelo Secchi (d. 1878), and George Coyne (d. 2020).

The Shroud of Turin in the Light of Faith & Science

APAVM SG • 362 views • 1 year ago

Who is the Man of the Shroud? The Shroud of Turin is the most highly controversial relic of all time. Christian tradition has recognized it to be the linen that wrapped the body of Jesus Christ. Some have claimed that the Shroud is a medieval fake. Others staunchly contest that claim based on scientific considerations. Who is right? Is Jesus of Nazareth the Man of the Shroud? Has science debunked Christian faith? Can science prove it? The Shroud of Turin is the most studied object in the history of the world. Virtually every branch of science has probed this cloth. Fr. Andrew will navigate the empirical evidence, while pointing out what mysteries remain unexplained.