God: The Science, the Evidence – A Review

God: The Science, the Evidence, by Michel-Yves Bolloré and Olivier Bonnassies, is an intriguing book, not quite what I expected when asked to review the new bestseller. I suppose it would fall into the genre of natural theology, and the burgeoning field of intelligent design. When one first picks it up, it seems like a tome and a half. But once you delve in, the print is large and legible, the chapters short and to the point, with multiple headings, almost like bullet points. (The book even has its own website).

This eclectic endeavour weaves together science, commentary, theology and history. There are two main sections: Evidence Within the Sciences, and Evidence From Outside the Sciences, with ‘evidence’ here, of course, being evidence for God. We move from the beginning of the universe to the miracle at Fatima, and beyond.

The ‘sciences’ of the first half are spent on cosmology and the Big Bang, but with forays into chemistry, biology and the origins of life. This is not too in-depth, and those without a background in science can easily follow along. Much of the focus of this work is on the history of scientific discoveries – especially in cosmology. Before the Big Bang, most believed in an ‘eternal universe’. (Some still do, by other means, and much on that also), and most scientists were atheist, or at least agnostic.

But then Father Lemaitre’s proposed his theory, based on Einstein’s General Relativity, that the universe began with a ‘primeval atom’ of quasi-infinite density, and has expanded outwards ever since – the aforementioned ‘Big Bang’. It is enlightening to read of the initial rejection, even antipathy, for the theory not only by most scientists, but also by various powerful figures in the atheistic communist and socialist regimes of the twentieth century, Hitler and Stalin amongst them. This was due, of course, to the fact that the Big Bang implied a beginning to all things, allying closely with the doctrine of creation and a divine Creator. As Hitler cried out, belying his two primary hatreds, Jewish science is perverting thinking about the universe and is trying to convince us that it has not existed forever!

The numerous quotations offer a window into their minds, and the zeitgeist in which they lived. (The book is invaluable even for this collection of sources). To offer but one more example, as a contrary to Hitler’s mad ranting, Paul Dirac, known for any number of discoveries in quantum physics, including the prediction of antimatter, and himself an atheist, but marveling at the precision of the cosmos, admitted: One could perhaps describe the situation by saying that God is a mathematician of a very high order, and He used very advanced mathematics in constructing the universe.

The second half is more theological and exegetical, providing evidence for God from the Bible, refuting various alleged ‘errors’ in Scripture, the life and nature of Christ, all good and true. But the authors segue into the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, attributable to their (apparently) miraculous growth and military successes. This is a controversial and to my mind unnecessary section. Could not one posit that the growth of Israel owes just as much to the billions in military aid from the U.S.A, and the stalwartness of Israeli soldiers? I suppose that is one way of looking at divine providence).

This second half then recounts the miracle at Fatima on October 13, 1917, with the supernatural ‘dance of the Sun’, before ending off with a run through the moral and philosophical proofs for God.

All in all, God: The Science, the Evidence, although eclectic and somewhat vagarious, offers a welcome resource for the general reader, to demonstrate even more fully that those who peer into the beautiful, complex, highly ordered secrets of nature and the cosmos, are also in some way peering into the very mind of God, the Author thereof. This book could almost be called God, the Scientist, Who gives evidence of Himself in His work.

As the Psalm cries out in words that should inspire not only scientists, but all of us who marvel at the beauty and order of creation: The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the firmament shows forth His handiwork. (Ps 19:1)

Carney’s Amoral Majority

After five defections – euphemistically described as ‘crossing the floor’ – and three by-elections, Mark Carney and his Liberals how have their coveted majority. One wonders what bowls of pottage were offered in back-room deals. In the archaic monarchical system that is the Dominion of Canada, this majority allows the newly-minted Prime Minister to rule[…]Continue reading→

Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress

This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→

A Tale of Two Benedicts

A grace-filled Holy Week to all our readers! As we await and prepare for the Resurrection about to dawn upon us, we might keep in mind two Benedicts: Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, requiescat in pace, elected on this day in 2005; and today’s commemoration of the mystic pilgrim, Benedict Joseph Labre, who died on this[…]Continue reading→

My Name is Bernadette

April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→

Saint Lydwina of Schiedam and Suffering Joyfully

Saint Lydwina of Schiedam (1380 – 1433) was one of the countless and glorious ‘victim souls’ in the history of the Church, those whose lives are filled with suffering, often of an unimaginable intensity, but who suffer joyfully. She was a fifteen-year old Dutch girl, out skating one day, when she fell and broke one[…]Continue reading→

The Glorious Martyrdoms of Martin and Maximus

As we enter into Eastertide, we recall on this 13th of April Pope Saint Martin I (+655), one of the noblest, if most tragic, of the successors of Saint Peter. Born in Umbria, Italy, he was of noble lineage, with great intelligence combined with charity and love of the poor and the Church. While still[…]Continue reading→

Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów

We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→

Saint Gemma Galgani

On this April 11th, in 1903 – the same year that the Italian Guiseppe Sarto was elected Pope later that summer as Pius X – a lovely, young Italian woman died, by the name of Gemma Galgani. She lived a brief life of 24 years, as did a number of other young saints, including Pier[…]Continue reading→

An Ideological and Improper Translation

I noticed something odd with the psalm reading at Mass the other day. Our bishops’ conference here in Canada has decreed that the Mass in English – Novus Ordo – use the ‘NRSV’, the ‘New Revised Standard Version’, an ‘updated’ translation of the original RSV, first published in 1952. This ‘new translation’ has the tendency[…]Continue reading→

Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle: A Teacher for Teachers

Jean-Baptiste de la Salle (1651 – 1719), a French nobleman, ordained a priest, founded the first order in the Church’s history entirely without priests, and this came about almost by accident. I say ‘almost’, for, of course, there are no accidents with God. Destined for ordination from an early age, Jean-Baptiste never looked back, even[…]Continue reading→