Science and Religion: Questions about the Scientific Revolution

A couple of months ago, I was on an online debate with a group of non-Christians (atheist/agnostic) discussing the interface between Religion and Science, particularly the Christian religion. This latter designation is important since all of them seemed to have been former Christians by their own account. The dialogue touched many topics and one of them is the claim that Christianity has been opposed to Science in previous centuries. When asked to prove their points, they offered the following two names as the alleged proof that there was religious persecution of scientists in Medieval time. Of course, they always go for many centuries in the past because it is not obvious now to use contemporary history to support their case. They always rely on ancient history, I assume, hoping that people would not check the historical record to verify their claims. I have learned that when in dialogue with a virulent secularist (atheists and others), ALWAYS FACT-CHECK them! ALWAYS! Their persuasiveness rely on their interlocutor ignorance of history, science, and philosophy.

I. QUESTION ABOUT RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION OF SCIENTISTS?

1) The Case of Michael Servetus:

Michael Servetus wasn't executed for his science but because he entered in conflict with protestant reformers by upholding the heretical doctrine of 'Unitarianism'. He published his book, The Restoration of Christianity, which put him in trouble with his co-religionist reformers. The book was not a scientific book as the title itself shows! The Cambridge trained Historian Dr. Hannam had this to say about Severus: 

"The book infuriated Calvin, to whom Servetus had foolishly sent an advance copy ... Servertus escaped but fled through Geneva where Calvin himself lived. There he was apprehended and at Calvin's insistence, executed as a heretic. In later years Servetus's work on the heart led to him enjoying a reputation as a martyr for science. This is unwarranted because he was executed for purely religious ideas that had nothing to do with anatomy."

- Source: God's Philosophers: How the Medieval World Laid the Foundations of Modern Science. Chapter 14: The Reformation. Page 292 - (ePub version)

Even today when a Government enjails or executes someone for an ideological reason, that person doesn't automatically become a martyr for what the person happened to have studied at school (example, electrical engineer) nor doesn't he become a martyr for the type of professional work he does (example, electronic maintenance). His persecution is unrelated to his educational background or professional work. So it is the same as the ancient trials on heresy. If the trial is about doctrines, then this can't be transferred to whatever the person's job or lack of a job happened to be (gardener, scientist, book-keeper, etc). As sad and regrettable was Servertus trial, he was put in trial for his religious views, and NOT for any scientific ideas.

2) The Case of Bruno Giordano:

As unfortunate as Bruno death was, it is nevertheless important to present the historical data correctly. Bruno Giordano was not a scientist but rather a mystic as documented historian Tim O Neil (Tim is an atheist by the way):

Bruno the Mystic: To begin with, any knowledge of Bruno that goes beyond internet memes will make the idea that he was in any sense of the word a “scientist” immediately dubious.  Bruno was a brilliant and eclectic thinker who ranged over a number of the disciplines of his day, and so is difficult to put into any one category.  He was a metaphysicist, a magus, an expert in mnemonics, a neo-Pythagorean, a neo-Platonist and an astrologer. He advocated a kind of philosophical reasoning, but it was one focused on images and symbols and the use of visualisations and metaphors.  He had a cosmology that included the physical universe, but he rejected the use of mathematics to explore it, considering that too limiting and preferring what he believed was his own intuitive sense for symbols, sacred geometries and what simply felt right. His eccentric melange of ideas included things like Copernicus’ heliocentrism and Nicholas of Cusa’s centreless infinite universe, but it also included magic, stars and planets with animating souls, ancient Egyptian religion and Pythagorean symbolism.  Probably the best word to describe him in modern terms is to say he was a “mystic”."

- Source: https://historyforatheists.com/2017/03/the-great-myths-3-giordano-bruno-was-a-martyr-for-science/

Moreover, Bruno's trouble with the Catholic Church had nothing to do with him doing science since he wasn't a scientist to start with. It was about theology. Heresy is always about a fight against orthodox theology from within the ranks and nothing else. Bruno wrote books calling (i) the Pope the beast of the apocalypse (while still being a Church member), (ii) denying the trinity, teaching the view that the Holy Spirit was the soul/spirit of the world, (iii) teaching that only the Hebrews descended from Adam and Eve and that the rest of the Nations descended from two people that God made the day before (hence questioning the doctrine on the original sin); (iv) that Christ was not God, but a distinguished magician that mocked people, etc.

Clearly, his many grievances against the Church were doctrinal in nature and not scientific. And he was handed over to secular authority after his ecclesial judgment on these matters of doctrines and not for any science-related issue. Also, see the translated letter from 1606, the day he was executed by the secular authority that details the issues of Bruno in his many trials and they happened to have been doctrinal in nature. As unfortunate as his death was, Bruno doesn't qualify as the Science Martyr some ill-intended atheists try to pass him for.

II. OTHER QUESTION ABOUT SCIENCE AND RELIGION?

3) Kick Starting the Scientific Revolution (1543 - 1632)

When the uninformed skeptics finally realize that Christianity has been quite favorable and conducive to the emergence and growth of modern science in the medieval period, they usually react in two ways: The first option, they recognize their error and concede the point and no longer regard Science and the Christian religion as being at war. The second option, they double down in their historical ignorance and try to find alternative reasons for how science might have arisen in medieval times without giving credit to Catholic Christianity.

In my experience, my skeptical interlocutor (usually the virulent no-nothing atheist type) chooses option two and proposes alternatives for he can't bring himself to the realization that he was historical clueless about his misgivings against Christianity. The particular skeptics I was exchanging with made two particular claims: (1) The precursor to the scientific revolution started by Christian scientists was preceded by the discovery of mathematical documents preserved by non-Christian Arabs. (2) The printing press was the technological advancement that kick-started the whole thing and that it is not thanks to Christian fervor or Christian interest to knowledge and progress.

Allow me to interacts with these two claims: 

(a) Recovery of Ancient Documents

The recovery of ancient Greek philosophy documents from Arab countries (which were the possession of Eastern Greek-speaking Christian Monk before the Islamic invasion) was recovered purposely by the Latin speaking Christian monks, priests and clerics of the West who would take these works written in classical Greek and Arabic languages and translate them in Latin for a wider consumption in Cathedral schools and later in Universities which were mainly promoted by the Church. These works were translated from the 12th century onward up to the time of the 'scientific revolution'.

As Cambridge historian Hannam acknowledges, these documents were acquired and translated by Churchmen:

"The most prolific of the translators was Gerard of Cremona (1114-84), who spent many years in Toledo working on the manuscripts in the library there."

Source: The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution; Chapter 4: The 12th century Renaissance. Page 63

 We also know that Gerard of Cremona worked in concert with other translators in Toledo under the direction of Bishop Raymond.

(b) The Invention of the Printing Press

The Printing Press was produced by the religiously motivate German, Johannes Gutemberg. If you wondered, why on earth the Printing Press which spurred the scientific revolution as my skeptic friend would have argued was first invented? I bet that the answer to the inventor of the printing machine would surprise many. Here is a line that Gutemberg wrote on the first book that he printed:

"God suffers in the multitude of souls whom His word can not reach. Religious truth is imprisoned in a small number of manuscript books, which confine instead of spread the public treasure. Let us break the seal which seals up holy things and give wings to Truth in order that she may win every soul that comes into the world by her word no longer written at great expense by hands easily palsied, but multiplied like the wind by an untiring machine. Yes, it is a press, certainly, but a press from which shall soon flow in inexhaustible streams the most abundant and most marvelous liquor that has ever flowed to relieve the thirst of man! Through it God will spread His Word. A spring of pure truth shall flow from it! Like a new star, it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a light heretofore unknown to shine among men."

– Lines written in the Gutenberg Bible by Johannes Gutenberg

 Isn't it interesting to note that the printing press was made with the inventor's religious fervor to see the multi-production of Bibles to reach the whole world as the driving force and impetus for his ingenuity? 

 Hence we see that both main points the skeptic mentioned as instrumental to the scientific revolution were essentially done, carried out, and produced by motivated Christians in the Middle age. There is no escaping this fact. What is sure, there were NO atheists or skeptical secularists on the horizon when science was emerging. For all their grievances against religion, their historical contribution to science is nowhere to be found, except sadly in their internet Memes and/or Popular Atheistic books. What we do witness contrary to popular belief in our secular world, it is that fervent and passionate Christians along the way championed the emergence and progress of natural philosophy and science during the middle age (medieval period).

4) Why for 1,500 years did Christianity fail to produce a Scientific Revolution?

The other question I received once from a skeptic was rather unexpected but I think It had some good legitimacy. If Christianity was the principal cause that brought the Scientific Revolution and the emergence of modern science in the 16th Century, why didn't modern science arise earlier? I guess this is a fair question. It is important to note that this question doesn't nihilate what we have already covered above about Christian scientists' contribution to new field of scientific studies or the role the Church played with the translated documents and the innovative emergence of the printing press.

Nevertheless, let consider the question on its own right.

First, though Christianity emerged in the first century in Palestine as a persecuted minority throughout the Roman Empire. It wasn't an established institution until many centuries later, as it contended against many powers trying to control it until Pope Gregory VII in 1066 AD freed the Church from the political hands of European political leaders (Kings, Nobles, and Dukes) and strengthen Church discipline.

Second, the scientific revolution didn't occur in a vacuum. The 16th century might have been the revolutionary period but it was preceded by many natural scientific endeavors from earlier on which aggregated knowledge from the previous Millenium. Many minds had to succeed to each other while leaving a growing body of knowledge to the new generation. As an example the Franciscan priest Roger Bacon (who is considered as one of the founders of the scientific method, empiricism) in the 13th century (1214-1294 AD) built on the work on previous Christian thinkers.

As Medieval historian, Tim O Neil (who happens to be an atheist) points out, the advent of the Scientific Methods was preceded by an aggregation of prior knowledge from Christian thinkers, each adding their own contributions to the vast body of knowledge growing incrementally toward the eventual explosive 'Scientific Revolution'. Tim puts it this way about the pre-scientific revolution thinkers, which many have contested did not exist due to the alleged Church persecution of scientists, and I quote: 

"I produce a laundry list of Medieval scientists - like Albertus Magnus, Robert Grosseteste, Roger Bacon, John Peckham, Duns Scotus, Thomas Bradwardine, Walter Burley, William Heytesbury, Richard Swineshead, John Dumbleton, Richard of Wallingford, Nicholas Oresme, Jean Buridan and Nicholas of Cusa - and ask why these men were happily pursuing science in the Middle Ages without molestation from the Church, my opponents have usually run away to hide and scratch their heads in puzzlement at what just went wrong."

This quote from an atheist such as Tim also resolves one of the frequent misleading assumptions of skeptics which assumes that natural scientists/philosophers pre- 16th Century were either inexistent or living in fear of the Church. Clearly this is an unfounded claim.

Thirdly, regarding the emergence of Modern science when it did, it is not always obvious to know why something happened (cause-effect relationship) but sometimes a simple correlation can be indicative of a hidden parameter. I submit this view: Christianity was still expanding throughout Europe during those 1500 years and meeting obstacles to its philosophical views in the European continent. But when all Europe became fully Christianized, that's when its view which was already being practiced by those who held the Church views on nature, philosophy, and theology exploded throughout the continent unimpeded as new knowledge aka modern science. The evidence for this reasoning of mine is that I noticed that it just happened that the scientific revolution occurred in the same time laps of when Europe was fully Christianized. I quote again Tim,

"Jenkins notes that we tend to think of Christianity as a religion which began in the Middle East and then spread west, via the Roman Empire, eventually finding some kind of natural home in Europe before expanding across the globe from there in the Modern Era.  Whereas, in fact, it was not until around 1500, with the conversion of the last European pagans in the Baltic and the expulsion of the last major Muslim presence in Spain, that Europe became fully Christian." 

- (Review of the history book, The Lost History of Christianity, by Professor of History at Baylor University, Dr. Philip Jenkins)

I think this information from Dr. Philip Jenkins does point us toward a possible answer. Europe was still being Christianized, and hence growing in awareness in what Christianity could offer intellectually. Therefore it took time for Christianity to bring about the rise of science. However, when everybody was embracing the same natural sciences and philosophical worldview (scholasticism) proposed by the Catholic Church, that's when the scientific revolution of the 16-17th century started to emerge forcefully throughout continental Europe. Hence, Christianity is absolutely in the heart of the process for the rise of science despite the time it took to be fully formed as a new discipline of investigation of the natural order created by the Creator.  

Science and Religion: Friend or Enemy?

I have frequently heard from antipathic people who hates the Christian faith that Christianity has been a 'science stopper'. That religious people have always prevented the growth of scientific knowledge. They even advance the idea that if it wasn't for the Christian religion, the world would have made significant progress in science and culture many centuries ago. However, what is missing in their grandiose claims against Christianity is ANY shred of evidence to substantiate their claims.

Contrary to their repeated claims, we do have historical evidence for Christianity as the only major contributor to the rise of modern science. We know for example that if it was not for Christianity there would have probably never been anything resembling the scientific establishment that we are all so proud of today. The Cambridge trained Historian Dr. James Hannam argues convincingly in his book that the very idea of science and its brilliant methodology also known as 'the scientific method' has arisen because of Christianity and not in spite of Christianity. His book, The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution, was twice shortlisted for The Royal Society Science Book Prize 2010 and the British Society for The History of Science Dingle Book Prize 2011. Yes, the book is that good that even secular institutions shortlisted it for multiple awards.

This book is a powerful antidote for the wide-ranging historical ignorance going around among the modern youth and the uninformed young adults who have swallowed the ludicrous narrative against Christianity under the misguided veil of being 'skeptics' or 'free thinkers' or even 'enlighted intellectuals'. You would think that with these self-congratulatory titles, they would have at least done their homework and check their history books or do some minimum research before they publicly expose their ignorance when they speak about the relationship between Christianity and Science.

I was in a heated exchange with a gentleman who was overtly skeptical about the contribution of science by religious persons during the period of the 'Scientific Revolution'. I was surprised that he chose that specific period in order to launch his offensive. I then proceeded in sharing with him a list of some Medieval (Middle Age) scientists during the Scientific Revolution Era who were Christians and who were pioneers of many scientific fields. Read them below in their own words:

1. Nicholas Copernicus, (1473-1543) – Astronomer: “To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge.”

2. Tycho Brahe, (1546–1601) Astronomer: “Those who Study the Stars, have God for a Teacher”.

3. Galileo Galilei, (1564-1642) Astronomer: “I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use. When I reflect on so many profoundly marvelous things that persons have grasped, saw and done, I recognize even more clearly that human intelligence is the work of God and one of the most excellent”.

4. Johannes Kepler (1571–1630) was an astronomer: “Our piety is the deeper, the greater is our awareness of creation and its grandeur. Since we astronomers are priests to the highest God with regard to the book of creation, it befits us to be thoughtful not of the glory of our mind but rather above all else of the glory of God”.

5. Rene Descartes, (1596-1650), Mathematician and Physicist (the early text on optics and anatomy): “Thus I see plainly that the certainty and truth of all knowledge depend uniquely on my awareness of the true God in such an extent that I was incapable of perfect knowledge about anything else until I became aware of Him”.

6. Blaise Pascal, (1623-1662) (Mathematicians, Physicist): “There are two kinds of people one can call reasonable: those who serve God with all their heart because they know him, and those who seek him with all their heart because they do not know Him”.

7. Sir Robert Boyle (1627-1691) (Founder of modern chemistry): “The vastness, beauty, orderliness of heavenly bodies, the excellent structure of animals and plants, and other phenomena of nature justly induce an intelligent, unprejudiced observer to conclude that a supreme, powerful, just and good Author.”

8. Anthony van Leeuwenhoek (1632—1723), Dutch Microscopist who was the first to observe bacteria: “It is to be hoped that the inquirer into nature works by searching deeper and deeper into her hidden mysteries will more and more place the discoveries of the truth before the eyes of all so as to produce a version to the errors of former times which all those who love the truth are diligent to aim at. For we cannot in any better manner better glorify the Lord and Creator of the universe than that in all things, how small forever they appear to our naked eyes which has yet to receive the gift of life and power or increase, we contemplate the display of His omniscience, and perfection with the utmost admiration”.

9. Sir Issac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727) was an English mathematician, physicist: “ The Supreme God is a Being eternal, infinite, [and] absolutely perfect. Opposition to godliness is atheism in profession and idolatry in practice. Atheism is so senseless and odious to mankind that it never had many professors.”

This list was adapted from a Dr. David Wood presentation debate. Some of the quotes are longer than the one provided initially by Dr. Wood, for I went to the sources and selected lengthier quotations to bring out more clearly their strong Christian beliefs and commitment to show how their faith guided their scientific exploration.

As the list of those luminaries above demonstrates, there is nothing inimical between Science and Christianity. On the contrary as Dr. Hannam argued in his book, Modern Science arose within Christian Europe and not somewhere else for a reason. Christian thoughts were the decisive factor that provided the background knowledge and a foundation for the development of the whole scientific enterprise.

Why do Modern Scientists who believe are in a minority then?

For some, the exaggerated report that today's body of scientists do not believe in the existence of God (the divine) seem to strike a point in favor of the secular proposition that science doesn't work hand in hand with belief. And the evidence usually provided to support such a claim is that ‘93% of the National Academy Of Science scientists are atheists’. 

However, this is an inadequate reading of the evidence. The National Academy of Science (NAS) is not representative of all scientists neither in the USA nor in the world. NAS has only 2 thousand (2,000) scientists as members of the organization; while the whole country of the United States of America (U.S) has 2 million (2,000,000) scientists. And of these 2 million scientists, 51% of scientists in the USA believe in the existence of the divine. 

And this reflection only caters to the demography of scientists in the USA which doesn't take into account the number of scientists in another part of the world such as Africa, India, etc.

The warfare thesis that pit Science against Christianity is quite a modern idea. It has taken a stronghold in the public imagination thanks to a virulent secularization of our society which foister this misrepresented view to an unsuspected public.

The Dark Ages Weren't So Dark After All

I read this article reviewing a book on a Pro-Intelligent Design website and it confirmed what i have just started to realize since 2008 about the nature of the Dark Age.

From there i went to amazon to read about this book and here is what i read. I thought sharing it with you.


Maybe the Dark Ages Weren't So Dark After All...

Here are some facts you probably didn't learn in school:

People in the Middle Ages did not think the world was flat--in fact, medieval scholars could prove it wasn't;

The Inquisition never executed anyone because of their scientific ideas or discoveries (actually, the Church was the chief sponsor of scientific research and several popes were celebrated for their knowledge of the subject);

It was medieval scientific discoveries, methods, and principles that made possible western civilization's "Scientific Revolution". If you were taught that the Middle Ages were a time of intellectual stagnation, superstition, and ignorance, you were taught a myth that has been utterly refuted by modern scholarship.

As a physicist and historian of science James Hannam shows in his brilliant new book, The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages Launched the Scientific Revolution, without the scholarship of the "barbaric" Middle Ages, modern science simply would not exist.

The Middle Ages were a time of one intellectual triumph after another. As Dr. Hannam writes, "The people of medieval Europe invented spectacles, the mechanical clock, the windmill, and the blast furnace by themselves. Lenses and cameras, almost all kinds of machinery, and the industrial revolution itself all owe their origins to the forgotten inventors of the Middle Ages."

In The Genesis of Science you will discover:

1. Why the scientific accomplishments of the Middle Ages far surpassed those of the classical world;
2. How medieval craftsmen and scientists not only made discoveries of their own, but seized upon Eastern inventions--printing, gunpowder, and the compass--and improved them beyond the dreams of their originators;
3. How Galileo's notorious trial before the Inquisition was about politics, not science; and
4. Why the theology of the Catholic Church, far from being an impediment, led directly to the development of modern science.

Provocative, engaging, and a terrific read, James Hannam's The Genesis of Science will change the way you think about our past and our future.

Ispiring Christian Scientist Scholars

Three provocative and well-credentialed Christian Scientists favorites:

Dr. Vern Poythress -

"He earned a B.S. in Mathematics from California Institute of Technology (1966), where he was a Putnam fellow in 1964, and a Ph.D. in mathematics from Harvard University (1970). He studied linguistics and Bible translation at the Summer Institute of Linguistics at the University of Oklahoma in 1971 and 1972, and he enrolled at Westminster Theological Seminary, earning an M.Div. (1974) and a Th.M. in apologetics (1974). He then received an M.Litt. in New Testament from University of Cambridge (1977) and a Th.D. in New Testament from the University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, South Africa (1981)."

http://www.frame-poythress.org/poythress_articles_topic.htm


Dr. John Lennox -

"John Lennox is Professor of Mathematics in the University of Oxford, Fellow in Mathematics and the Philosophy of Science, and Pastoral Advisor at Green Templeton College, Oxford. He is also an adjunct Lecturer at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University and at the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics and is a Senior Fellow of the Trinity Forum. In addition, he teaches for the Oxford Strategic Leadership Programme at the Executive Education Centre, Said Business School, Oxford University.

He studied at the Royal School Armagh, Northern Ireland and was Exhibitioner and Senior Scholar at Emmanuel College, Cambridge University from which he took his MA and PhD. He worked for many years in the Mathematics Institute at the University of Wales in Cardiff which awarded him a DSc for his research. He also holds a DPhil from Oxford University and an MA in Bioethics from the University of Surrey. He was a Senior Alexander Von Humboldt Fellow at the Universities of Wuerzburg and Freiburg in Germany. In addition to over seventy published mathematical papers he is the co-author of two research level texts in algebra in the Oxford Mathematical Monographs series. "

http://johnlennox.org/



 
Dr. Ard Louis -

"Ard A. Louis is a Royal Society University Research Fellow and a Reader in Theoretical Physics at the University of Oxford, where he leads an interdisciplinary research group studying problems on the border between chemistry, physics and biology. He is also International Secretary for Christians in Science and an associate of the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, and served on the European advisory board of the John Templeton Foundation. He occasionally writes for BioLogos.

Prior to his post at Oxford he taught Theoretical Chemistry at Cambridge University where he was also director of studies in Natural Sciences at Hughes Hall.

He was born in the Netherlands, was raised in Gabon and received his first degree from the University of Utrecht and his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Cornell University."

http://www-thphys.physics.ox.ac.uk/people/ArdLouis/

All three are very insightful and approachable folks, so they say!

In Memory of Theistic Scientists

                  A thought about Christians who contributed to the progress of Science.

"We see how God, like a human architect, approached the founding of the world according to order and rule and measured everything in such a manner."~ Johannes Kepler (d. 1630), improved the telescope and discovered Kepler's Laws of planetary motion, demonstrating that planetary motion was part of a universal mathematical physics system.

"Religion and science demand for their foundation faith in God. For the former (religion), God stands foremost; for the latter (science), at the end of all thought. For religion He represents a basis; for science, a crowning solution towards a world view." ~ Max Planck (d. 1947), the founder of quantum physics and one of the most important physicists of the twentieth century.

"This most beautiful system of the sun, planets, and comets could only proceed from the counsel and dominion of an intelligent and powerful Being." ~ Isaac Newton (d. 1727), developed calculus and described it in Principia Mathematica, from which the above quote is taken. He described universal gravitation, the three laws of motion, and developed color theory. He wrote more on theology and religion than he did on science.

 

"All human discoveries seem to be made only for the purpose of confirming more and more the Truths contained in the Sacred Scriptures." ~ Sir William Herschel (d. 1822), a Fellow of the Royal Society and accomplished musician, Herschel discovered the planet Uranus, measured the height of lunar mountains and discovered infrared radiation.

 

"The book of nature which we have to read is written by the finger of God." ~ Michael Faraday (d. 1867), established the existence of the magnetic field, discovered electrolysis, diamagnetism, electromagnetic induction and benzene. He invented an early version of the electric dynamo. His work laid the foundation of the modern electrical system. By showing the inter-relation between magnetism and light, he laid the groundwork for a unified field theory.

 

"God would not have made the universe as it is unless He intended us to understand it." ~Robert Boyle (d. 1691), regarded as the first modern chemist and a founding member of the Royal Society, Boyle made contributions in numerous fields, including electricity, color, crystals, and hydrostatics. He also contributed liberally to Christian missions in the East and founded the Boyle Lectures to combat Christian infidels and heretics.

Book: Seed of Deception

Few weeks ago, my friend Claude (known as "apotre") lend me a book. Actually, since i come from an academic background in Biotechnology, i became quite agitated and interested by the book cover page design and the incendiary title. It was an attack on Genetic Engineered food (GM Food).

I was warned about those unscientific dissenters, these anti-biotechnologists, these politically motivated folks with hidden agenda during my undergraduate studies. So i started telling him what i thought of the book content. I was already on the verge of informing him about these conspiracy writers even before having read the damnable book.

Having himself a background in Botany, he didn't try to argue with me and joyfully gave me the book. So i decided to start reading its 266 pages and see what's the new conspiracy against GMO was again out there, just to find out that this wasn't a conspiracy theory book but a well researched book with literally hundreds and hundreds of hundreds of references, mainly scientific ones. Before i even finished the first chapter i had already abandoned my malignant suspicious of the author intention, and by the second chapter i had already
jettison my confidence about the safety of the GM food. By the end of the book, i am just completely bewildered! I never thought i'll be again able to change any of my views ... the cogency of the book argument hammered incessantly with facts, evidences and again facts and evidences over and over left me with no more defense for my prior skepticism well cemented since my university years.

This is probably ... correction, this is so far the best book i have read for the past year! It is just superb! Brilliant! Irritating! Outrageous! And absolutely well written! I do recommend you this book. Actually, i'll have to get my own copy of this book in the near future.

The full title is: "SEEDS OF DECEPTION: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You're Eating". It is written by Jeffrey M. Smith.

I found the modest book website here:
http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/SeedsofDeception/index.cfm

NB: It is however clear on my mind that the charge against GM food cannot be applied on Gene Therapy, GM Medicine or GMO as experimental science in Laboratory. And yeah, i am still a Biotechnologist. I just have to revise some of my take on the implication of all this at the light of the new evidences and facts.