Unnatural Enemies (PDF)

  • Kirsten Birkett
  • 8 March 2011
History records that whenever science and orthodoxy have been fairly opposed, the latter has been forced to retire from the lists, bleeding and crushed, if not annihilated; scotched if not slain.

So argued Thomas Huxley, one of the nineteenth centuries great champions of Science against Christian belief.

Was he right? Are Science and Christianity destined to be bitter enemies? Is it possible to be a Christian and a good scientist?

In this compellingly readable introduction to the subject, Kirsten Birkett looks at both Science and Christianity, clearly explaining what both are about, and dispelling many common confusions and misunderstandings. She argues that while there are no necessary grounds for the two to be at war, there is still reason to think that the conflict might continue.

For all devotees of science—Christian or non-Christian, professional, student or lay—Dr Birkett's perspective as both a Christian and an historian of science sheds new light on these perennial questions.