The debate between religion and science has been ongoing since the dawn of time. While there have been moments of cooperation and collaboration, many times in history the two have clashed. Oxford University Professor of Neuroscience Colin Blakemore explores this issue in his documentary God and the Scientists. Through examining points of tension from the past to more modern times to its present state, viewers gain an understanding of Christianity’s continually evolving relationship with scientific inquiry.
In the 1500s, people found themselves accused of heresy for challenging church doctrine, punished by torturous devices illustrated through a visit to Rome’s Museum of Criminology and “The Inquisition Handbook of Torture, Volume 1”. The documentary also features a look at some great minds who were seen as heretics or outsiders by their peers like Galileo Galilei, Benjamin Franklin, and Charles Darwin.
The evolution of faith can be seen today with Brother Guy Consolmagno from the Vatican Observatory explaining that “the Bible is not a science book” but rather “a human interpretation of divine inspiration”. That being said, there are still conflicting views on religion and science as viewers learn when visiting Kentucky’s Creation Museum which features dinosaurs living side by side with humans. To illustrate how far we have come in our understanding, Blakemore takes us to CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in Geneva where researchers are searching for answers on whether or not science has all the answers.
God and the Scientists offers an entertaining journey into both science and faith that will leave viewers enlightened and encouraged to further explore these topics on their own terms. Through exploring our tumultuous history between religion and science along with our current state which demonstrates where we can find common ground, viewers are reminded that both worldviews are needed for progress in both domains. We encourage you to watch this captivating documentary so you can join Blakemore in his exploration on reconciling faith & facts!
