God's Mechanics: How Scientists and Engineers Make Sense of Religion

Features

• Cover Type: Hard Cover with 256 pages
• Published by: Jossey-Bass October 19, 2007
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0787994669
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0787994662
• Book Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Weighs: 14.9 ounces

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Sidestepping the acrimony of recent science vs. religion debates, Consolmagno, a Vatican astronomer and self-described "techie," intends that "demonstrating the existence of a lot of people like me, who flourish as scientists while practicing a religion, should be proof enough that science and religion can be perfectly compatible." Combining personal memoir with conversations within the techie world, Consolmagno describes questions about the universe and the meaning of life that attract techies into religious belief and practice, concluding that "techies are not looking for proof. They’re looking for confidence." When he tests his initial hypotheses with a survey project, Consolmagno finds that for many religiously-involved techie types, the value of community and moral support may actually be more important than the search for religious answers. As one atheist interviewee puts it, "You think you are selling truth, but your audience has already brought their own truth with them to church. All you are selling them is tech support." Is this all there is to religion? Certainly not for Brother Guy, who defends a specifically Christian and Catholic version of religious truth. Yet Consolmagno’s adroit and self-effacing style defuses any suggestion of theological point-scoring, as in his dryly Dilbertian defense of papal infallibility: "Unlike some of the other bosses I’ve worked for in my life, this one admits that he’s only infallible under certain extremely limited conditions."

Product Review
“Brother Guy Consolmagno speaks in the softest, sanest voice imaginable as he enters the current firestorm of opinion re science and religion. His engaging commentary exposes the mindset of a true ‘techie’--but one who equates science with a sacred act.”--Dava Sobel, author, Galileo’s Daughter

 

“A prominent Vatican astronomer takes up the problem of presenting the Christian faith to his fellow ‘techies.’ After analyzing their scientific modes of thinking, Consolmagno proposes ways of speaking to their mentality. His fresh approach opens up new paths for evangelization and dialogue.”

--Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, Fordham University

 

“My grasp of technology doesn’t much go beyond the chipmunks on treadmills that generate the electrical power for my computer. Put those chipmunks inside my brain, and you’ve got an idea how much I understand about religion. Which is why I found [this] book so amazing. Brother Guy has a knack for taking extremely complex concepts and explaining them in ways even a technological and religious rustic like me can understand. He’s smart, patient, through, and very funny. I only wish Brother Guy had been my science professor and my Sunday school teacher. I’d have a lot fewer chipmunks running around in my office and in my head.”--Gary K. Wolf, creator of Roger Rabbit

 

“Brother Guy Consolmagno’s book explores the origins and nature of religion in novel and interesting ways, especially for a Catholic writer.  His insights and thought processes honestly accept and answer many religious questions relating to scientists, engineers, and contemporary society as a whole.  He is deeply candid, sharing his own faith and revealing his true love for the Catholic Church.”--Archbishop John J. Myers, Newark, New Jersey

 

“Brother Guy is someone whose faith is mysterious to me. I'm an atheist, I think that God is a mental state we achieve by tickling our brains, not a creator who intervenes in the universe. Brother Guy's book is an important step in bridging the gap between we the irreligious and anti-religious tech-world and the faithful among the geeks.”--Cory Doctorow, author. Overclocked: Stories of the Future Present and coeditor of Boing Boing (boingboing.net)

 

Reader Reviews
Brother Guy is a Vatican astronomer who specializes in the study of meteorites and dwarf planets. He's also a regular at various science fiction conventions, and the thing I liked most about his book, aside from his techie sense of humor, is he gives a very interesting answer (or set of answers) to the question, how do scientists, who are trained to be skeptics, make sense of religion. Here's a brief sample from his book: "So if doing science is ultimately a religious act, why does the story of a split between science and religion exist in out culture today? Because too many religious people have been scared away from science by the very stories of this split. Because most scientists keep their religion private, as is their right. Because the religious people most likely to be heard in the news are those whose strong bent in engineering hides their very limited education in science: the creationists. Because the scientists who do speak publicly about these topics have been precisely those whose very limited education in religion (people like Richard Dawkins or Stephen Jay Gould) have made them "science fundamentalists"," every bit as narrow as the religious fundamentalists and probably not the best representatives of their fields--just the best known." (p. 169) Highly recommended.