COSMIC ROOTS

Cosmic Roots traces the five-thousand-year conflict between science and religion — and how it has shaped our modern secular worldview.

Told with rare clarity and striking insight, this fascinating and thought-provoking book focuses on the history of cosmology and its sister science astronomy. For it was discoveries within these great disciplines which first led to the conflict between science and religion. The story begins with the cosmological beliefs of the ancients — from the flat Earth models of the Sumerians and Hebrews to the Greek notion of the orbits of planets as divine circles. Topics progress from Aristotle and Ptolemy's integrated planetary models to the Sun-centered cosmologies of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and the great Isaac Newton. Their combined scientific achievements stand as testimony to the power and imagination of the human mind.

This meticulously researched narrative also traces the roots of Western religion, based on historical events and archeological evidence. It takes us on a captivating journey through Western religious history — from ancient paganism to the ethical monotheism of the Hebrews, Christians, and Moslems. Along the way, we follow the rise and fall of civilizations, of empires, cycles of war and peace, unification and division.

The book concludes with how Darwin came up with his theory of evolution and the impact of modern physics on religious beliefs. The cumulative effect of the scientific discoveries presented in Cosmic Roots has, for better or for worse, led to the separation of science and religion we see in Western culture today.

Contents:
Gods and the One God:The Sag-gigaFrom Priests to KingsIn the BeginningOne Nation Under GodLovers of Wisdom:The GreeksThe Great Natural PhilosopherThe City of the MindThe Great AstronomerFall and Rise:Zeus Versus YHWYFound and LostHe Has RisenJerusalem in FlamesThe Thirteenth ApostleThe BlossomingThe Age of MartyrsBy Their ConquerRebirth:The ProphetThe Medieval UniverseThe Reluctant RevolutionaryThe ObserverThe VisionaryThe Michelangelo of ScienceThe Two Chief World SystemsEnlightenment:The Great OneThe Heavens and the EarthReasonTwo GiantsLife:Reluctant Revolutionary ReduxThe Origin of SpeciesThe Law of EvolutionThe Secular Universe
Readership: Anyone who is interested in the history of science and religion, as well as the development of astronomy, cosmology, and evolution.

Key Features:
Cosmic Roots is unique in that it presents the history of both the development of Western cosmology/astronomy and the history of the religions of Abraham in the same bookThe book includes fascinating biographies of great scientists and religious figuresWritten for the general reader, the book presents evidence-based views known to historical scholars but rarely found in popular accounts. They include: Hebrew Bible, New Testament, Rise of Christianity, Copernicus, The Renaissance, Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Modern Physics