Angels and Demons is a historically inaccurate diatribe against the Catholic Church. But what else is new? The Catholic Church seems to be the only institution that can be attacked without scruples. As a Catholic I am personally offended by this. I think it's disingenuous on the part of Ron Howard to claim that his movie is fiction, but yet in an interview that I saw he talks about the attacks of the Church on the Illuminati, as if it actually happened. Apparently, in the movie the Vatican is attacking the Illuminati long before the Illuminati were actually formally founded. The so-called Illuminati were formally founded on May 1, 1776, in Bavaria, by a Dr. Adam Weishaupt. I guess misrepresenting history and the Church is a tickle that Howard cannot help but scratch.
The entertainment industry is generally, anti-Christian, and Catholicism bears the brunt of such attacks. Seemingly, another premise of this movie is that the Catholic Church is opposed to science and scientific pursuits. In response, one Catholic radio host observes how in the minds of people the Catholic Church is perceived as anti-science because of the Galileo controversy. Again, another misrepresentation. This radio host, argues that instead of opposing science the Church promotes science in the pursuit of truth. After all, scientific discoveries can never contradict God because God is the ultimate and final truth. Below is a list of Catholics who have contributed to science as posted by this radio host in his blog. He prefaces this list with a discussion of the tendency to think only of the Church's opposition to Galileo as proof that the Church is anti-science.
He writes; "Why not these other Catholics of varying degrees of devotion but still of exceptional intelligence and giftedness and blessing to humanity?
Why not Msgr. George Lemaitre, the “Father of the Big Bang theory”?
Or Abbot Gregor Mendel, the “Father of Genetics?”
Or Franciscan Friar, Roger Bacon, the “Father of Scientific Laws?”
Or St. Archbishop Nicolas Steno, the “Father of Geology”?
Or Rene Descartes, the “Father of Modern Rationalism?”
Or Fr. Marin Mersenne the "Father of Acoustics?"
Or Andreas Vesalius, the “Father of Modern Anatomy and Physiology?”
Or Antoine Lavoisier, the “Father of Modern Chemistry”
Or Blaise Pascal, the “Father of Hydrostatics?”
Or Louis Pasteur, the “Father of Pasteurization?”
Or Archdeacon Nicolaus Copernicus, “the Father of Heliocentrism?”
Or Pierre-Duhem, “the Father of the History of Medieval Science?”
Or Fr. George Coyne, the discoverer of asteroid 14429 Coyne?
Or Dr. Martin Nowak, Harvard mathematics and biology where his discoveries in evolutionary dynamics argue that cooperation as much as competition has driven natural selection. "Genes cooperate in cells, cells cooperate in organisms, and individuals cooperate in societies."
Or Guglielmo Marconi, “the Father of Radio?” and recipient of the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics."
We Catholics are 1 billion strong. It's time we made our voices heard in opposing bigots.
The entertainment industry is generally, anti-Christian, and Catholicism bears the brunt of such attacks. Seemingly, another premise of this movie is that the Catholic Church is opposed to science and scientific pursuits. In response, one Catholic radio host observes how in the minds of people the Catholic Church is perceived as anti-science because of the Galileo controversy. Again, another misrepresentation. This radio host, argues that instead of opposing science the Church promotes science in the pursuit of truth. After all, scientific discoveries can never contradict God because God is the ultimate and final truth. Below is a list of Catholics who have contributed to science as posted by this radio host in his blog. He prefaces this list with a discussion of the tendency to think only of the Church's opposition to Galileo as proof that the Church is anti-science.
He writes; "Why not these other Catholics of varying degrees of devotion but still of exceptional intelligence and giftedness and blessing to humanity?
Why not Msgr. George Lemaitre, the “Father of the Big Bang theory”?
Or Abbot Gregor Mendel, the “Father of Genetics?”
Or Franciscan Friar, Roger Bacon, the “Father of Scientific Laws?”
Or St. Archbishop Nicolas Steno, the “Father of Geology”?
Or Rene Descartes, the “Father of Modern Rationalism?”
Or Fr. Marin Mersenne the "Father of Acoustics?"
Or Andreas Vesalius, the “Father of Modern Anatomy and Physiology?”
Or Antoine Lavoisier, the “Father of Modern Chemistry”
Or Blaise Pascal, the “Father of Hydrostatics?”
Or Louis Pasteur, the “Father of Pasteurization?”
Or Archdeacon Nicolaus Copernicus, “the Father of Heliocentrism?”
Or Pierre-Duhem, “the Father of the History of Medieval Science?”
Or Fr. George Coyne, the discoverer of asteroid 14429 Coyne?
Or Dr. Martin Nowak, Harvard mathematics and biology where his discoveries in evolutionary dynamics argue that cooperation as much as competition has driven natural selection. "Genes cooperate in cells, cells cooperate in organisms, and individuals cooperate in societies."
Or Guglielmo Marconi, “the Father of Radio?” and recipient of the 1909 Nobel Prize in Physics."
We Catholics are 1 billion strong. It's time we made our voices heard in opposing bigots.
