Evidence · Case 08 · Science
Andrew Dickson White, “A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom” (1896)
One exhibit from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
White, the first president of Cornell, wrote an even larger two volume work built around the language of warfare. Together with Draper’s book, it set the template that journalists and textbooks repeated for over a century.
Sources
- Andrew Dickson White, “A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom” (full text) (opens in a new tab)
Andrew Dickson White, “A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom” (1896)
Objections & responses
- White’s title says warfare of science with theology, not religion. He was explicitly defending religion against dogmatic theology. Isn’t his aim being misrepresented?
Correct, and the title should be read as written. White’s distinction between religion (good) and dogmatic theology (the enemy of science) is a real feature of the book. It does not rescue his history, which is where several of the enduring myths come from: Columbus and the flat earth, the Church forbidding dissection. The historians’ verdict on White’s reliability stands regardless of his stated aim, and it is his history, not his aim, that the conflict thesis rests on.