Objection · Case 08 · Science
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?
One objection from the free evidence repository at apologetics.pro.
Response
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.
About this exhibit
This objection is to Andrew Dickson White, “A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom” (1896).
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…