Friday, July 24, 2015

Science Arose Only Once

From Rodney Stark's The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success:

"Real science arose only once: in Europe. China, Islam, India, and ancient Greece and Rome each had a highly developed alchemy. But only in Europe did alchemy develop into chemistry. By the same token, many societies developed elaborate systems of astrology, but only in Europe did astrology lead to astronomy. Why? Again, the answer has to do with images of God...In contrast with the dominant religious and philosophical doctrines in the non-Christian world, Christians developed science because they believed it could be done, and should be done." (page 14)

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