Science Teaching as a Profession. Why it isn't. How it could be. PB280X Book

Great book - very well done. Intelligent, thorough -- excellent overview of the topic for those who need to know what the Church teaches, but aren't sure where to begin. For those with a very strong science background, this will be more of a jumping-off point, but a what jump! Covers the philosophical underpinnings of different views of faith and science, the history of Catholicism and science, and offers an attempt at reconcile the Catholic view of the faith with the current findings in paleontology.

I gave it four stars because I predict some of the science in the last chapters will get outdated quickly, and because the approach to creation is going to tick off some very faithful and pious Catholics, but you've got to give the author credit for making a honest effort. Otherwise the book is excellent, and I don't think these "shortcomings" are a serious problem for most readers.

(To those who are wary of anything that argues against young-earth, remember, MTF is the publisher. They don't monkey around with the faith.)

Of course no book is necessarily a must-read for everybody. But I do think that anyone teaching the faith above about a 3rd grade level needs to know the ideas presented in this book -- those working below that level need someone to teach the core concepts to them. This is the topic that is going to be the big thing in apologetics for the decades to come.

--> I would not dream of considering a young Catholic's education complete until they've mastered this material. If your students are not capable of working through this book prior to high school graduation, they really need to limit their higher-ed to Newman Guide schools.

This book is the prep that gets faithful Christian kids ready to deal with the attack on the faith that's going to happen in secular and lightly-Catholic colleges. A timely and valuable edition to MTF's always-excellent line-up.