Uploaded April 2021 | Updated September 2026, 9 hours ago

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I respond to a video from Capturing Christianity, in which Cameron interviews Tom McLeish and Dave Hutchings about the history of science, arguing that science arose from a Christian context and only makes sense with Christian philosophical foundations. I argue that they misrepresent the history of science to further an apologetic purpose, and show how in fact science has no need of a theological underpinning, nor was one central to its origin.



00:00 Introduction
02:40 When did science begin?
11:30 The experimental method
19:15 Universal laws of nature
28:00 The mechanical philosophy
47:25 Doubting Thomas and faith
58:00 Christian attitudes to science
1:05:20 Christian foundations to science?

1:27:10 Science in non-Christian cultures
1:59:00 Marginalising science
2:03:00 Cherry-picking history
2:13:25 Summary and conclusions


The two books I recommended are:

Science & Religion: A Historical Introduction
amazon.com/Science-Religion-Introduction-Gary-Ferngren/dp/0801870380

Philosophy of Science: The Central Issues
amazon.com/Philosophy-Science-Central-Issues-Second/dp/039391903X