Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist

Many of you have read - or have a copy of - Turn Left at Orion by Guy Consolmagno, an entertaining and instructive guide for amateur astronomers with small telescopes. No less entertaining is his book, Brother Astronomer: Adventures of a Vatican Scientist, in which Jesuit Brother Guy Consolmagno tells his life story in brief, and in more detail discusses Mars rocks, Antarctica adventures, and science/religion issues. With grace and good humor he tells of his becoming curator of the Vatican's collection of meteorites, one of the oldest collections in the world, mostly amassed in the nineteenth century by French nobleman Marquis de Mauroy. Consolmagno and his associates devised a method to determine the mass, the density, and the porosity of meteorites, which lead to theories on where meteorites come from - asteroids and other planets. He calls them his outer space "aliens" at the Vatican. His real adventures are recounted with good-natured wit in the section titled "Wide Wild Whiteness", a meteorite-hunting expedition with other scientists on the bottom of the world in Antarctica. He makes the vast, cold continent seem to come alive in its bleak expanse and extremes of cold and wind. The personal interaction among the small group of individuals forced to spend six weeks together in that harsh frigid environment is insightful, at times poignant and other times hilarious. Everyone on the team has a specialty, and he often wonders, "Why am I here?" They bring home a treasure trove of 390 meteorites. It is fascinating to learn how they go to great pains to preserve the pristine condition of the space rocks. To collect them without contaminating them is a real challenge, especially under subzero temperatures, where the cold dulls the mind and freezes the fingers. Perhaps most enlightening and enjoyable are Consolmagno's discourses on science and religion. He reminds us that only recently, in our popular culture, has there been an apparent schism between science and religion; that indeed, the great thinkers of ages gone by were men of renown in the church, men of great religious faith. The search for truth is and always has been the goal of both good religion and good science. "God gave us brains; He expects us to use them," he says. "To understand why" science and religion are thought to be opposed, says Consolmagno, "we need to look not at science, nor at religion, but at the popular culture." He explains that science in school is often a turn-off for kids, and many leave the church as teenagers, "before they are old enough to appreciate it." The result is a childish view of both science and religion. The popular media - news, TV, movies - present a distorted view of both science and religion as well, he contends. If there is no action, no drama, no conflict, it doesn't make good copy or good video. Scientists are often portrayed as "mad", and preachers are stereotyped as extremists. Fear and confusion of the roles and rel

Brother Astronomer is a delightful romp into the life of a joyful and spirit-filled man. Brother Guy exemplifies the bridging of the purported gap between faith and science; in his writing and his life and his combination of these two vocations he belies the simplistic and all-too glib pronouncements so many trot out about the rift between science and religion. Whether you come to this book from the religous or scientific side, read it with an open mind and heart, the way it was written.Brother Guy writes with considerable insight and frankness, and will certainly make some people most uncomfortable as he demonstrates some convincing parallels betweeen science and religion. Those who quickly dismiss his comments on this similarity simply reveal that they were ready to do so a priori, even before opening the pages of this book. He handles science and religion in an even-handed, balanced and refreshingly gentle manner, and I admire his intellectual and spiritual integrity, how he never forgets there is one truth underlying everything, and that this truth will be what it is, and not simply what we want it to be.His book is undoubted going to be equally unacceptable to both scientific as well as religious fundamentalists, two groups which possess in common a remarkable ignorance of both religion and science. As a professional academic scientist and believer in God who has never had any problem reconciling the two equally profound sides of my life, I may be prejudiced in my approach to this book. But I don't think so. So set your judgementalness aside when you pick up Brother Astronomer. Read it, enjoy it, go with the flow of the book and take delight in the time you spend with this delightful man.

(Brother)(Dr) Guy Consolmagno has given us a delightful book, obviously written by someone who has comfortably lived (and uncomfortably adventured) in the two worlds of scientific and religious inquiry. The author discusses his infectious enthusiasm for both "worlds," although he doesn't think there is an essential line between the two. During the course of this book, you will travel to the ends of the earth to look for fragments of another world, understand why serendipity (and a good high school English teacher) are often major parts of a successful big-league scientific presentation, and learn why the Vatican maintains one of the world's best meteorite collections (in a home built by the pope who helped condemn Galileo). You will also find how Dr C answered the "killer question" -- namely, why care a fiddle or a fig about the makeup of Jupiter's moons, when people are suffering on earth? (Dr C mentions he briefly gave up science, joined the Peace Corps to directly help starving people, wound up teaching science to Kenyan students, and came away convinced that scientific development can provide one of the soundest foundations for preventing ignorance and starvation. It can also provide a sound foundation for religious understanding). Dr C discusses how the established church helped found modern science and scientific thinking (Galileo's trial was a correctable aberration, just like the regrettable dark alleyways occasionally taken by scientific minds). The established church and science have traditionally been partners in seeking methodological and insightful understanding, appreciating truth in our world, and combating ignorance and superstition. I did have some editorial quarrels (examples: there is no index and no bibliography, and Father Lemaitre did not "invent" the Big Bang theory; he "proposed" it). Nevertheless, when I closed this book, I had improved both my understanding of why a sane person would risk his life for science, and why a sane scientist would want to become a good Jesuit.

Following are just some of the things this small book manages to be:An autobiography tracing a career in science and a path toward a religious calling.A discussion of meteor and planetary science.An adventure set against the harshness of Antarctica.A discussion of the Occidental attitude toward nature which has led to the historical development of the scientific method.A meditation on life as a gift and love superceding both obligation and duty as a motive for action.Finally, a gentle reminder that the threadbare proposition that science is incompatible with religious belief is far too facile and much too simple. Brother Consolmagno portrays a reality that is more complex, more ambiguous and flat out more interesting.By the way, it's all related with a winning sense of humor

This book is an eye-opener for both true-believing religious folk who mistrust science and hard-nosed materialists who consider theological ways of thinking to have been overthrown by science. For those who already knew better, this book falls a bit short of advancing recent dialogs between religion and science. Subjective religious experiences are uncritically reported as "God's" influence with little or no reflection on the psychological nature of their origin. Further, both past "mistakes" and current dogmatic assertions of the Catholic Chursh are discussed without persuading this reader that the author has been as thoroughly honest in his pursuit of "Truth" as is claimed. But all in all, this is an enjoyable book with an entertaining exposition of meteorite hunting that constitutes an honest-to-God adventure. Well worth reading!