The argument that to believe in God and to believe in science is irreconcilable is one that believers of every faith are used to (and tired of) hearing. None more so than Italian Catholic Tom Todesca it seems. Todesca has launched a kickstarter fund so that he can publish and distribute a graphic novel about the relationship between science and faith. The novel, Science and Faith: Friends not Foes, will be the first of its kind, according to Todesca. If published, the graphic novel may be the first time that the subject has been explored extensively in this modern format but the question has been explored for centuries by scientists, religious leaders, believers and atheists. Here’s what six famous scientists have said on the subject.
Charles Darwin, naturalist – “I have never denied the existence of God. I think the theory of evolution is fully compatible with faith in God. I think the greatest argument for the existence of God is the impossibility of demonstrating and understanding that the immense universe, sublime above all measure, and man were the result of chance.”
Maria Mitchell, astronomer – “Scientific investigations pushed on and on, will reveal new ways in which God works, and bring us deeper revelations of the wholly unknown.”
Carl Sagan, astronomer – “Science is not only compatible with spirituality; it is a profound source of spirituality.”
Albert Einstein, theoretical physicist – “I do not share the crusading spirit of the professional atheist.”
Thomas A. Edison, inventor – “My utmost respect and admiration to all the engineers, especially the greatest of them all: God.”
Carl Ludwig Schleich, pioneer of local anaesthesia – “I became a believer in my own way through the microscope and observation of nature, and I want to contribute, insofar as I can, to the full harmony between science and religion.”