Religious Confessions and the Sciences in the Sixteenth Century

Helm (history of medicine, U. Halle-Wittenberg, Germany) and Winkelmann (Leopold Zunz Center for the Study of European Judaism, Germany), suggesting that the relationship between religion and science was not one of implacable hostility, present 12 articles seeking to understand the ways in which Christian and Judaic religious beliefs influenced the practice of science, and vice-versa. Among the topics discussed are the conflict that Jesuit scientists faced between scientific discovery and religious dogma, the influence of Protestant thinking on the foundations of anatomy, the transmission of Jewish and Arab scientific philosophies to Europe by way of the Iberian Jews, and attempts by Jewish scholars to harmonize undeniable scientific discoveries with Judaic teachings. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Jurgen Helm, MD, Goettingen University, is Assistant Professor at the Martin Luther University in Halle-Wittenberg, Germany.Annette Winkelmann, MA in Judaic Studies, University of Cologne, is Project Manager at the Leopold Zunz Centre for the Study of European Judaism and Managing Editor of the Newsletter of the European Association for Jewish Studies.