Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science

I just bought four more copies of this book to give to close friends who struggle with their faith.Dr. Trasancos has gone to the heart of our cultural struggle. On one hand there is a militant appeal to science as the arbiter of right and wrong. My gosh, I never dreamed we would see a bizarre "march for science" at our nation's capital, but there we were, just a few months ago. How about a "march for grammar" next?On the other hand is a hopeful appeal to faith as an alternative to science.Both of these are a sure path to despair. The tension between the science and faith worldviews can lead good people to despair. But despair is not a proper response. The proper response is to understand how faith and science fit together. Now, there are a few books out there that try to do this. But none succeed the way that this book does. I believe the reason is that Dr. Trasancos gives the reader her heart in the first part of the book. She is someone you can relate to. She effortlessly shifts from personal reflection to the details of a chemistry experiment that she herself has performed wearing yellow rubber gloves.Please give this book a read, and give a copy to young people in your life, especially young adults who are caught in the middle of the secular world and the light of faith. Dr. Trasancos does a magnificent job showing you that the fascinating world of science is actually made brighter by seeing it in the light of faith.If you take nothing else from this wonderful book, remember that it all comes down to the first chapter of Genesis: In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. No further speculation is needed. No intelligent design, no multiverse, none of it. There is no need for pretzel logic once you accept that God transcends science. You can enjoy science again, and not feel like it opposes your faith. And you can feel secure in your faith, knowing that it need not be taxed with the task of explaining the evolution of life.

For years I have lamented the annoying persistence of a popular assumption about some unbridgeable gap between faith and reason. It's a given, we are told, that religion and science are diametrically opposed. Stacy Trasancos offers some real tonic for that tired old annoyance that has caused such harm to so many over the years. She marshals her varied wealth of education and experience to bring about an eminently readable summary of the controversies, offering practical guidance and encouragement to engage in the conversation with confidence and joy. I will be reading it again.

Great book to reconcile science with Christianity!

In order to write this book convincingly Tracy needed to, and did, include science that is way above my head. However the bit of high school chemistry I've retained over the years carried me through those passages. I was very pleased in how the end chapter reviewed and tied together everything that preceded it. I wanted more. What she had to say about creationism and intelligent design resonates with my gut feelings. I really enjoyed the book

I enjoyed this book, however, it is not an easy read for someone without a science background. I’m considering getting the student edition. I believe it may answer some of my questions the book raised. It was definitely worth my time.

Having Stacy as a Facebook friend, I was somewhat familiar with her easy Southern style of writing and communicating. While interested in Science, I did not immediately buy the book, but when I did buy it...I was sorry I waited! It is an extremely delightful read and written in a style that will make it hard to put down once you start reading. I recommend this to everyone, Catholic or not.

Good arguments for merging faith and science, but very technical and scientific for the average person. Expands your brain!

This book will open your eyes to see how scientists think about the world. Gives you a lesson on science and how to look at things with an open mind.

Fantastically readable reflections on how Faith and Science when take. Together form a much greater, more complete and are the only way to answer, the deepest questions about the meaning of humanity and why there is, in the words of Robert Barron, something instead of nothing.

Purchased as gift SIL loved it

Every Catholic should read this. Every Christian should read this. Every non-Christian should read this. It's not just a blueprint for showing how religion can relate to science. It's also a love letter to science and to science's Author. I sometimes got the same feeling reading this as I got watching Carl Sagan's Cosmos when I was a kid. My only minor complaint is that the book treats many conflicts between religion and science as though they have been completely and perfectly resolved, although this is not the case. Hopefully future work by this author will treat these tensions more directly, because I think it's good for Christians and non-Christians to see someone with faith in God admit that he or she doesn't know all the answers, and hasn't fixed all the problems. As I say, this is a very minor complaint; not everything can or ought to be done in a single book. If I could figure out how to fit the serious conflicts into this book without bloating it, I would give the book four stars. But, as it is, since I can't figure out a practical way to improve the book by adding to it, five stars it is!