Order and Chaos

Order and chaos are concepts that express completely different meanings. The ideas have been in a constant clash for most of human history and have attempted to be explained by notably two fields: science and religion. Last week, we visited the Church of Santa Maria degli Angelica, which apparently tried to incorporate religion and science. In general, the churched seemed to show the compatibility of the two ideologies in order for humanity to accept the two as viable explanations for seemingly inexplicable phenomena, in the hopes of obtaining a greater understanding of the universe which we inhabit. This, to me, is a complete paradox, but I am partial to the church’s attempt of showing how in fact science and religion can coexist. Additionally, I feel that it also shows the secularization of the church itself over time because much of the scientific elements in the church itself were created by Galileo. Moreover, because they have used his inventions, the gradual secularization and acceptance of such ideas are simple to see. During his lifetime, Galileo was at the forefront of science, with most notably his theory of a heliocentric universe, which described the universe as having the sun as its center. In doing so, the previously accepted theory of the geocentric universe was repudiated by science. Needless to say, the church was not happy whatsoever and even excommunicated the “heretical” Galileo. His attempt can be seen as one of explaining the order and chaos of the universe. This scientific leap had the capability of leading to the answering of many questions that were previously inexplicable. Today, however, the church has accepted this and even has seemed to display this belief in the Church of Santa Maria degli Angelica.