Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Acknowledgments xi
4. Introduction 1
5. Myth 1. That the Rise of Christianity Was Responsible for the Demise of Ancient Science 8
6. Myth 2. That the Medieval Christian Church Suppressed the Growth of Science 19
7. Myth 3. That Medieval Christians Taught That the Earth Was Flat 28
8. Myth 4. That Medieval Islamic Culture Was Inhospitable to Science 35
9. Myth 5. That the Medieval Church Prohibited Human Dissection 43
10. Myth 6. That Copernicanism Demoted Humans from the Center of the Cosmos 50
11. Myth 7. That Giordano Bruno Was the First Martyr of Modern Science 59
12. Myth 8. That Galileo Was Imprisoned and Tortured for Advocating Copernicanism 68
13. Myth 9. That Christianity Gave Birth to Modern Science 79
14. Myth 10. That the Scientific Revolution Liberated Science from Religion 90
15. Myth 11. That Catholics Did Not Contribute to the Scientific Revolution 99
16. Myth 12. That René Descartes Originated the Mind- Body Distinction 107
17. Myth 13. That Isaac Newton’s Mechanistic Cosmology Eliminated the Need for God 115
18. Myth 14. That the Church Denounced Anesthesia in Childbirth on Biblical Grounds 123
19. Myth 15. That the Theory of Organic Evolution Is Based on Circular Reasoning 131
20. Myth 16. That Evolution Destroyed Darwin’s Faith in Christianity—Until He Reconverted on His Deathbed 142
21. Myth 17. That Huxley Defeated Wilberforce in Their Debate over Evolution and Religion 152
22. Myth 18. That Darwin Destroyed Natural Theology 161
23. Myth 19. That Darwin and Haeckel Were Complicit in Nazi Biology 170
24. Myth 20. That the Scopes Trial Ended in Defeat for Antievolutionism 178
25. Myth 21. That Einstein Believed in a Personal God 187
26. Myth 22. That Quantum Physics Demonstrated the Doctrine of Free Will 196
27. Myth 23. That “Intelligent Design” Represents a Scientific Challenge to Evolution 206
28. Myth 24. That Creationism Is a Uniquely American Phenomenon 215
29. Myth 25. That Modern Science Has Secularized Western Culture 224
30. Notes 235
31. List of Contributors 285
32. Index 291