Curious Obsessions: In the History of Science and Spirituality

Kohn, Rachael

ISBN 10: 0733316387 / ISBN 13: 9780733316388

Published by ABC Books, 2007

About this Item

[Author], [Publisher]. NB: This is a secondhand book in very good condition. See our FAQs for more information. Please note that the jacket image is indicative only. A description of our secondhand books is not always available. Please contact us if you have a question about this title. Author: Rachael Kohn Format: Paperback Number of Pages: 272 A monk who kept banned books in a secret library under the nose of the Pope; an abbess who designed outlandish royal garments for her nuns; a magician who practised the dark arts to advise Queen Elizabeth I; archaeologists who discovered a goddess just in time for feminism; utopians who never quite found what they were looking for; explorers who searched for the ten lost tribes of Israel but found new continents instead; a nation that was convinced it was a lost race and started a world war to prove it; an eccentric doctor and a mad monk who intuited scientific truths well before future generations would prove their theories were right. these are just some of the astonishing stories in which religious quests have spurred humankind on to great discoveries or enabled them to realise their dreams. In Curious Obsessions: Stories from the Ark, based on the ABC Radio National program, Rachael Kohn-one of Australia's leading religious broadcasters and academics-explores subjects from science to spirituality through the lens of a host of fascinating characters and in this intriguing and wide-ranging book.

Seller Inventory # 9780733316388-SECONDHAND

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Curious Obsessions: In the History of Science and Spirituality
• Publisher: ABC Books
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0733316387
• ISBN 13: 9780733316388
• Binding: Secondhand, Paperback
• Book Type: Secondhand, Paperback

About this title

Synopsis

The frontiers of religion and science have always been pushed forward by curious and obsessed individuals, the monk who kept banned books in a secret library under the nose of the pope; the explorers who searched for the lost tribes of Israel but found a new continent instead; the eccentric doctor and a mad monk who intuited scientific truths well before future generations would prove their theories correct; the archaeologists who discovered the goddess just in time for feminism; the utopians who never quite found what they were looking for; and a current flock of priests and nuns who go wherever knowledge takes them. It is a delicious quirk of history that individuals dismissed by their contemporaries as eccentrics and troublemakers are often those with the most impact on the world. Curious Obsessions in the History of Science and Spirituality is a captivating look at the famous and the forgotten who emerged in times of extreme change and social disruption to change science and spirituality for ever. During our current Covid19 pandemic, this collection is highly relevant to a world still seeking novel answers to the human condition and also drawn to old theories long ago debunked.