[kellychaos]

The reconciliation between science and religion, especially during the Rennaisance Period, has always intrigued me. This is a pretty fast-paced, in-depth and compelling read for those that are interested in the chronology of the earth and how it was arrived at from both the scientific and theological perspectives (see review below):

Measuring Eternity: The Search for the Beginning of Time

by Martin Gorst (Broadway Books, 2001) 338 pages

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Reviewed by Paul Halpern


In 1675, London bookseller Thomas Guy sought a way to market Bibles to the largest possible audience. Under contract from the University of Oxford, he designed a new edition that—in addition to eye-catching illustrations—included a timeline of biblical events developed decades earlier by Irish archbishop James Ussher. Through meticulous research of the nuances of who begat whom and when, Ussher had determined that the world began at six o’clock in the evening on Saturday, October 22, 4004 B.C.E. Guy’s Bibles flew off the stands, and Ussher’s chronology, including his date for Creation, became so widely accepted that authorized Church of England publications reported it for centuries.

The tale of Ussher sets the scene for British science writer Martin Gorst’s fast-paced and witty account of the pursuit of the age of the world. Gorst, who has a knack for capturing the strengths and stumbling blocks of the key players of every era, chronicles centuries of debates among geologists, biologists, astronomers, and theologians concerning the way the Earth has developed. He shows respect for each competing theory, ultimately showing how science has progressed through clashes of once seemingly reasonable approaches.

The last part of Measuring Eternity concerns the search for the age of the universe, far too important a topic to describe in just a few chapters. Pity that Gorst didn’t develop it as a volume in its own right. As it stands, the book provides a far-too-brief history of modern cosmology appended to a marvelous account of how we learned about the venerable age of our planetary home.