The New Science

Michael Novak

To structure life around intellect is a distinctively Jewish and Christian impulse, a central thrust in what we mean by “the West.” The God of Judaism and Christianity offers us in the Scripture the Names He most prefers: “I am Who am,” Creator of all things, Truth, Light, Law. Jews and Christians are taught, in a way that Buddhists, Hindus, Animists, and others are not, that it is our vocation not merely to reflect the world, to contemplate it, or to be reconciled with it, but also to change it, to analyze it, seek out its secrets, reconstruct it, complete it. Judaism and Christianity understand nature as history, propel it even, with a cultural dynamism of which we are the heirs.

About the Author

Michael Novak

Michael Novak was a Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat.

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Michael Novak

To structure life around intellect is a distinctively Jewish and Christian impulse, a central thrust in what we mean by “the West.” The God of Judaism and Christianity offers us in the Scripture the Names He most prefers: “I am Who am,” Creator of all things, Truth, Light, Law. Jews and Christians are taught, in a way that Buddhists, Hindus, Animists, and others are not, that it is our vocation not merely to reflect the world, to contemplate it, or to be reconciled with it, but also to change it, to analyze it, seek out its secrets, reconstruct it, complete it. Judaism and Christianity understand nature as history, propel it even, with a cultural dynamism of which we are the heirs.