It happened on JANUARY 6

1884

J. Gregor Mendel died in Brno (Moravia). He was an Austrian-Czech botanist, meteorologist, and geneticist. An Augustinian monk, he was an avid enthusiast in the field of natural science as applied to agriculture. Through scientific experiments and observations of the hybridization of pea plants, he developed a theory that contained the foundation of classic genetics (Experiments in Plant Hybridization, 1865) but which did not elicit the interest of the scientific community of his time. Rediscovered by a French biologist around 1900, he is considered the father of modern genetics.

1918

Georg F.L. Cantor died in Halle (Germany). He was a German mathematician who developed a continuum theory (On the Punctual, Linear, Infinite Range, 1879-1884) that is one of the foundational works of modern mathematics. Cantor initiated reflection on the nature of the infinite, demonstrating the existence of a type of infinity, actual, absolute infinity, determined and incapable of incremental increase, which does not belong to mathematics but can only be predicated of a metaphysical notion of God.

2013

In this solemnity pope Benedict XVI addressed these words: «The Wise Men from the East  were looking for something greater. [...] They wanted to know if God exists, and where and how he exists. Whether he is concerned about us and how we can encounter him. Nor did they want just to know. They wanted to understand the truth about ourselves and about God and the world. Their outward pilgrimage was an expression of their inward journey, the inner pilgrimage of their hearts. They were men who sought God and were ultimately on the way towards him. They were seekers after God».

INTERS.org

    

Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science

The Encyclopedia, published by the Centro di Documentazione Interdisciplinare di Scienza e Fede operating at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome, provides new, scholarly articles in the rapidly growing international field of Religion and Science (ISSN: 2037-2329). INTERS is a free online encyclopedia.

Anthology and Documents

To emphasize and spread relevant documents within the scientific community, this section provides key materials concerning the dialogue among science, philosophy and theology.

   

Special Issues

We offer here a selection of comments and documents on special issues in Religion and Science, collected for anniversaries and/or for the relevance of the topics.