How many people do you know who can give you a technical description of photosynthesis and quote from Ludwig Ott’s Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma? Dr. Stacy Trasancos (stacytrasancos.com) is one such person, accomplished in both science and theology.
A native of Texas, Trasancos’s love of nature and insatiable curiosity led her to eventually earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from Penn State University and then to work for DuPont Chemical. Trasancos was led to the Catholic Church and conversion by what she calls an “empirical” method: observation of the order of the world around her and of the effect that a budding faith had on her life.
She eventually left her research position to become a stay-at-home mom, and her burgeoning interest in the Catholic Faith led her to earn a Master’s degree in systematic theology from Holy Apostles College & Seminary.
She now teaches science courses for Kolbe Academy Online Homeschool Program, teaches a course on “Science in the Light of Faith” at Holy Apostles, and writes regularly about science and faith for various Catholic publications.
Because of her education and her personal journey to and into the Church, Dr. Trasancos is in a unique position to address questions about faith and science. Such questions have been present in Western civilization ever since Thales suggested thunderbolts may have an origin apart from the hand of Zeus, but in our technologically advanced age the second objection to the existence of God raised in St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae appears with increasing frequency: that the universe can be explained without God—and many believers find themselves ill-equipped to deal with such questions.
Dr. Transancos’s new book Particles of Faith: A Catholic Guide to Navigating Science (Ave Maria Press, 2016) is intended to serve as a guide for Catholics who desire to engage these issues. Writing as a scientist, a theologian, and a mother, she brings all three perspectives together to “show how a Catholic person works through these questions of faith and science.” Continue reading
Sources
- The Catholic World Report, article by Nicholas Senz, Director of Religious Education at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Mill Valley, CA.
- Image: stacytrasancos.com
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