Let us begin at the beginning.
It is important for the purpose of this seminar to limit all meanings of evolution to biological evolution. We do not refer to all manner of evolutionary ideas now adopted by many fields of inquiry.
Biological evolution states that all living things share a common ancestor by descent with modification. Charles Darwin did not discover evolution (but he proposed natural selection). His grandfather Erasmus Darwin published one of the first formal theories on evolution in his two volume Zoonomia, or, The Laws of Organic Life in 1794 and 17964 .
In 1801, almost 60 years before Charles Darwin published his ideas about natural selection, Jean Baptiste Pierre Antoine de Monet, Chevalier de la Marck (1744-1829) whom history would know simply as Lamarck introduced the idea of evolution.
Charles Darwin’s contribution was the plausible mechanism called natural selection, which sorts random mutations, privileging those which maximizes optimal survivability. Lamarck’s mistake was to suggest that function creates the organ, e.g., giraffes have long necks from trying to feed from tall tress rather than organ provide function, e.g., tall giraffes survive better because they can feed from tall trees.
Biological evolution is a fact and can be observed in nature. Darwinism is a theory to explain the fact of evolution by adopting the mechanism of natural selection.
The science and religion argument is not over the fact of evolution but over the theory of Darwinism. We are sometimes confused over this and think that the central issue is evolution itself when we think of evolution as necessarily Darwinian. This has led the Christian Intelligent Design movement to insist that evolution is not a fact but rather an hypothesis while creationism is a scientific program. This is not a helpful caricature of an already disputed notion. Few scientists and informed lay people deny the idea of evolution. What we are uncertain of is the mechanism behind it and the implications for our future existence.
The notion of ‘special creation’, i.e., that God created each new species separately from others is not biologically tenable. This does not mean that it is untrue, but that it cannot be a ground for an understanding of biology. Some would say there is no warrant for such an understanding even from the Bible itself. The majority of confession Christians in science do not hold to the theory of special creation for each species but believe that after the initial events of creation, possibly with distinct acts of creation for planet and animal life, all species of life forms came out of continuos lines of existing species. This expands the idea of a common ancestor to one of several early ancestors.
What are Post-Darwinian Theories of Evolution?
Charles Darwin lived and wrote at a time before modern Mendelian genetics and molecular biology became understood and incorporated into the many theories of evolution. After Darwin, several modern evolutionary theories emerged to account for observable nature.
Post-Darwinian evolution consists of both Darwinian and Non-Darwinian theories which incorporate the latest scientific findings discovered after Charles darwin’s death. Darwinian theories of evolution generally points to an accidental beginning with no need for a creator God and a bleak future after biological corruption, or death. Non-Darwinian theories of evolution posit a theory by which it is possible to reconcile evolution with a biblical explanation of creation along with an optimistic hope for a future when biological limitations on our brains will no longer constrain what our minds can achieve.
Every Christians ought to know this: there is no single theory of evolution today. While they share a common belief that life is continuos with each other so that man for example, is a kind of animal and that viruses, bacteria, plants and animals are part of animated matter, they do not agree with the mechanism or even the source of life. For example, some theories argue for natural selection while others for what I call divine selection.
Friday, June 10, 2005
Saturday, May 21, 2005
THE UNTRUTH THAT TRUTH CANNOT BE TRULY TRUE or KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM FOR THE CHRISTIAN MIND
Life begins with the acquisition of knowledge - the knowledge that we exist! Even before the baby’s first cry as she gasps for air to her lungs, the fetus lives in a dependent relationship with her mother. We do not know that she knows anything, but she at least knows that she is, even if she cannot remember such knowledge. After birth, knowledge accumulates rapidly as the baby learns to survive. In the spiritual birth of a Christian, before anything else, she has to have minimal knowledge of God, that God exists, that we are not God and that God has spoken. Armed with this knowledge, we are able to make sense of the world around us. Concepts such as contingency, absolutes, time, space, truth, matter, form, life, existence etc. begin to make sense. The mind in the life of a Christian knows of God.
How does God expect us to use our minds? Knowledge is merely interpreted data, information filtered through our rational minds and shaped by our prior commitments. It is not wisdom. Knowledge becomes wisdom only when it is used in furtherance of God’s will. Thus anyone can acquire knowledge of say, the natural sciences, or mathematics, of economics, or art. Anyone can live a life and thrive as humans in this world with mere knowledge.
However, it is only when we turn knowledge into wisdom that we begin to KNOW WISDOM because we have learned to use KNOWLEDGE WISELY. As we turn our knowledge into wisdom, we learn to worship, to exercise faith, to seek holiness, learn to trust God in guidance, and to love of others, expressed in evangelism and discipleship.
1 KNOWLEDGE FOR WORSHIP
If our knowledge does not lead us to worship God, we are in danger of acquiring undevotional theology, which is just as dangerous as untheological devotion1 . True worship is intelligent worship. We must know the whats, the whens, the hows, and the whys of our worship. It must not be accidental or incidental, but deliberate. Worship must be done in truth and with all our mind (John 4:24 and Luke 10:27). Worship is the praising of God’s name and work of creation. Israel worshipped God as the lord of nature and the lord of nations2 , not some abstract philosophical construct.
Worship includes the intelligent private and public response to God’s revelation. Hence corporate worship in church and private reading and meditation of the Bible are essential aspects of Christian devotion. For Paul, all true worship involves the active engagement of the mind. So Paul was concerned about the Corinthian preoccupation with speaking in tongues without interpretation. “For if I pray in tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also ...” (1 Corinthians 14:13-15). This side of heaven, Christian worship will not be perfect, for only when we see God face to face will we be able to praise God perfectly.
2 KNOWLEDGE TO EXERCISE FAITH
Knowledge is the foundation of faith. It makes faith reasonable. Those who know God’s name put their trust in Him (Psalm 9:10). It is impossible to have faith in someone you do not know. We cannot believe without knowing and we cannot know without believing. The believer is privileged to benefit from God’s word because he now has faith which seeks understanding (Hebrews 4:2). It is like knowing mathematics before studying physics, or knowing the principles of music before learning to play the piano. Faith dramatically enhances our knowledge of God. Paul teaches that God’s power accomplished in Christ is now available to those who believe (Ephesians 1:18-20). Thus we find that faith and knowledge is inextricable bound in the Christian life.
What is faith? Is faith an irrational, illogical belief in the improbable? Let us start with describing what faith is not.
2.1 Faith is not credulity. H. L. Mencken was wrong when he said that faith is an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable3 . For Mencken then, faith and reason are incompatible. Credulity refers to gullible, uncritical, undiscerning and unreasonable belief. In 2 Corinthians 5:7, it is faith and sight which are held in opposition, not faith and reason. Indeed, the Lord in invites the reader to “come now and reason together” (Isaiah 1:18). The reasonableness of faith is based on its trust in the character and promises of God, which comes through knowledge and reflection. However, a rejection of the reasonableness of faith without any reason is nothing but dogmatic belief in disbelief.
2.2 Faith is not optimism. The late popular preacher Norman Vincent Peale promoted a promising power of positive thinking. However, he makes no distinction between faith in God and faith in oneself4 . His mantra is a daily dose of saying “I believe” three times5 , with no concern about the object of that belief. This was his “worry-breaking formula”. He ends his book with the words “so believe and live successfully” with no indication of what it is that we are to specifically believe in. This is perhaps the secret to the success of the book’s sales. It can apply to anything and essentially ... nothing. Peale’s faith is essentially self-confidence and ungrounded optimism applied to religion. While Dr. Peale apparently modified his position before his death, the book remains in print and defines faith as little more than wishful thinking6 . Instead of the optimism of “positive thinking” or “positive mental attitudes”, Christian faith is reasoning trust. In many of the travails of David in the Old Testament, he gained strength from his faith in God only after recalling God’s promises or thinking about God. Faith and thinking goes hand in hand. It was not a resolve to have faith in the abstract.
.3 KNOWLEDGE IN PURSUIT OF HOLINESS
We need to know who we are in relation to God. During the temptations that Jesus faced, all three times he prefaced his response with “It is written”. Jesus trusts the authority of the Scripture (OT only) and demonstrated how Christians are to think of themselves as made in the image of God. We find sanctuary and wisdom in God’s word. Clear biblical knowledge of God’s will is the starting point. We must then make a commitment to obey it.
With our increasing knowledge of God comes greater responsibility to put what we know into practice, to live a holy life. We know God’s law in order to better obey it. Jesus himself, after washing the feet of his disciples and teaching them, said “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them”. James also echoed this with the words “Be doers of the word, and not only hearers who deceive themselves” (James 1:22). The disobedient Christian is one who believes theoretically but is effectively a practical atheist.
To live a holy life is to seek a life of self-control, which in turn, is really mind-control. What is the alternative? Our minds will still be controlled by our passions and cravings, except this time, the controls will be haphazard and inconsistent. We are in the business of redeeming the mind for Christ. Socrates scolded the people of Athens for spending time and money on feeding their bodies while neglecting their minds.
4 KNOWLEDGE TO SEEK GUIDANCE
How do we discover God’s will? There is God’s general will and God’s particular will for us. God’s general will for everyone is to be conformed to the image of his Son. This can be gleaned from the Scriptures for it applies to everyone. But God’s particular will for your life and personal decisions are not to be sought in Scripture. Such personal wills are different for everyone. Since Scripture does not contradict itself, we have no warrant to look to the Bible to ask what specific actions we should take. God has given us an intelligent mind to think.
For example, on the question of marriage, the general will of God is that marriage is God’s good purpose for humanity and the single life is God’s good purpose as the exception to the rule. Within marriage, companionship and intimacy is a primary goal for which every marriage should honor. But who one should marry is not found in the Bible.
We are to
use our mind and the common sense given to us,
pray for guidance on the matter, and
seek opinions of family and friends who know us best, before making up our minds.
Psalm 32: 8-9 gives us a threefold promise by God to instruct, teach and guide us, but we are to be instructed, taught and guided with understanding. Again we are to use our minds. We need to be spartan in our loose use of statements such as “The Lord called me to do ...” or “The Lord sent me to ...”, as if we have a special email from God. Such talk often weakens the meaning of God’s communication with us and weakens our witness. While we may say that our reading of the Scriptures lead us to believe that ... or our understanding of the ways of God convinces us that we should do ..., we take license in the faith when we declare what may be untrue or irresponsible us of the words used by the apostles “The Lord said...”.
God will guide us in the way of love, for in a deep sense, God is love. Knowledge of God reality should lead to love. The more we know about God’s love for us and His plans for our future, the more we should want to share that knowledge with others. Sometimes, we need love to restrain the harshness of our knowledge, to learn to be sensitive to others as we share the incredible news of the gospel. While knowledge can puff one up with pride, love can build others up in the Lord. Knowledge without love is then but a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1). This love is best expressed in apologetics, evangelism and discipleship (AED).
Apologetics is pre-evangelism, removing obstacles to effective evangelism. Evangelism is the faithful proclamation of the gospel. Discipleship is the equipping of the saints that they may go and do likewise.
5 APOLOGETICS
Knowledge of our world is helpful in the art and science of apologetics, the constructive removal of obstacles to the preaching of the gospel or evangelism. Sometimes, people do not hear the gospel because they are distracted by unanswered questions which turn their attention away from the issues at hand. It may be a past experience of misinformation or a prejudice undetected or a hidden emotional attachment to a foundational philosophy. In these postmodern times, the most important apologetic issues are the dominance of scientism (the assumption that science alone can answer all questions) and the ideology of religious pluralism (the assumption that all religions are not mutually exclusive, i.e., that they are all equally valid, if not true).
True lovers of science and respecters of religious distinctives are scandalized by these outrageous assumptions that have come to take root in the way society as a whole learn, think, and teach with conviction. The great sorrow is not that truth is banished but that many people actually believe THE UNTRUTH THAT TRUTH CANNOT BE TRULY TRUE.
6 EVANGELISM
A thoughtful proclamation of the gospel is the most effective way to have the gospel heard, that God may arouse the faith in the listeners. Too often, we see emotional appeals for decisions with an inadequate explanation of what is to be decided. Paul summed up his evangelistic ministry with two words, “to persuade” (2 Corinthians 5:11)7 . This is an intellectual exercise, to marshall arguments in order to prevail on people to change their minds. Following Paul’s teaching by argument, explanation, proclamation, and persuasion, for three weeks in the synagogue, the writer of the Gospel according to Luke records that some “were persuaded” (Acts 17: 2-4). Paul sought to convince in order to convert. So when we say that our friend has converted, it should mean that he was persuaded. We should make a reasoned presentation of the gospel because people respond to the truth rather than directly to Christ. It is only later that Christians learn about Jesus. Thus, acknowledging, believing and obeying the truth are the elements of Christian belief. Objections to a reasoned evangelism.
(i) Does this not advocate intellectual pride? Yes, it is a lurking danger, but we distinguish between intellectual flattery and respecting intellectual integrity.
(ii) Does this not disqualify uneducated people? Not if the presentation seeks to reach the rationality rather than the content of knowledge. Even uneducated people can think rationally.
(iii) Does this not dispense with the Holy Spirit? Not at all. It is the power of the Holy Spirit alongside a reasoned presentation that marks evangelism. Without the Holy Spirit, it is mere human rhetoric, and without a reasoned presentation, it is a display of our laziness. Human argument is insufficient but it is not unnecessary8 so that human participation is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for effective evangelism.
7 DISCIPLESHIP
The life of a Christian is not complete without the commitment to disciple oneself and others in thinking and living as a Christian should. Discipleship begins with discipline. Just as we learn to work as a midwife, lawyer, an accountant, a janitor or an electrician, the Christian life has to be learned. Discipleship causes our minds to interact as a community, holding each other accountable to the spiritual disciplines and encouraging us to grow in the Lord. As we learn to listen, pray, read, study and meditate on the Scriptures, we enrich our experience with God and heighten our sense of the divine in our souls.
How does God expect us to use our minds? Knowledge is merely interpreted data, information filtered through our rational minds and shaped by our prior commitments. It is not wisdom. Knowledge becomes wisdom only when it is used in furtherance of God’s will. Thus anyone can acquire knowledge of say, the natural sciences, or mathematics, of economics, or art. Anyone can live a life and thrive as humans in this world with mere knowledge.
However, it is only when we turn knowledge into wisdom that we begin to KNOW WISDOM because we have learned to use KNOWLEDGE WISELY. As we turn our knowledge into wisdom, we learn to worship, to exercise faith, to seek holiness, learn to trust God in guidance, and to love of others, expressed in evangelism and discipleship.
1 KNOWLEDGE FOR WORSHIP
If our knowledge does not lead us to worship God, we are in danger of acquiring undevotional theology, which is just as dangerous as untheological devotion1 . True worship is intelligent worship. We must know the whats, the whens, the hows, and the whys of our worship. It must not be accidental or incidental, but deliberate. Worship must be done in truth and with all our mind (John 4:24 and Luke 10:27). Worship is the praising of God’s name and work of creation. Israel worshipped God as the lord of nature and the lord of nations2 , not some abstract philosophical construct.
Worship includes the intelligent private and public response to God’s revelation. Hence corporate worship in church and private reading and meditation of the Bible are essential aspects of Christian devotion. For Paul, all true worship involves the active engagement of the mind. So Paul was concerned about the Corinthian preoccupation with speaking in tongues without interpretation. “For if I pray in tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. What am I to do? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also ...” (1 Corinthians 14:13-15). This side of heaven, Christian worship will not be perfect, for only when we see God face to face will we be able to praise God perfectly.
2 KNOWLEDGE TO EXERCISE FAITH
Knowledge is the foundation of faith. It makes faith reasonable. Those who know God’s name put their trust in Him (Psalm 9:10). It is impossible to have faith in someone you do not know. We cannot believe without knowing and we cannot know without believing. The believer is privileged to benefit from God’s word because he now has faith which seeks understanding (Hebrews 4:2). It is like knowing mathematics before studying physics, or knowing the principles of music before learning to play the piano. Faith dramatically enhances our knowledge of God. Paul teaches that God’s power accomplished in Christ is now available to those who believe (Ephesians 1:18-20). Thus we find that faith and knowledge is inextricable bound in the Christian life.
What is faith? Is faith an irrational, illogical belief in the improbable? Let us start with describing what faith is not.
2.1 Faith is not credulity. H. L. Mencken was wrong when he said that faith is an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable3 . For Mencken then, faith and reason are incompatible. Credulity refers to gullible, uncritical, undiscerning and unreasonable belief. In 2 Corinthians 5:7, it is faith and sight which are held in opposition, not faith and reason. Indeed, the Lord in invites the reader to “come now and reason together” (Isaiah 1:18). The reasonableness of faith is based on its trust in the character and promises of God, which comes through knowledge and reflection. However, a rejection of the reasonableness of faith without any reason is nothing but dogmatic belief in disbelief.
2.2 Faith is not optimism. The late popular preacher Norman Vincent Peale promoted a promising power of positive thinking. However, he makes no distinction between faith in God and faith in oneself4 . His mantra is a daily dose of saying “I believe” three times5 , with no concern about the object of that belief. This was his “worry-breaking formula”. He ends his book with the words “so believe and live successfully” with no indication of what it is that we are to specifically believe in. This is perhaps the secret to the success of the book’s sales. It can apply to anything and essentially ... nothing. Peale’s faith is essentially self-confidence and ungrounded optimism applied to religion. While Dr. Peale apparently modified his position before his death, the book remains in print and defines faith as little more than wishful thinking6 . Instead of the optimism of “positive thinking” or “positive mental attitudes”, Christian faith is reasoning trust. In many of the travails of David in the Old Testament, he gained strength from his faith in God only after recalling God’s promises or thinking about God. Faith and thinking goes hand in hand. It was not a resolve to have faith in the abstract.
.3 KNOWLEDGE IN PURSUIT OF HOLINESS
We need to know who we are in relation to God. During the temptations that Jesus faced, all three times he prefaced his response with “It is written”. Jesus trusts the authority of the Scripture (OT only) and demonstrated how Christians are to think of themselves as made in the image of God. We find sanctuary and wisdom in God’s word. Clear biblical knowledge of God’s will is the starting point. We must then make a commitment to obey it.
With our increasing knowledge of God comes greater responsibility to put what we know into practice, to live a holy life. We know God’s law in order to better obey it. Jesus himself, after washing the feet of his disciples and teaching them, said “If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them”. James also echoed this with the words “Be doers of the word, and not only hearers who deceive themselves” (James 1:22). The disobedient Christian is one who believes theoretically but is effectively a practical atheist.
To live a holy life is to seek a life of self-control, which in turn, is really mind-control. What is the alternative? Our minds will still be controlled by our passions and cravings, except this time, the controls will be haphazard and inconsistent. We are in the business of redeeming the mind for Christ. Socrates scolded the people of Athens for spending time and money on feeding their bodies while neglecting their minds.
4 KNOWLEDGE TO SEEK GUIDANCE
How do we discover God’s will? There is God’s general will and God’s particular will for us. God’s general will for everyone is to be conformed to the image of his Son. This can be gleaned from the Scriptures for it applies to everyone. But God’s particular will for your life and personal decisions are not to be sought in Scripture. Such personal wills are different for everyone. Since Scripture does not contradict itself, we have no warrant to look to the Bible to ask what specific actions we should take. God has given us an intelligent mind to think.
For example, on the question of marriage, the general will of God is that marriage is God’s good purpose for humanity and the single life is God’s good purpose as the exception to the rule. Within marriage, companionship and intimacy is a primary goal for which every marriage should honor. But who one should marry is not found in the Bible.
We are to
use our mind and the common sense given to us,
pray for guidance on the matter, and
seek opinions of family and friends who know us best, before making up our minds.
Psalm 32: 8-9 gives us a threefold promise by God to instruct, teach and guide us, but we are to be instructed, taught and guided with understanding. Again we are to use our minds. We need to be spartan in our loose use of statements such as “The Lord called me to do ...” or “The Lord sent me to ...”, as if we have a special email from God. Such talk often weakens the meaning of God’s communication with us and weakens our witness. While we may say that our reading of the Scriptures lead us to believe that ... or our understanding of the ways of God convinces us that we should do ..., we take license in the faith when we declare what may be untrue or irresponsible us of the words used by the apostles “The Lord said...”.
God will guide us in the way of love, for in a deep sense, God is love. Knowledge of God reality should lead to love. The more we know about God’s love for us and His plans for our future, the more we should want to share that knowledge with others. Sometimes, we need love to restrain the harshness of our knowledge, to learn to be sensitive to others as we share the incredible news of the gospel. While knowledge can puff one up with pride, love can build others up in the Lord. Knowledge without love is then but a clanging cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1). This love is best expressed in apologetics, evangelism and discipleship (AED).
Apologetics is pre-evangelism, removing obstacles to effective evangelism. Evangelism is the faithful proclamation of the gospel. Discipleship is the equipping of the saints that they may go and do likewise.
5 APOLOGETICS
Knowledge of our world is helpful in the art and science of apologetics, the constructive removal of obstacles to the preaching of the gospel or evangelism. Sometimes, people do not hear the gospel because they are distracted by unanswered questions which turn their attention away from the issues at hand. It may be a past experience of misinformation or a prejudice undetected or a hidden emotional attachment to a foundational philosophy. In these postmodern times, the most important apologetic issues are the dominance of scientism (the assumption that science alone can answer all questions) and the ideology of religious pluralism (the assumption that all religions are not mutually exclusive, i.e., that they are all equally valid, if not true).
True lovers of science and respecters of religious distinctives are scandalized by these outrageous assumptions that have come to take root in the way society as a whole learn, think, and teach with conviction. The great sorrow is not that truth is banished but that many people actually believe THE UNTRUTH THAT TRUTH CANNOT BE TRULY TRUE.
6 EVANGELISM
A thoughtful proclamation of the gospel is the most effective way to have the gospel heard, that God may arouse the faith in the listeners. Too often, we see emotional appeals for decisions with an inadequate explanation of what is to be decided. Paul summed up his evangelistic ministry with two words, “to persuade” (2 Corinthians 5:11)7 . This is an intellectual exercise, to marshall arguments in order to prevail on people to change their minds. Following Paul’s teaching by argument, explanation, proclamation, and persuasion, for three weeks in the synagogue, the writer of the Gospel according to Luke records that some “were persuaded” (Acts 17: 2-4). Paul sought to convince in order to convert. So when we say that our friend has converted, it should mean that he was persuaded. We should make a reasoned presentation of the gospel because people respond to the truth rather than directly to Christ. It is only later that Christians learn about Jesus. Thus, acknowledging, believing and obeying the truth are the elements of Christian belief. Objections to a reasoned evangelism.
(i) Does this not advocate intellectual pride? Yes, it is a lurking danger, but we distinguish between intellectual flattery and respecting intellectual integrity.
(ii) Does this not disqualify uneducated people? Not if the presentation seeks to reach the rationality rather than the content of knowledge. Even uneducated people can think rationally.
(iii) Does this not dispense with the Holy Spirit? Not at all. It is the power of the Holy Spirit alongside a reasoned presentation that marks evangelism. Without the Holy Spirit, it is mere human rhetoric, and without a reasoned presentation, it is a display of our laziness. Human argument is insufficient but it is not unnecessary8 so that human participation is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for effective evangelism.
7 DISCIPLESHIP
The life of a Christian is not complete without the commitment to disciple oneself and others in thinking and living as a Christian should. Discipleship begins with discipline. Just as we learn to work as a midwife, lawyer, an accountant, a janitor or an electrician, the Christian life has to be learned. Discipleship causes our minds to interact as a community, holding each other accountable to the spiritual disciplines and encouraging us to grow in the Lord. As we learn to listen, pray, read, study and meditate on the Scriptures, we enrich our experience with God and heighten our sense of the divine in our souls.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Academy for Christian Thought Seminar: The Natural Sciences & Christian Theology
areopagus2005
The next ACT seminar on April 16th [What Every Christian Ought to Know About Science and Christian Theology] at the Empire State Building will be delivered by Ron Choong. This 3 hour seminar will consider the philosophical commitments intrinsic to the natural sciences and Christian theology. Each field of inquiry assume the significance of metaphysics to shape its ontology. The proposal for a doctrine of science will assess Alister McGrath's appropriation of Roy Bhaskar's critical scientific realism. In what he calls a scientific theology, McGrath argues for an a posteriori critical realist methodology to articulate a possible dialogue between science and theology. In addition, Wentzel van Huyssteen's postfoundationalism and Nicholas Rescher's mathematical notion of transversal rationality will be considered for a democratic platform by which to buttress McGrath's model. Ron Choong's notion of science as discovery of divine disclosure (DDD) and theology as a commitment to a convictional confession (CCC) will be used to describe a creational origination of reality. The case study for this will be an interdisciplinary redescription of the Christian doctrine of creation which can account for a scientific quest for the question of origins (universe, life and reflective consciousness). If it is possible to articulate a biblically faithful doctrine which is both coherent to revelational reflection and corresponds to observational speculation, a major advance may be claimed for progress towards a true theory of everything (TTOE), not one limited to just physics ala Stephen Hawking's TOE.
The next ACT seminar on April 16th [What Every Christian Ought to Know About Science and Christian Theology] at the Empire State Building will be delivered by Ron Choong. This 3 hour seminar will consider the philosophical commitments intrinsic to the natural sciences and Christian theology. Each field of inquiry assume the significance of metaphysics to shape its ontology. The proposal for a doctrine of science will assess Alister McGrath's appropriation of Roy Bhaskar's critical scientific realism. In what he calls a scientific theology, McGrath argues for an a posteriori critical realist methodology to articulate a possible dialogue between science and theology. In addition, Wentzel van Huyssteen's postfoundationalism and Nicholas Rescher's mathematical notion of transversal rationality will be considered for a democratic platform by which to buttress McGrath's model. Ron Choong's notion of science as discovery of divine disclosure (DDD) and theology as a commitment to a convictional confession (CCC) will be used to describe a creational origination of reality. The case study for this will be an interdisciplinary redescription of the Christian doctrine of creation which can account for a scientific quest for the question of origins (universe, life and reflective consciousness). If it is possible to articulate a biblically faithful doctrine which is both coherent to revelational reflection and corresponds to observational speculation, a major advance may be claimed for progress towards a true theory of everything (TTOE), not one limited to just physics ala Stephen Hawking's TOE.
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