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The God of Hope and the End of the World
... Kreseczka jest tutaj istotna. Wskazuje ona, że metoda naukowa nie nakazuje za- 101 [267][268][269][270][271][272][273][274][275][276][277][278][279][280][281][282]; Nancey MURPHY, "Robert John Russell versus New Atheism", Zygon 2010, vol. 45, no. 1, s. 199 [193][194][195][196][197][198][199][200][201][202][203][204][205][206][207][208][209][210][211][212] kładać, iż Boga nie ma, lecz żąda, by prowadząc badanie naukowe zachować metodologiczną neutralność wobec problemu Jego istnienia lub nieistnienia". ...
... 266 Polkinghorne nie zgadza się z Montefiore właśnie co do możliwości testowania istnienia tej skłonności, twierdząc, że jeśli rzeczywiście taka skłonność istnieje, to da się ją wykryć, porównując prawdopodobieństwo przypadkowych zdarzeń z prawdopodobieństwem zdarzenia, które zaszło. 267 Polkinghorne przyjmuje, że takie Boże kierowanie procesem ewolucji mogłoby prowadzić do empirycznie wykrywalnych skutków, w czym jego stanowisko pokrywa się z założeniami teorii inteligentnego projektu i wykracza poza założenia proponowanej przez niego nowej teologii naturalnej. ...
... Hugh MONTEFIORE, The Probability of God, SCM Press, London 1985 (cyt. za: POLKINGHORNE, Nauka i stworzenie…, s. 110). 267 Por. POLKINGHORNE, Nauka i stworzenie…, s. 110. ...
Filozofię tradycyjnego teizmu chrześcijańskiego można scharakteryzować jako dualistyczną i interwencjonistyczną. Naturalizm, jako filozoficzna koncepcja funkcjonowania przyrody, stanowiąca założenie współczesnej nauki, jest natomiast stanowiskiem monistycznym. Konsekwentnie wyklucza nadnaturalne interwencje w przyrodzie. Teizm naturalistyczny stara się godzić teistyczny chrześcijański obraz świata ze współczesnym obrazem naukowym. Ważne jest podkreślenie, że chodzi o współczesną naukę i jej związek z założeniami naturalizmu. Nie we wszystkich epokach występowało tak silne jak obecnie napięcie między nauką i teizmem chrześcijańskim. Powstanie nauki nowożytnej było silnie związane z teizmem chrześcijańskim, zarówno jeśli chodzi o teistyczną doktrynę o stworzeniu, jak i o ówczesną rolę chrześcijaństwa w kulturze europejskiej. Naturalistyczne założenia współczesnej nauki wykluczają odwołania do czynników nadnaturalnych w wyjaśnianiu jakichkolwiek zjawisk obserwowanych w przyrodzie, jak i genezy ładu przyrodniczego. Ze względu na rodzaj i skalę sprzeczności zachodzących między tradycyjnymi ujęciami teizmu i naturalizmu zadanie, którego podejmują się teistyczni naturaliści, wydaje się szczególnie trudne.
Wśród teistycznych naturalistów znajdujemy chrześcijańskich myślicieli, z których znaczne grono stanowią teologizujący przedstawiciele nauk przyrodniczych. Do najważniejszych należy wspomniany już Barbour, z wykształcenia fizyk, a następnie absolwent Yale Divinity School. Inny z naukowców-teologów w tym gronie to John C. Polkinghorne, który uzyskał najpierw stopień doktora fizyki i pracował naukowo, by — po ukończeniu studiów teologicznych — w końcu przyjąć święcenia kapłańskie w Kościele anglikańskim. Innym duchownym anglikańskim w tym gronie jest będący jednocześnie biochemikiem Arthur R. Peacocke. Podobnie biologiem jest Francisco J. Ayala, który przez krótki czas był też duchownym katolickim. Wśród związanych z Kościołem katolickim naukowców-teologów znajduje się kosmolog i jednocześnie ksiądz, Michał Heller.
Teistyczny naturalizm propagowany jest też przez takich filozofów i teologów, którzy nie prowadzą bezpośrednio badań w obszarze nauk przyrodniczych, lecz swoje publikacje poświęcają relacji nauki i religii. Należą do nich filozof religii i teolog David R. Griffin; filozof religii Thomas F. Tracy, związany z kościołem metodystów teolog i filozof Philip Clayton; filozof nauki, katolicki ksiądz i teolog Ernan McMullin; katolicki teolog John F. Haught; Nancy Murphy, będąca profesorem filozofii chrześcijańskiej w ewangelickim seminarium duchownym. Do polskich przedstawicieli tej grupy zaliczyć można Abpa Józefa Życińskiego, który, oprócz kompetencji teologicznych, posiadał też znaczący dorobek naukowy obejmujący publikacje z zakresu filozofii. Nie można też pominąć grupy przyrodników, co prawda niemających formalnych związków z naukami teologicznymi, jednak oddanych propagowaniu idei godzenia nauki i religii. Należą do nich Howard Van Till, profesor fizyki, wychowany w rodzinie kalwinistycznej i kształcony w szkołach kalwinistycznych, katolicki biolog Kenneth R. Miller, George F. R. Ellis — profesor matematyki stosowanej, kosmolog i jednocześnie aktywny uczestnik w społeczności kwakrów.
Wymieniono tu jedynie niektóre najważniejsze postacie omawianego nurtu. Dostrzec można, że w ich gronie znajdują się przedstawiciele zarówno badaczy przyrodników, jak i osób o wykształceniu przyrodniczym i teologicznym, czy też osoby specjalizujące się w filozofii bądź w dziedzinie teologii, spośród których część jest duchownymi. Są to przedstawiciele zarówno Kościoła katolickiego, jak i różnych kościołów protestanckich. Wskazuje to na szerokie rozpowszechnienie w chrześcijaństwie potrzeby dostosowania wiary chrześcijańskiej do kryteriów związanych racjonalnością nauk przyrodniczych, nawet kosztem znacznego przeinterpretowania podstawowych składników tradycyjnego teizmu chrześcijańskiego.
Celem pracy jest prezentacja stanowiska współczesnego teizmu naturalistycznego odnośnie do relacji między sferą nadnaturalną a światem przyrody, by móc na tej podstawie ustalić stopień rewizji tradycyjnego teizmu chrześcijańskiego dokonanej przez teizm naturalistyczny oraz ocenić spójność logiczną teizmu naturalistycznego. By tego dokonać, użyty zostanie model poziomów analizy, porządkujący twierdzenia opisowe religii, filozofii i nauki, ale też pełniący rolę narzędzia pozwalającego porównywać twierdzenia nauki i religii, w tym twierdzenia przyjmowane w obu formach teizmu. Podział twierdzeń w tym modelu przebiega zgodnie z kryteriami ich empirycznego charakteru, stopnia ogólności oraz roli odgrywanej w nauce (tj. w naukach empirycznych lub przyrodniczych określanych angielskim terminem science). Ze względu na przyjęcie kryterium roli określonego rodzaju twierdzeń w analizach o charakterze naukowym można powiedzieć, że model ten wyróżnia twierdzenia opisowe, dzieląc je ze względu na ich „ważność” w rozstrzygnięciach mających miejsce w nauce. Model ten stanowić ma więc wspólną skalę pozwalającą ująć stopień modyfikacji tradycyjnego teizmu dokonanej przez teizm naturalistyczny oraz ocenić wewnętrzną spójność stanowisk, które można wyróżnić w ramach teizmu naturalistycznego.
... The resulting construct and scale content representatively, although not exhaustively, named dimensions in a Christian eschatological vision that align with standard academic theological monographs and dictionary articles on Christian eschatology. This approach also distinguished Christian from alternative eschatological visions (e.g., the myth of progress; Bauckham & Hart, 1999;Polkinghorne, 2002;Wright 2008). ...
... An eschatological summons to aim in the direction of God' s reconciling and healing work also coheres with accountable forgiveness-so that both peace and justice meet now in anticipation of the new creation (cf. Polkinghorne, 2002). The Eschatological Hope Scale is distinct from existing virtue scales, including patience, gratitude, and forgivingness. ...
This study aimed to expand psychological research on hope by contributing a construct and scale to measure central dimensions of theistic eschatological hope derived from Christian scriptures. Eschatological hope was conceptualized as the anticipation that God will make all things new, raising people to everlasting life with God in joyful celebration, including people from every culture and nation, ending all personal pain and suffering, eliminating all societal evil and harm, and bringing reconciliation and healing to all of creation. We developed the Eschatological Hope Scale with three studies (N = 1,466). Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the single-factor structure of a 6-item scale with excellent internal consistency (Cronbach' s α > .91) and good test-retest reliability. The Eschatological Hope Scale evidenced construct validity, showing significant non-redundant correlations with measures of temporal hope, religiosity, and spirituality. The Escha-tological Hope Scale scores positively correlated with gratitude, forgivingness, and life hardship patience. Scores inversely correlated with depressed and anxious symptoms, negative religious coping, and negative attitudes toward God. Scores were not significantly correlated with extrinsic religiosity and searching for meaning. The Eschatological Hope Scale demonstrated incremental validity beyond other variables (hope and optimism, depression and anxiety, and religiosity) to predict three target variables: perceived presence of meaning in life, ultimate meaning, and flourishing. We offer the Eschatological Hope Scale as a gateway scale to catalyze further developments in measuring eschatological hope. We hope this work will facilitate research on the experience of living with ultimate hope across cultures and faith traditions, in seasons of suffering and celebration.
... El deber de cuidar de este mundo actual sigue en pie. Polkinghorne (2002) se opone a una intervención extraordinaria de Dios (un tour de force) en la vieja creación que arregle simplemente, mediante el ejercicio de su poder, lo que quedaría, si no, fuera de control. La larga historia de la evolución cósmica nos pone ante un Dios de proceso y no de magia, un Dios que es paciente y sutil a la hora de alcanzar sus intenciones. ...
... Es importante notar que Polkinghorne (2002) está afirmando, de forma indirecta pero inequívoca, que la creación actual va a perecer y que la nueva creación sustituirá a la antigua. Es cierto que la nueva creación conservará y llevará a plenitud lo mejor de la antigua, pero se trata de un nuevo mundo, de un nuevo universo. ...
The scientific prognosis of an end of the universe due to the physical phenomenon of entropy constitutes a challenge to the Christian hope of a salvation of the cosmos. In the present article a general view of the problem posed by physics is presented, followed by a tour of Christian hope as it appears in the main biblical texts and the ecclesial tradition, and finally, a synthesis of the answer given by two of the current authors who have addressed the issue to the proposed problem.
... What Christianity offers is hope. 3 With so much suffering in the world and with the quest to find meaning in existence proving elusive even in a wealthy, materialistic society like ours in the US, it is the glimmer of hope of eternal salvation through faith in a loving God that sustains Christians. ...
... Nowadays, between 1% and 2% of the world's energy is devoted to synthesizing ammonia from air and hydrocarbons, notably natural gas, via the Haber-Bosch process. 3 Because ammonia forms hydrogen bonds, unlike H 2 or methane, it liquefies at about 8 atmospheres and room temperature, or ambient pressure and -33 °C. Indeed, because of this favorably situated phase transition, anhydrous ammonia was used as a household refrigerant for much of the 20th century. ...
... It's known as "the voice calling in the desert" (Gen. 12:7;[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. 57 Accordingly, it can be said that Abraham's wilderness experience exemplifies a way of life marked by a "focus towards the Qeios, CC-BY 4.0 · Article, Qeios ID: CPDJXA · https://doi.org/10.32388/CPDJXA ...
Abraham's journey, initially marked by forced displacement and uncertainty, evolves into a profound exploration of hope amidst hardship. This qualitative study delves into Abraham's spiritual evolution, elucidating how he navigates through adversity to grasp a risky hope promised by God. Through descriptive data analysis, the research constructs a narrative of proflection, wherein Abraham embraces vulnerability to transcend conventional expectations. The findings highlight Abraham's transformative journey, revealing how he ultimately embraces risky hope as a beacon of resilience and spiritual growth.
... The problem is further compounded if we ask the question: what is hope? 'Is it an emotion (Lazarus, 1999), a cognitive process (Waterworth, 2004), an existential stance (Crapanzano, 2003), a state of being (Fromm, 1968), a disposition (Day, 1969), an attitude (Dauenhauer, 2005), a state of mind (Pettit, 2004), […] an instinct (Mandel, 2002), an impulse (Ricoeur, 1970), an institution (Polkinghorne, 2002), […] or a subliminal 'sense' (Taussig, 2002)' (cited in Webb, 2013: 398). Hope, therefore is not only a multiplicitous essentially contested concept (Gallie, 1956), with an array of interpretations and meanings, it is also an idea which exists in three dimensions. ...
This paper sets out to present Project e-ma, a doctoral research project carried out within the School of Education at The Queen's University of Belfast from 2013 to 2016. Project e-ma used the theoretical frame of Paulo Freire's Critical pedagogy (FCP) to explore the potentiality of the Japanese cultural artefact e-ma as a means to engage with the key tenets of FCP: dialogue, praxis, transformation, problem-posing, disruption, and conscientização, undergirded by democratic values and social justice, and also the wider theme of hope. The research was conducted in a site-specific working-class community of South Belfast; the Donegall Pass (the Pass). Although traditionally it was customary to write one's hope on e-ma, this has changed in recent years, and it has now become common to see illustrated e-ma hanging at shrines alongside traditional written ones. It is this second incarnation which the research seeks to explore, with an emphasis not on art per se, rather, on mark-making as a means to explore hope and FCP. This mark-making occurred at intimate workshops conducted across the community, at which various groups and community members coalesced to engage with hope. These hopes which were coded and grouped, were numerous and included such themes as: safety, community, friendship, and identity. Through exploration of the tenets of FCP, the act of collective mark-making, and through the discourse which arose with self and with others, both during the workshop and afterwards when e-ma were displayed in public; e-ma proved to be effective pedagogical artefacts which produced two distinct types of data-visual and oral. The research developed a collaborative participatory process in the community that culminated in an arts-based installation the 'Wall of Hope'-the e-ma from which were then ritually purified (burned).
... That said, Pannenberg (2009b) insists on a contrast that shaped the course of world history: The appearance of Jesus in the temporariness of world history can be considered a portent, an anticipation of the future, the intrusion of timelessness into the finite, while the notion of time remains linked with the sinful present in which living creatures eventually pass away (Polkinghorne, 2002). In contrast to the first finite appearance of Jesus of Nazareth in world history-the goal of which was to show humanity wallowing in the consequences of original sin and the possibility of a fuller life-the Christian faith traditionally used the term parousia (from the Greek παρουσία, literally meaning presence) to express the expectation of the second coming of Jesus as the Resurrected Christ, after which his presence in a re-created world is expected to last forever. ...
Theological perspectives have been given short shrift in the literature on religion and health research. This study demonstrates how including different schools of mainline Western Protestant theological thought (evolutionist, correlationist, and dialectical) in the scientific process could contribute to clarifying controversies. The issue is not just theoretical: Theology can even challenge assumptions on elicitabil-ity and reproducibility. Theology perceives spirituality as a dialogue with the Total Other, thus making each encounter with the transcendent (not just the individuality of the person) unique and unpredictable. By accepting setbacks on a journey with wide-ranging aspirations, theology redefines health as the momentum of constant striving toward the divine spirit. Since these theological insights relate to interventions that affect patients' intimacy, attempting to recognize the (albeit implicit) spiritual-theological standpoint of the patient and the self-and how these relate to authentic traditions of spirituality-appears to be an essential prerequisite for ethical spiritual intervention.
... Hence This concept is also addressed by the liturgical, tripartite "Prayer of Thanksgiving" (or the "Mystery of the Faith"): "Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ will come again." 10 The last part of this saying is specifically remembered by Paul (in 1 Cor 16:22), John and Jesus (in Rev 22:20), and the early church every time it celebrated Holy Communion, by exclaiming: Maranatha-Lord Jesus, come! 11 And finally, the Perfect/Complete Gospel is connected with Christians being in relationship with the "Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End," the "Author and Finisher," Perfecter and Completer of all creation-the triune God of the Bible (Isa 41:4; Heb 12:2; Rev 1:8). ...
... The ultimate future does not belong to scientific extrapolation but to divine faithfulness. 42 ...
Current Christian theologies of creation and apologetics often fail to take sufficient account of a range of elements within mainstream scientific knowledge today. In particular , it remains unclear how such phenomena as randomness and contingency, probabilistic physics, thermodynamics, massively large numbers, astrobiology, evolution , and multiple-realizability all fit with a teleological universe. Moreover, the supposed inability of such features to fit with a purposeful universe is frequently used by materialists (atheists) to critique theism. The author proposes a new account of God's design of the universe, called "the Agape/Probability account," which contends that these phenomena are strategically built into the universe by God in order to achieve God's agape-love telos for the universe. This enables Christians to gain a more comprehensive picture of how contemporary science fits with faith, provides an alternative pro-evolution account to young earth creationism and intelligent design, and provides new resources in responding to materialist arguments against theism.
... What is hope? Is it an emotion (Lazarus, 1999), a cognitive process (Waterworth, 2004), an existential stance (Crapanzano, 2003), a state of being (Fromm, 1968), a disposition (Day, 1969), an attitude (Dauenhauer, 2005), a state of mind (Pettit, 2004), an emotion which resembles a state of mind (Bar-Tal, 2001), an instinct (Mandel, 2002), an impulse (Ricoeur, 1970), an intuition (Polkinghorne, 2002), a sociohormone (Tiger, 1979), a subliminal 'sense' (Taussig, 2002)? Is it a biologicallybased reaction shaped by natural selection (Maier & Watkins, 2000) or a socially constructed pattern of behavior (Averill, Catlin, & Chon, 1990)? ...
Hope is a universal humanuniverse living experience. To advance nursing knowledge of hope as a universal humanuniverse living experience, the scholar dwelled with printed material on hope and explored with pattern preferences. The purpose of this paper is to set forth the conceptual foreknowings arising from the integrative review of literature from diverse disciplines. Four themes arose from the review, which are elaborated here.
... He argues for the necessity of maintaining both continuity and discontinuity between the current state of creation and future eschatological states. Polkinghorne (2002) criticizes both Pannenberg and Moltmann for being too focused on matters terrestrial and on emphasizing the rupture of discontinuity between the present, evolutionary processes and the future eschatological world. The discontinuity noted is framed in terms of resurrection hope. ...
This article examines some epistemological issues arising in eschatology when read in dialogue with scientific projections for the cosmos. In noting the problematic of traditional Christian eschatologies, affirmations pertaining to human participation in transcendence, it is argued that exchanging notions of eternity for those of embodied, evolutionary relations is a productive avenue to pursue. In dialogue with Maurice Merleau-Ponty the article develops an eschatological conception of evolved animal flesh and its import for human relations with other species. The article concludes in proposing the concept of enactivism in constructing future eschatologies in dialogue with the natural sciences.
... From Gregersen's view, redemption is an ongoing process that does not require the subjective awareness of the redeemed of any species. Polkinghorne (2003) said that a supernatural atmosphere embeds the processes of life, enveloping what we now call the natural world. Somewhat similarly, Sturzo (1942) commented that "In studying society in its complex wholeness, in the concrete, it is found to exist within the atmosphere of the supernatural, and to act and react to it according to the sociological laws which are at its natural basis" (p. ...
This study examined individuality and togetherness and the influence of spirituality on these constructs from a Bowen Family Systems Theory perspective. Data for 160 adults ages 18-65 were included in the sample, originally collected for a study of spirituality and religiosity in work recovery.A weak and non-significant correlation between individuality and togetherness was found. Togetherness predicted improved outcomes, with friend togetherness predicting a stronger relationship than originally hypothesized. Individuality also predicted improved outcomes, with a moderating effect on togetherness for work engagement. Both individuality and family togetherness mediated the effect of spirituality, with distinct effects on outcome variables in all mediation models.
... Indeed, contra Southgate, Polkinghorne argues that ''being caught up in the endless cycles of a world of eternal return would raise serious questions about the character'' of God. 51 However, because earth-inhabitants remain what they are, eschatological life remains contingent upon the evolutionary trajectories and relationships established pre-eschaton. Discontinuity is not a negation of evolutionary process or of the potentiality found within the continuity between present natural life and eschatological life. ...
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Scientifically engaged theologies struggle to include a cohesive eschatology in light of empirical projections of mass extinction and the potential death of the cosmos. On the one hand, Denis Edwards argues for a noninterventionist account of resurrection that coheres with evolutionary origins. On the other hand, animal theologies tend to neglect eschatology or engage in speculation. This article argues that eschatology requires a scientifically coherent account of creation. Therefore, it proposes that eschatology for both human and nonhuman participants must be communally grounded along evolutionary lines. Using Buber's intersubjectivity and evolutionary accounts of theology, it concludes that since eschatological life is relationally constituted within an evolutionary community, then in order to maintain continuity of identity, eschatological relationships are contingent upon the evolutionary relationships established pre-eschaton.
... The debate over love's morality as an extension or overcoming of nature has animated the entire history of Christian theological reflection in, for example, Augustinian, Thomistic, Anabaptist, and Wesleyan traditions. Moreover, it is widely observed in the tensions between what is described as the way of affirmation and the way of negation within and across nearly all major religions (Ward 1998) and may be seen as an ambiguity of continuity-discontinuity, as discussed above (Polkinghorne 2003). In the Christian tradition, the notion of ''grace fulfilling nature'' has been explored as a mediating perspective (Lewis 1960). ...
This article tries to deal with the issues of biology versus religion. This relates to a conflict between evolutionary and biblical accounts of Earth's history. The most important area involves the question of a transcendent. The second involves the almost universally affirmed but differently joined religious responses to the human suffering. The third area of intersection between evolutionary and religious understandings of human nature involves the biblical notion of human uniqueness. All religions entail some notion of transcendent purpose or sacred meaning. There are developments in biology with important implications for religion because of the vast increase in knowledge of the workings of the brain. This does not prove the nonexistence of the soul, but suggests that the concept of soul as an explanatory construct has outlived its usefulness. This also plays a valuable role in ethics. Biology will prove to be a help in this case.
... We should not underestimate God's patience.' 16 If we follow Polkinghorne here, and allow the possibility that the radical transformation of the universe will take place at a time when human life is long extinct and the earth has become inhospitable for living things, it is hard to see the point of a return of Christ to this earth. Presumably parousia would signify an immediate and evident presence of Christ within the new order. ...
This paper draws attention to a substantial gap in the new Christian eschatology pioneered by Bishop Tom Wright and supported by many other theologians, some with solid scientific credentials. This eschatology sees a substantial degree of continuity between the present earth and a future earth-heaven to be inaugurated by the parousia of Jesus Christ. Lacking is a clear exploration of Christian expectations for the future of human and terrestrial history. This is a matter of urgent apologetic and pastoral concern.
... What Christianity offers is hope. 3 With so much suffering in the world and with the quest to find meaning in existence proving elusive even in a wealthy, materialistic society like ours in the US, it is the glimmer of hope of eternal salvation through faith in a loving God that sustains Christians. ...
Historically, the role of religious communities in ecological discourse and responses to environmental crises has been significantly underwhelming. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that any comprehensive ecological dialogue must incorporate these communities. Recent research indicates that the Pentecostal tradition, in particular, has largely remained passive with respect to eco-care and eco-mission. This community tend to prioritise evangelistic endeavours, often relegating creation care to a secondary concern associated with a niche group. This paper argues that such oversight stems from a deficient ecotheological framework within the Pentecostal tradition. The primary objective of this study is to explore the underlying factors contributing to this inadequacy of ecotheology among African Pentecostals and to propose viable responses. The research is grounded in empirical data collected through fieldwork involving four classical Pentecostal churches and four Indigenous African Churches. The goal is to extract valuable insights from established paradigms within the Indigenous communities and from scriptural interpretations to inform the development of an African Pentecostal Ecotheology. This article elucidates that the prevalent inactivity of Pentecostals in ecological initiatives is fundamentally linked to their anthropocentric interpretation of Scripture. By analysing the doctrinal frameworks of the four classical Pentecostal churches, the paper offers reinterpretations aimed at fostering a more profound engagement with ecological issues. It further outlines strategic approaches to transition eco-care from a peripheral aspect of theology to a central component of mission, advocating for the integration of ecological principles into practical theological discourse. This shift is essential for cultivating eco-conscious cultures within the African church context.
AFRICAN THEOLOGICAL JOURNAL FOR CHURCH AND SOCIETY, vol. 5, no. 2 (2024): 25–21
While climate change is not a 'settled science' (it is not the nature of scientific inquiry to be 'settled'), the fact of climate change is incontrovertibly obvious and its real effects on real communities (perhaps especially in the majority world) are devastating, including in East Africa. For Christians, environmental stewardship (also known as 'Creation Care' or 'Earth Keeping') should be an automatic part of Christian ethos and praxis. Failure to steward the earth or to 'care for creation' represents both a failure to keep the second 'greatest commandment' and also theological irresponsibility. Examining local evidence in East Africa in the contexts of biblical theology, Christian witness, and Maasai indigenous knowledge, this paper proposes approaches for Creation Care for world Christianity. In keeping with the author's positionality amidst African orality, the article attempts to maintain the styles of oral communication.
After acknowledging Wim Drees’s excellent contribution to the science-religion debate, this essay considers three ‘beyonds’ unhelpful to a response to the climate emergency. These are ‘beyond as sudden destruction’, stemming from an over-reliance on the apocalyptic texts of the New Testament; ‘beyond as up’, focussing on the release of the immortal soul from the material world; and ‘beyond time’, addressing the cosmological predictions of the ultimate end of the universe through God’s transformation of creation. The essay proposes in contrast that the same event in the present can be viewed through four parallel lenses, of which eschatology is one. It draws on proposals from Drees’s Beyond the Big Bang and the detemporalised eschatology of Kathryn Tanner to propose an eschatology of the present moment, informed by divine judgment and longing, and the human vocation to respond to that judgment and longing with parallel longing, and with both action and consolation.
Diverse explanations or theories of consciousness are arrayed on a roughly physicalist-to-nonphysicalist landscape of essences and mechanisms. Categories: Materialism Theories (philosophical, neurobiological, electromagnetic field, computational and informational, homeostatic and affective, embodied and enactive, relational, representational, language, phylogenetic evolution); Non-Reductive Physicalism; Quantum Theories; Integrated Information Theory; Panpsychisms; Monisms; Dualisms; Idealisms; Anomalous and Altered States Theories; Challenge Theories. There are many subcategories, especially for Materialism Theories. Each explanation is self-described by its adherents, critique is minimal and only for clarification, and there is no attempt to adjudicate among theories. The implications of consciousness explanations or theories are assessed with respect to: meaning/purpose/value (if any); AI consciousness; virtual immortality; and survival beyond death. A Landscape of Consciousness, I suggest, offers perspective.
This paper examines the view of the afterlife that emerges upon a straightforward and literal reading of the works of Maimonides that pre-date his Guide to the Perplexed. This view, whether or not it truly reflects the underlying intentions of Maimonides, has a central place in Jewish philosophy to this day. The view has to face a number of well-known objections. I argue that once the background metaphysics and epistemology has been appropriately updated to reflect some of what we have come to know over the intervening centuries, an intriguing eschatology emerges. The result is a conception of the afterlife that is Maimonidean in spirit and which can face down the objections that plagued its intellectual predecessor.
No diálogo (mais ou menos anguloso ou rombudo e com resultados divulgados popularmente de forma assaz descuidada) entre a fé cristã e as ciências naturais há um conjunto de temáticas, relacionadas com a Criação e o Cosmos, que, versando aparentemente sobre realidades idênticas, têm mantido incompreensões injustificadas. Este estudo dá atenção, sucintamente, em cinco dessas temáticas – que percorrem o arco do existente (passado, presente e futuro) – e tenta mostrar o que um crente cristão pode pensar e, se a ocasião se proporcionar, afirmar sustentadamente sobre elas.
Much has been written on the relationship between the nature of temporal reality and the God of Classical Theism. Despite the popularity of this general area, what the physics and metaphysics of spacetime might mean for specific theological doctrines has received less attention. Recently, however, interest in this rich and dynamic interplay of ideas has seen rapid growth. This Element provides both an introduction to the physics and metaphysics of spacetime and a jumping-off point for understanding how these can – and in fact should – inform both Christian theology and the philosophy of religion more generally. The author will argue that the nature of spacetime raises particular and pressing problems for Christianity, specifically the interrelated doctrines of salvation and eschatology, and explore whether adequate solutions to these problems are available.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/abs/god-salvation-and-the-problem-of-spacetime/3256416169B3737BF33DC3CA1BD3B046
In recent decades, philosophers and theologians have become increasingly aware of the extent of animal pain and suffering, both past and present, and of the challenge this poses to God’s goodness and justice. As a result, a great deal of effort has been devoted to the discussion and development of animal theodicies, that is, theodicies that aim to offer morally sufficient reasons for animal pain and suffering that are in fact God’s reasons. In this paper, I ask whether there is a need to go even further than this, by considering whether effort should be made to extend theodicy to include plants as well. Drawing upon ideas found in some recent animal theodicies as well as in the work of some environmental ethicists, I offer three arguments for supposing that plants should indeed fall within the purview of theodicy: (1) the argument from non-flourishing as evil, (2) the argument from moral considerability, and (3) the argument from intrinsic value. I also consider a possible objection to each of these arguments. Having outlined and defended the aforementioned arguments for broadening theodicy to include plants as well as humans and animals, I conclude by considering what a plant theodicy might look like.
This dissertation problematizes hope from Paulo Freire’s political realistic perspective. It delivers the basic principles of what I have named the Elpidology of the Oppressed. Domination, oppression and power asymmetry are concrete realities. They all play a role in shaping our sense of hope. In my opinion, hope is perhaps one of the most suitable human attitudes to be either controlled or obliterated by political regimes seeking domination. An oppressive regime seeks to domesticate hope through a system of organized hopelessness; a scheme that negates a group of people the opportunity of desiring, imagining and seeking a feasible path towards a future or a futurity different from the oppressive circumstances they experience in the here and now. Problematizing hope is about grasping temporality and futurity as realities that humans create and re-create collectively and not as things that are pre-determined. Thus, I aim at demonstrating how crucial is for all people, but especially for the oppressed, to understand, to apprehend, to take care and to cultivate the human sense of hope from a political realistic point of view, a key perspective given that some people are excluded from history, and, therefore, also excluded from freely creating their own futures. Nonetheless, in exploring these matters, I inevitably collide with a longstanding polemic regarding the nature and value of hope. While some may argue that hope is illusory and dangerous, others see it as a strong and positive asset in human life. I elucidate this issue by putting this notion through a deep process of demystification, which includes acknowledging its illusory nature, while working a theoretical stance that reconstructs its value as a crucial, but paradoxical political asset. Hope is a multidimensional human faculty that tends to create illusions. It is a complex force associated to what I term the human elpidic mind—our persistent, inescapable and anxious preoccupation with the future. It is a sort of an illusion characterized by a confident, yet uncertain expectation of achieving a good future that is meaningful and thought to be realistically possible by the thinking individual. Now, from the standpoint of oppressed people, whose concrete resources of hope are limited, and whose sense of hope is distorted through fear, among other mechanisms, hoping realistically becomes a practice of political resistance against oppression. Realistic hope is about desiring futurity and also about concretely planning for, and actually trying to attain this future by finding actual pathways toward its consecution, despite possible obstacles. Hoping has a collective dimension that turns politically subversive as soon as people gather together and organizes in order to imagine, plan and strategize about how realistically bring actual social change in the future. Yet, the oppressed realistic practice of hope is meant to clash face on with the hope and visions of the future of their oppressors. The power élite’s political project includes freezing time and stopping history from happening as part of their ambition to own and secure perpetually the future for its social class. The politics of resistance as hope is a praxis of freedom within conditions of oppression that seeks emancipation through the creation of concrete conditions that allow oppressed people to become true agents of history and genuine agents of hope.
This paper investigates the degree to which information theory, and the derived uses that make it work as a metaphor of our age, can be helpful in thinking about God’s immanence and transcendance. We ask when it is possible to say that a consciousness has to be behind the information we encounter. If God is to be thought about as a communicator of information, we need to ask whether a communication system has to pre-exist to the divine and impose itself to God. If we want God to be Creator, and not someone who would work like a human being, ‘creating’ will mean sustaining in being as much the channel, the material system, as the message. Is information control? It seems that God’s actions are not going to be informational control of everything. To clarify the issue, we attempt to distinguish two kinds of ‘genialities’ in nature, as a way to evaluate the likelihood of God from nature. We investigate concepts and images of God, in terms of the history of ideas but also in terms of philosophical theology, metaphysics, and religious ontology.
Today, there is a growing interest in interdisciplinary studies between theology and natural sciences. This article will reveal some “core” problems in this interdisciplinary relationship. It investigates how cosmic eschatology and natural sciences can benefit the most from each other while dealing with the scenarios which cosmology presents. Doing so, the main emphasis will be on rediscovering the impact of the Resurrection in Christian theology and the possibility of launching a dialogue between natural sciences and theology concerning the new heaven and the new earth.
In John Hedley Brooke's response to my 2018 Boyle Lecture he provided some helpful prompts to sharpen my position on naturalism, and posed two further questions to me. This article takes up his prompts, and offers some answers to his questions, especially concerning the Resurrection of Jesus.
For many centuries philosophers have been discussing the problem of evil - one of the greatest problems of intellectual history. There are many facets to the problem, and for students and scholars unfamiliar with the vast literature on the subject, grasping the main issues can be a daunting task. This Companion provides a stimulating introduction to the problem of evil. More than an introduction to the subject, it is a state-of-the-art contribution to the field which provides critical analyses of and creative insights on this longstanding problem. Fresh themes in the book include evil and the meaning of life, beauty and evil, evil and cosmic evolution, and anti-theodicy. Evil is discussed from the perspectives of the major monotheistic religions, agnosticism, and atheism. Written by leading scholars in clear and accessible prose, this book is an ideal companion for undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, and scholars across the disciplines.
In much environmentally concerned literature, there is a burgeoning concern for the status and sustainability of human hope. Within Christian circles, this attention has often taken the form of eschatological reflection. While there is important warrant for attention to eschatology in Christian examinations of hope, I claim that to move so quickly from hope to eschatology is to confuse a species of Christian hope for a definition of hope itself; as such, it is important for theological ethicists to examine hope also from the experiential perspective of the human hoper. In particular, this is important today given the shortcomings of an eschatological focus in addressing anxieties arising due to the environmental crisis. Through examining hope as a fallible human activity, one can come to better understand hope's importance to human life, its profound ambiguity, and the potential threat that the environmental crisis poses to it.
An important node of overlapping interest between contemporary positive psychology and Christian theology is the issue of human flourishing and the virtues one should pursue to experience this. In this essay, we argue that the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), one of the most important and influential portions of the Christian Scriptures, addresses human flourishing and virtue at a foundational level, providing resources for a robustly Christian understanding of positive psychology. In contrast to positive psychology in general, a Christian positive psychology will prioritize the God-ward (vertical) and Charity (horizontal) virtues, as well as maintaining a vibrant orientation to assured hope for a new era called God’s kingdom.
This article discusses the view of man as software, which leads to a view of personal
immortality accomplished by uploading the mind to the computer. The view has
been defended by computer scientists (e.g., Moravec, Kurzweil) and by theologians
(e.g., Polkinghorne). The article argues that true immortality of the mind, or of the
pattern of the mind, is riddled with the problem of maintaining personal identity.
Moreover, because the preservation of the mind pattern requires a material substrate,
the view also assumes that the material world is eternal. This article favors the
Platonist-Augustinian view of immortality of the soul understood as a substance.
In the history of Christianity, poets, philosophers, and hymn writers have extolled the soul (psyche), which can mean person, life, personality or self. But what do people think of the soul today?
In this chapter we focus on Richard Dawkins, who is a prominent opponent of religion before going on to note continued problems with the theory of evolution. We also discuss among other things what science says about life after death.
In this chapter we reflect on what philosophy, science, and the religions tell us about the soul and see if we can go forward in our thinking about it.
This article considers the current state of the science–religion debate in the United Kingdom. It discusses the societies, groups, and individual scholars that shape that debate, including the dialogue between theology and physics, biology, and psychology. Attention is also given to theology's engagement with ecological issues. The article also reflects on the loss of influence of denominational Christianity within British society, and the impact both on the character of the debate and the role of the churches. Finally, some promising trajectories of development for the future are outlined.
IntroductionThe Place of Eschatology in Christian TheologyThe Challenge of Scientific CosmologyEschatology and Cosmology: A Variety of Minimalist ResponsesDialogue and Interaction: Eschatology and the Transformation of the UniverseConclusions and Future ResearchNotesReferencesFurther Reading
BiographyThe Scientist-TheologiansBottom-Up Thinking and ConsonanceTraditional Theological ConcernsDivine ActionNatural TheologyReferencesFurther Reading
Hierdie artikel is die eerste van twee artikels om die vraag te beantwoord of die gebruik van die bybelse hoop beskou kan word as die primêre belydenis om die bybelse eskatologiese boodskap van Christelike hoop te verduidelik. Dit is nie slegs ’n bybelse belydenis nie, maar beïnvloed ook reformatoriese teologiese nadenke oor die saak van eskatologiese hoop op subtiele wyse. Indien dit aangetoon kan word, moet die teologiese klem in die reformatoriese belydenis vir ’n Christen se hede en toekoms daarvolgens beskryf word. In die bespreking van eskatologiese hoop volgens tipies bybelse gebruike, kom ’n basiese vraag na vore: Wat is die wesenlike eindbestemming van die Christen? Is dit die geskape wêreld in God of God in die geskape wêreld? Terwyl die bybelse begrip hoop semanties en eksegeties nagespeur word, kom die verhouding tussen God en sy verganklike skepping, soos ons dit ken, op ’n nuwe wyse ter sprake. ’n Tipiese kenmerk van die huidige Westerse beskawing, oor die algemeen beskou, is die onverbiddelike strewe na ontwikkeling ongeag die koste. Dit geskied egter nie vir Christene sonder die belydenis van hoop nie. Selfs teologiese publikasies oorbeklemtoon die hede deur die beslissende betekenis van God se toekoms vir sy eie te relativeer. Die eksegetiese vertrekpunt van hierdie artikel is die verstaan van die Christelike eskatologiese hoop volgens Romeine 5:1−5. Met so ’n kragtige Pauliniese vertrekpunt word die tendense van eskatologiese hoop volgens die Ou en Nuwe Testament nagegaan om aan die navorser ’n bybelse basis te voorsien waarop die teologiese bespreking kan voortbou.The Christian hope – a biblical eschatological confession? Part 1: Biblical witness − a narrative of hope? This is the first of two related articles to answer the question whether the usage of biblical hope can be regarded as the ultimate confession in explaining the biblical eschatological message of Christian hope. It is not only a biblical confession, but it also subtly influences the theological reformational reflection on the issue of eschatological hope. If proven the case, a correction of theological emphasis is necessary to bring the present and hereafter in biblical and theological perspective. In this discussion of eschatological hope in its typical biblical description, the fundamental question to be answered is: What is the ultimate port of destination? Is it the world in God or God in the world? Exploring the biblical concept of hope semantically and exegetically, according to the Old and New Testaments, pushes the relationship between God and his perishable creation, as we know it, to the foreground, but not without the fundamental confession of hope. In general, the typical recent characteristic trend in Western civilisation is the ruthless striving towards development – whatever the cost may be. Even theological publications reflect the overestimation and the exclusiveness of the present by relativising the importance of God’s biblical and theological future for humankind. The exegetical point of departure is the understanding of Paul’s decisive accentuating of the eschatological hope in the argumentative narrative according to Romans 5:1−5. With such a powerful framework of thought the tendencies of eschatological hope, according to the Old and New Testaments, are investigated to provide the researcher with a biblical basis to be further explored in theological reflections.
Where is the soul in this world? I could go to the Sages for an answer from my religious tradition, but for a person like me — a scientist for fifty years and at seventy three already in Biblical terms 13 years an elder — it is easier instead to let the Sages come to me; that is, to turn to the Siddur, the Jewish book of daily prayers, codified in Hebrew for the most part a few hundred years ago but including some passages from the Hebrew bible's Torah, Prophets and Writings that are millennia old.
The state of the debate surrounding issues on science and religion in Latin America is mostly unknown, both to regional and extra-regional scholars. This paper presents and reviews in some detail the developments made since 2000, when the first symposium on science and religion was held in Mexico, up to date. I briefly introduce some features of Latin American academia and higher education institutions, as well as some trends on the public reception of these debates and atheist engagement with it in Mexico and Argentina. The primary conclusion of this paper is that, even though the discussion is new to Latin American academic circles, it is gaining traction and will certainly grow in the coming years.
Universes, Routledge, 1989. 2. Barrow and Tipler
- J D Barrow
- F J Tipler
J. D. Barrow and F. J. Tipler, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, Oxford
University Press, 1986; J. Leslie, Universes, Routledge, 1989.
2. Barrow and Tipler, Anthropic Cosmological Principle;
Science and Christian Belief/The Faith of a Physicist
- J C Polkinghorne
J. C. Polkinghorne, Science and Christian Belief/The Faith of a Physicist,
SPCK/Princeton University Press, 1996, ch. 9.
- J C See
- Polkinghorne
See J. C. Polkinghorne, Science and Creation, SPCK, 1988, chs. 1 and 2.
Religion and Science
- I G See
- Barbour
See I. G. Barbour, Religion and Science, SCM Press, 1998, p. 304.
16. R. Penrose, The Emperor's New Mind, Oxford University Press, 1989, ch.
Detlev Linke makes this point by drawing attention to the many timescales present in the brain
- J Searle
- Minds
- Brains
- Science
- Publications
J. Searle, Minds, Brains and Science, BBC Publications, 1984; The Rediscovery of
the Mind, MIT Press, 1992, ch. 2. In Ends (p. 42), Detlev Linke makes this point
by drawing attention to the many timescales present in the brain, in contrast to the
single standard clock of a computer.
17. P. Teilhard de Chardin, The Divine Milieu, Harper, 1960.