Thesis ID: CBB001560923

Whether Theology Is a Science? (2001)

unapi

Hogan, Edward M. (Author)


Boston College
C, Hefling, Charles, Jr.


Publication Date: 2001
Edition Details: Advisor: Hefling, Charles C. Jr
Physical Details: 328 pp.
Language: English

One way that the scholastic tradition of Thomas Aquinas treated the relationship between faith and reason was by considering the question: whether theology is a science? Through intervening centuries, the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and several scientific revolutions, the question has persisted. At the dawn of the new millennium, it is raised in the context of postmodern conceptions of both science and theology. Bearing in mind the thesis of Michael J. Buckley's At the Origins of Modern Atheism, this investigation presents, compares, and brings into dialogue the positions of two thinkers from the latter- half of the twentieth century on this enduring topic. British Anglican physicist-turned-priest John Polkinghorne, F.R.S. and Canadian Jesuit philosopher Bernard Lonergan, S.J. share the question: do Christian theology and the natural sciences (focusing on physics as an exemplar) follow the same method? If they do not, as per Lonergan, then how can theology claim to be a rational discipline? If they do, as per Polkinghorne, then how can theology claim any empirical grounds for speaking of a God who transcends the world? Special attention is focused on how Polkinghorne's notion of accommodation can chart a course for the future of the theology-science dialogue, and whether Polkinghorne's or Lonergan's position more truly follows that course. If the method of every discipline is accommodated to the nature of its object of investigation, if theology takes God as its object, and if God differs in kind (rather than degree) from all other objects, then theological method should differ in kind from the method of the natural sciences. But if the method of every discipline is accommodated to the nature of its object, if theology takes God as its object, and if theological method belongs to one spectrum of rational disciplines which differ in degree rather than kind from each other, then God must belong to one spectrum of beings which differ in degree rather than kind from each other. The investigation considers how Polkinghorne's and Lonergan's positions can best interact with respect to this problematic.

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Description Discusses the positions of British Anglican physicist-theologian John Polkinghorne and Canadian Jesuit philosopher Bernard Lonergan. Cited in Diss. Abstr. Int. A 62 (2002): 4210. UMI order no. 3034800.


Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001560923/

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Authors & Contributors
Belzen, Jacob A.
Wilson, David Sloan
Wiegers, Gerard
Wheeler-Barclay, Marjorie
Weller, Dylan
Taylor, Charles
Concepts
Science and religion
Scientific study of religion
Psychology
Christianity
Religion
Psychology of religion
Time Periods
20th century
20th century, early
19th century
18th century
Enlightenment
20th century, late
Places
Netherlands
United States
Europe
Great Britain
Middle and Near East
Pacific Ocean
Institutions
Theosophical Society
Jesuits (Society of Jesus)
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