DOCSLIB.ORG

The Problem of Evil: the Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Problem of Evil: the Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University THE PROBLEM OF EVIL The Problem of Evil The Gifford Lectures Delivered in the University of St Andrews in 2003 PETER VAN INWAGEN 1 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York © Peter van Inwagen 2006 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2006 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Van Inwagen, Peter. The problem of evil : the Gifford lectures delivered in the University of St. Andrews in 2003 / Peter van Inwagen. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-19-924560-4 (alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-19-924560-6 (alk. paper) 1. God—Proof. 2. Good and evil—Religious aspects—Christianity. 3. Theodicy. I. Title. BT103.V35 2006 214—dc22 2006006153 Typeset by Laserwords Private Limited, Chennai, India Printed in Great Britain on acid-free paper by Biddles Ltd., King’s Lynn, Norfolk ISBN 0–19–924560–6 978–0–19–924560–4 13579108642 For Lisette Preface These lectures were delivered in the University of St Andrews in April and May of 2003. It is difficult for me to find words to express my gratitude to the members of University of St Andrews for giving me the opportunity to deliver a series of Gifford Lectures in their university. Having attempted and discarded several more elaborate expressions of gratitude, I will say only that I am very grateful indeed for the honor they have done me. I am also grateful to many individual members of the university for all they did to make my stay in St Andrews a pleasant and productive one, and for their many acts of kindness to me and to my wife Lisette and my step-daughter Claire. Special thanks are due to Professor Alan Torrance, Dr Peter Clark (Head of the School of Philosophical and Anthropological Studies), Professor Sarah Broadie, and Professor John Haldane. I wish also to thank the audiences at the lectures for their insightful comments and questions, many of which I have responded to (however inadequately) in this book. These responses are to be found in the endnotes; in a few cases, they have taken the form of revisions of the text of the lectures. Finally, I thank the two readers to whom the Oxford University Press sent a draft of the manuscript of this book. I have tried to meet some of their concerns about particular passages (and I have responded to some of their more general comments and suggestions) in the notes and in the text. I have not, in turning the text of the lectures into a book, tried to make it anything other than what it was: a text written to be read aloud to an audience. (With this qualification: in the process of revision, some of the ‘‘lectures’’ have become too long actually to be read in the hour that academic tradition allots to a lecture.) Many passages in the text of the lectures have been extensively rewritten, but all the revisions are ones I would have made before the lectures were delivered—if only I had been thinking more clearly at the time. Most of the material in this book that was not in the original lectures is in the endnotes. The lectures were written for a general audience (as opposed to an audience of philosophers). A few of the notes are simply thoughts that could not be fitted into the text without ‘‘breaking the flow’’. Most of the others (citations of books and articles aside) are for philosophers. I advise readers of the book who are not philosophers to viii Preface ignore the notes (unless, perhaps, they see a footnote cue attached to a passage in which something I’ve said seems to them to face an obvious objection; they may find their concern addressed in the note). I will not summarize the content of the lectures here. The Detailed Contents contains a summary of each of the lectures, and the first lecture gives a general overview of their content. Citations are given in ‘‘minimal’’ form in the notes (e.g. Adams and Adams, The Problem of Evil). For ‘‘full’’ citations, see Works Cited. Quotations from the Psalms are taken from the Book of Common Prayer. Other biblical quotations are from the Authorized (King James) Version unless otherwise specified. Peter van Inwagen South Bend, Indiana August 2005 Outline Contents Detailed Contents xi Lecture 1. The Problem of Evil and the Argument from Evil 1 Lecture 2. The Idea of God 18 Lecture 3. Philosophical Failure 37 Lecture 4. The Global Argument from Evil 56 Lecture 5. The Global Argument Continued 75 Lecture 6. The Local Argument from Evil 95 Lecture 7. The Sufferings of Beasts 113 Lecture 8. The Hiddenness of God 135 Notes 152 Works Cited 177 Index 181 Detailed Contents LECTURE I. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL AND THE ARGUMENT FROM EVIL In this lecture, I defend my approach to the problem of evil: my decision to approach the problem of evil by way of an examination of the argument from evil. I distinguish several different ‘‘problems of evil’’ and several different ‘‘arguments from evil’’. I examine the contention that there is an ‘‘overarching’’ problem of evil, a problem that confronts both theists and atheists, and conclude that this contention is simply false. LECTURE II. THE IDEA OF GOD I present a more or less traditional list of the ‘‘divine attributes’’ and conclude that this list represents an attempt to flesh out the Anselmian notion of a ‘‘something than which a greater cannot be conceived’’. I contend that the concept of God should be understood in this Anselmian sense, and that it is implausible to suppose that a ‘‘something than which a greater cannot be conceived’’ should lack any of the attributes in the traditional list. I raise and try to answer the question: To what extent is it possible to revise the traditional list of divine attributes without thereby replacing the concept of God with another concept? LECTURE III. PHILOSOPHICAL FAILURE My thesis in these lectures is that the argument from evil is a failure. But what is it for a philosophical argument to fail? I propose that a philosophical argument fails if it cannot pass a certain test. The test is the ability of the argument to win assent from the members of a neutral audience who have listened to an ideal presentation of the argument. That is: the argument is presented by an ideal proponent of the argument to an ideal audience whose members, initially, have no tendency either to accept or to reject its conclusion; the proponent lays out the argument in the presence of an ideal critic whose brief it is to point out any weaknesses it may have to the audience of ‘‘ideal xii Detailed Contents agnostics’’. If—given world enough and time—the proponent of the argument is unable to use the argument to convince the audience that they should accept its conclusion, the argument is a failure. LECTURE IV. THE GLOBAL ARGUMENT FROM EVIL The global argument from evil proceeds from a premise about the totality of the evil (primarily the suffering) that actually exists. Having examined and refuted the popular contention that there is something morally objectionable about treating the argument from evil as ‘‘just one more philosophical argument’’, I imagine this argument presented to an audience of ideal agnostics, and the beginnings of an exchange between Atheist, an idealized proponent of the argument, and Theist, an idealized critic of the argument. The idea of a ‘‘defense’’ is introduced: that is, the idea of a story that contains both God and all the evils that actually exist, a story that is put forward not as true but as ‘‘true for all anyone knows’’. I represent Theist as employing a version of the ‘‘free-will defense’’, a story according to which the evils of the world result from the abuse of free will by created beings. LECTURE V. THE GLOBAL ARGUMENT CONTINUED I begin with an examination of three philosophical theses about free will, each of which would, if it were true, refute or raise difficulties for Theist’s attempt to reply to the argument from evil by employing the free-will defense: that free will is compatible with determinism; that an omniscient being would know what anyone would freely do in any counterfactual circumstances; that free will is incompatible with divine foreknowledge.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • PHIL6305 the Problem of Evil New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary January 4-8, 2021 January 4, 1:00-4:00 P.M
    PHIL6305 The Problem of Evil New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary January 4-8, 2021 January 4, 1:00-4:00 p.m. CST January 5-8, 8:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. CST Hardin Student Center 277 RAYMOND B. STEWART Adjunct Professor in Philosophy Phone: 504-256-0800 Email: [email protected] Mission Statement New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College prepare servants to walk with Christ, proclaim His truth, and fulfill His mission. Course Description The course introduces students to contemporary philosophical issues related to the Christian concept of God and the problem of evil. Issues addressed include the nature of evil, the cause of evil, the intelligibility and coherence of the Christian concept of God in light of evil, solutions offered by various world religions to the problem of evil, as well as representative solutions offered by a selection of contemporary philosophers addressing the topic of evil. The thrust of the course will focus upon personal reading, research, and writing. Student Learning Outcomes 1. Students will be introduced to some basic issues related to the problem of evil by attending class lectures. 2. Students will be introduced to some basic issues related to the problem of evil by reading the primary texts and assigned readings. 3. Students will be introduced to the basic issues related to the problem of evil through completing the assignments. Required Textbooks All readings will be posted on Blackboard. Course Teaching Methodology The course will involve the following methodologies: Students will meet for class on the NOBTS main campus or via Bluejeans.
    [Show full text]
  • ALVIN PLANTINGA Spiritual Autobiography When Kelly Clark Asked Me to Write a Spiritual Autobiography, My First Impulse Was to Decline
    ALVIN PLANTINGA Spiritual Autobiography When Kelly Clark asked me to write a spiritual autobiography, my first impulse was to decline. That was also my second impulse, and my third. For I have at least three good reasons not to do such a thing. First, I have already written something called an "Intellectual Autobiography";1 the rule At most one to a customer seems to me an excellent one for autobiographies; more than one is unseemly. Second, my spiritual life and its history isn't striking or of general interest: no dramatic conversions, no spiritual heroism, no internal life of great depth and power; not much spiritual sophistication or subtlety, little grasp of the various depths and nuances and shading and peculiar unexplored corners of the spiritual life: very much an ordinary meat and potatoes kind of life. (It is also, I regret to say, a life that hasn't progressed nearly as much as, by my age and given my opportunities, it should have.) Third, writing any kind of autobiography has its perils; but writing a spiritual autobiography is particularly perilous.2 The main problem has to do with truthfulness and honesty: there are powerful temptations toward self-deception and hypocrisy. According to psalm 51, the Lord desires truth in our innermost being; but according to Jeremiah, "The human heart is deceitful above all things; it is desperately sick; who can understand it?" Truth in our innermost being is not easy to achieve. It is hard to see what the truth is; it is also hard to tell the truth, to say what you see without imposing some kind of self-justificatory and distorting framework.
    [Show full text]
  • Philosophy and Theology, Being the First
    ( t % #^^ PRINCETON, N. J. BL 51 .S78 1890 c.2 1 Stirling, James Hutchison, 1820-1909. 5/4^^ Philosophy and theology '^^i^ i?^-v g^^2?^^v!?t-. rf5 £^ ••J^. o THE FIRST EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY GIFFORD LECTURES. PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB, FOR T. & T. CLARK, EDINBURGH LONDON, n.VMILTON, ADAMS, AND 00. DUBLIN, GEORGE HERBERT KEW YORK, SCRIBNER AND WELFORD. PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY BEING THE FIRST EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY 4rIIFFORD LECTURES JAMES HUTCHISOX STIELING, LL.D. (Edin.) FOREIGN MEMBER OF THE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF BERLIN GIFFORD LECTURER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, lSSS-90 EDINBURGH T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET 1890 \_All Rights Eeserved.] These Lectures are published at the request of the Senatus Academicus of the University of Edinburgh in agreement with the terms of the Gifford Bequest. Further, tliey explain themselves. CONTENTS. GIFFORD LECTURE THE FIRST. THE BEQUEST OP LORD GIFFORD—ITS CONDITIONS. PAGE — — — —God Introductory Lord Gifford The bequest— The lectureships— really all in all to Lord Gifford The lecturers Natural theo- the science—The immediate lecturer—The three logy —only — — — — Churches Feeling Understanding Both Intolerance — Reason as reason—The positive—Rationalism—Auflvliirung " " — of the time—Tom Paines of Advanced— views The— temper — the tap No -God men What is really the—new The pre- judice against belief—Duty of philosophy now Sacred books— Those of the Hebrews—Discrepancies—Buckle, Hume, Voltaire —Historical anachronism, 3-2G GIFFORD LECTURE THE SECOND. NATURAL THEOLOGY—HOW TO BE TREATED. — — Natural
    [Show full text]
  • Alvin Plantinga, God's Philosopher
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-67143-9 - Alvin Plantinga Edited by Deane-Peter Baker Excerpt More information Introduction: Alvin Plantinga, God’s Philosopher DEANE-PETER BAKER INTRODUCTION The dominance of logical empiricism’s verification principle in the middle part of the twentieth century forced philosophy of religion almost entirely out of the philosophy curriculum, and, with a few notable exceptions, few philosophers willingly identified themselves as Christians. However, logical empiricism collapsed under the weight of its own principles, and in the spring of 1980 Time magazine reported that in a “quiet revolution in thought and arguments that hardly anyone could have foreseen only two decades ago, God is making a comeback. Most intriguingly, this is happening not among theologians or ordinary believers ...but in the crisp, intellectual circles of academic philosophers, where the consensus had long banished the Almighty from fruitful discourse.”1 Alvin Plantinga, one of those who had played a role in the demise of the verification principle, was identified by Time as a central figure in this ‘quiet revolution’. In fact, the article went so far as to label him the “world’sleading Protestant philosopher of God.”2 Being singled out in this way by arguably the world’s foremost news magazine is made all the more remarkable by the fact that, at the time, Plantinga was a professor of philosophy at a small Calvinist college, whose most important work was yet to come. The intervening years since Time’s report have seen Plantinga emerge as one of contemporary Western philosophy’s leading thinkers of any stripe.
    [Show full text]
  • Lord Gifford and His Lectures: the Irsf T Year (1888-1889) Eugene Thomas Long
    Studies in Scottish Literature Volume 23 | Issue 1 Article 4 1988 Lord Gifford and his Lectures: The irsF t Year (1888-1889) Eugene Thomas Long Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ssl Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Long, Eugene Thomas (1988) "Lord Gifford and his Lectures: The irF st Year (1888-1889)," Studies in Scottish Literature: Vol. 23: Iss. 1. Available at: https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ssl/vol23/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you by the Scottish Literature Collections at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Studies in Scottish Literature by an authorized editor of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Eugene Thomas Long Lord Gifford and his Lectures: The First Year (1888-1889) During the academic session, 1888-1889, the first Gifford Lectures in natural theology were delivered at three of the then four Scottish Universities, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Saint Andrews. During the following year the first Aberdeen lectures were given. Now one hundred years and more than 150 lecturers later, the Gifford Lectures are recognized by many as the most distinguished lecture series in the world. Lecturers have come from many different fields as the names James Frazer, Werner Heisenberg, Arnold Toynbee, Albert Schv,pitzer, Josiah Royce and Rudolf Bultmann suggest and most of the lectures have been published. Some of the published versions of the lectures such as William James' The Varieties 0/ Religious Experience and Alfred North Whitehead's Process and Reality have become classics in the field of natural theology.
    [Show full text]
  • Knowledge and the Sacred – the Gifford Lectures
    KNOWLEDGE AND THE SACRED SEYYED HOSSEIN NASR State University of New York Press, 1989 Contents Preface 3 1 Knowledge and its Desacralization 6 2 What Is Tradition? 62 3 The Rediscovery of the Sacred: The Revival of Tradition 87 4 Scientia Sacra 119 5 Man, Pontifical and Promethean 144 6 The Cosmos as Theophany 168 7 Eternity and the Temporal Order 194 8 Traditional Art as Fountain of Knowledge and Grace 221 9 Principal Knowledge and the Multiplicity of Sacred Forms 243 10 Knowledge of the Sacred as Deliverance 267 1 CONTENTS 2 Y¯a Maryamu ‘alayka’l-sal¯am Bismi’Ll¯ah al-rah. m¯an al-rah.¯ım Preface Since the Gifford Lectures were first delivered at the University of Edinburgh in 1889, they have been associated with the names of some of the most celebrated the- ologians, philosophers, and scientists of Europe and America, and have resulted in books which have wielded extensive influence in the modern world. Moreover, most of these works have been associated with specifically modern ideas which have char- acterized the Western world since the Renaissance and which have been also spread- ing into the East since the last century. When, therefore, some four years ago we were invited to deliver these prestigious lectures, it marked for us not only a singular honor but also an occasion to present the traditional perspective of the millennial civilizations of the Orient where we first received and accepted the invitation to de- liver them. Being the first Muslim and in fact the first Oriental to have the occasion to deliver the Gifford Lectures since their inception at the University of Edinburgh nearly a century ago, we felt it our duty to present to the Western audience not a secondhand version of certain modern ideas or isms in pseudo-Oriental dress as hap- pens so often these days, but in conformity with the world view which is our own, to expound some aspect of that truth which lies at the heart of the Oriental traditions and in fact of all tradition as such whether it be of the East or the West.
    [Show full text]
  • Facing Gaia a New Inquiry Into Natural Religion
    THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH GIFFORD LECTURES 2013 GIFFORD LECTURES 2013 Facing Gaia A new inquiry into Natural Religion A series of six lectures by Bruno Latour Professor at Sciences Po, Paris 18 February to 28 February 2013 at 5.30pm Location of lectures All lectures take place in St Cecilia’s Hall, Niddry Street, Cowgate, Edinburgh, at 5.30pm. www.ed.ac.uk/maps/buildings/st-cecilias-hall Further information Facing Gaia Gifford lectures are free but ticketed. To book tickets visit the University of Edinburgh Gifford Lecture website at www.ed.ac.uk/gifford-lectures. A new inquiry into Natural Religion Please contact [email protected] if you have any queries about this lecture series. The Gifford Lectures A series of six lectures by The Gifford Lectures, which are held at each of the four ancient Scottish universities, Bruno Latour were established under the will of Adam Lord Gifford, a Senator of the College of Justice, who died in 1887. For over a hundred years, the Lectures have enabled a Professor at Sciences Po, Paris most notable field of scholars to contribute to the advancement of philosophical and theological thought. Past Gifford Lectures at Edinburgh include William James, John Dewey, Albert Schweitzer, Niels Bohr, Arnold Toynbee, Sir John Eccles, Iris Murdoch, 18 February to 28 February 2013 Charles Taylor, Michael Ignatieff, Wentzel van Huyssteen, Noam Chomsky, Jean Bethke Elshtain, Simon Conway Morris, Alexander Nehamas, Robert Veatch, Jonathan Sacks, at 5.30pm Diana Eck, Mike Gazzaniga, Terry Eagleton, Patricia Churchland. St Cecilia’s Hall, Niddry Street, Cover image: Grégoire Dupond/Factum Arte registered in Scotland, with registration number SC005336.
    [Show full text]
  • Web Site Review: the Gifford Lectures: Over 100 Years of Renowned Lectures on Natural Theology •
    COLUMN WEB SITE REVIEW: The Gifford Lectures: Over 100 Years of Renowned Lectures on Natural Theology •http://www.giffordlectures.org / ne of the most prestigious lecture series in the world, the Gifford Lectures on Natural Theology were created through a bequest of the Scottish jurist Adam Lord Gifford (1820-1887). Lord Gifford’s gift provided for the creation of a lectureship in each of the four major Scottish universities (Edinburgh, OGlasgow, St. Andrews, and Aberdeen) for a period of two years. The terms of the bequest defined the topic of the lecture series as treating natural theology, “the knowledge of God, the Infinite, the All,” and lecturers were enjoined to “treat their subject as a strictly natural science.”1 Since the first series of lectures in 1888, the Gifford Lectures have been given by leading thinkers in a range of fields. Some of the most important theologians of the past 100 years have been lecturers, including Karl Barth, Reinhold Niebuhr, Paul Tillich, and, more recently, David Tracy, Stanley Hauerwas, and Alister McGrath. The ranks of lecturers have not been limited to theologians, however; notable philosophers (including Henri Bergson, Alfred North Whitehead, Hannah Arendt, and Paul Ricoeur), historians, anthropologists, and scientists (including those from the fields of physics, biology, and even computer science) have participated as lecturers. Even well-known atheists such as philosopher A.J. Ayers and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins have taken part as lecturers. Launched in 2005, the Gifford Lectures Series web site is hosted by the Templeton Foundation Press, with a grant from the John Templeton Foundation.
    [Show full text]
  • Alvin Plantinga
    Alvin Plantinga Alvin Carl Plantinga (/ˈplæntɪŋɡə/;[1] born November 1.2 Education 15, 1932) is an American analytic philosopher, the John A. O'Brien Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at the At the end of 11th grade, Plantinga’s father urged University of Notre Dame, and the inaugural holder of Plantinga to skip his last year of high school and im- the Jellema Chair in Philosophy at Calvin College. mediately enroll in college. Plantinga reluctantly fol- lowed his father’s advice and in 1949, a few months be- Plantinga is widely known for his work in philosophy of fore his 17th birthday, he enrolled in Jamestown Col- religion, epistemology, metaphysics and Christian apolo- lege, in Jamestown, North Dakota.[15][16] During that getics. He is the author of numerous books including same year, his father accepted a teaching job at Calvin God and Other Minds (1967), The Nature of Necessity College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In January 1950, (1974), and a trilogy of books on epistemology, culminat- Plantinga moved to Grand Rapids with his family and ing in Warranted Christian Belief (2000). He has deliv- enrolled in Calvin College. During his first semester at ered the Gifford Lectures two times and was described by Calvin, Plantinga was awarded a scholarship to attend TIME magazine as “America’s leading orthodox Protes- Harvard University.[17] Beginning in the fall of 1950, tant philosopher of God”. Plantinga is a fellow of the Plantinga spent two semesters at Harvard. In 1951, dur- American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is widely ing Harvard’s
    [Show full text]
  • From the Library of Lord Quinton
    FROM THE LIBRARY OF LORD QUINTON Bernard Quaritch Ltd List 2016/3 [email protected] +44 (0)20 7297 4888 Anthony Meredith Quinton (1925-2010), political philosopher and metaphysician, was educated at Stowe School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he read history and then philosophy, politics and economics. Following six years as a fellow of All Souls, Quinton moved to New College in 1955 to teach philosophy. Here he joined A.J. Ayer’s seminal discussion group and produced his best work: The Nature of Things (1973), a bold defence of materialism, ranging from metaphysics to the theory of value; Utilitarian Ethics (1973), a brilliant exposition of the notion that morality consists in promoting the greatest happiness of the greatest number; and The Politics of Imperfection (1978), on the religious and secular traditions of English conservative thought. Quinton was firmly in the Anglo- American analytic school and a staunch empiricist, being no admirer of much of continental philosophy. Following his election in 1978 as president of Trinity College, Oxford, Quinton became more involved in public affairs, serving, for example, as an advisor to Margaret Thatcher’s government (he was created a life peer in 1982), and as chairman of the board of the British Library (1985-90), presiding over its move to St Pancras. Quinton was a frequent and witty reviewer for a number of newspapers, and the host, for over twenty years, of Radio 4’s Round Britain Quiz. He married Marcelle Wegier in 1952. We are pleased to offer this selection from Lord Quinton’s working library, together with a set of some of his own publications.
    [Show full text]
  • The Grace That Shaped My Life
    The Grace That Shaped My Life NICHOLAS WOLTERSTORFF Nicholas Wolterstorff has a joint appointment in the divinity school and the philosophy and religion departments of Yale University. Prior to joining the Yale faculty, Wolterstorff taught for thirty years at Calvin College and also held an appointment at the Free University of Amsterdam. He has been selected to present the forthcoming Wilde Lectures at Oxford and Gifford Lectures in Scotland in defense of religious belief. His many important works include Works and Worlds of Art, Art in Action, Lament for a Son, Until Justice and Peace Embrace, Reason Within the Bounds of Religion and On Universals. The grace that shaped my life came not in the form of episodes culminating in a private experience of conversion but, first of all, in the form of being inducted into a public tradition of the Christian church. The reformation of the Christian church that occurred in the Swiss cities during the second quarter of the sixteenth century took two main forms. One eventuated in the movement known as Anabaptism. The other became embodied in the churches known throughout Continental Europe as Reformed, and in Scotland as Presbyterian. I was reared in the tradition of the Dutch. Reformed Church transplanted to the United States. My parents had themselves in their youth emigrated from the Netherlands. The place was a tiny farming village on the prairies of southwest Minnesota—Bigelow. Simplicity, Sobriety and Measure In his book on English dissenting movements, the poet and critic Donald Davie remarks that it was... John Calvin who first clothed Protestant worship with the sensuous grace, and necessarily the aesthetic ambiguity, of song.
    [Show full text]
  • A Physicist's Belief. John Polkinghorne's Consonance Of
    Rocznik Filozoficzny Ignatianum The Ignatianum Philosophical Yearbook • https://czasopisma.ignatianum.edu.pl/index.php/rfi XXIV / 1 (2018), s. 97–116 Sprawozdania i referaty Reports and conference papers • • • PL ISSN 2300–1402 Andreas Losch∗ ∗Universität Bern A physicist’s belief. John Polkinghorne’s consonance of theology and science1 When popular physicist Stephen Hawking dreams at the end of his best-selling Brief history of time of a Great Unifying Theory (GUT) which would be able to merge the major physical theories describing the laws of nature, he goes on to say: However, if we discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable by everyone, not just by a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason — for then we should know the mind of God2. John Polkinghorne, Hawking’s colleague at Cambridge Univer- sity, is on the one hand critical of such an approach. “What is God do- 1 This contribution is a translated, edited and much abbreviated version ofchap- ter 2 in Andreas Losch, Jenseits der Konflikte. I thank the publisher Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht for the permission to make use of the material. 2 Hawking, A brief history of time: From the big bang to black holes, p. 193. 98 Andreas Losch ing in the book at all?”3. On the other hand, he is himself searching for his own very particular version of a GUT.
    [Show full text]