DOCSLIB.ORG

Religion" in the School Prayer Cases Charles E

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Religion Notre Dame Law School NDLScholarship Journal Articles Publications 1964 The eM aning of "Religion" in the School Prayer Cases Charles E. Rice Notre Dame Law School, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship Part of the Education Law Commons, First Amendment Commons, and the Religion Law Commons Recommended Citation Charles E. Rice, The Meaning of "Religion" in the School Prayer Cases, 50 A.B.A. J. 1057 (1964). Available at: https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/7 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Publications at NDLScholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal Articles by an authorized administrator of NDLScholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Meaning of "Religion" in the School Prayer Cases The Supreme Court has read into the establishment clause of the First Amendment a definition of the word "religion" which is proper only to the free exercise clause of that amendment, the author asserts. In employing this improper definition under the establishment clause in the school prayer cases, the Court has tended to institutionalize agnosticism as the official public religion. by Charles E. Rice * Associate Professor, Fordham University School of Law IN THE CONTROVERSY over the eminence, or two combine together, toward theistic religion, so long as no school prayer decisions, both sides have and establish a religion to which they substantial partiality was shown toward 2 virtually ignored the incongruity of the would compel others to conform." It any particular theistic sect or combina- Supreme Court's definition of reli- was the purpose of the establishment tion of sects. gion. For, in fact, the Court has read clause, then, to prevent the prescrip- into the establishment clause of the tion by Congress of "a national faith", Historical Meaning First Amendment a definition of the that is, a nationally established official of the First Amendment word which is proper only to the church.' Justice Joseph Story, who served free exercise clause of that amend- It has been asserted, and incorrectly on the Supreme Court from 1811 to ment. The effect of this quiet muta- so, that the establishment clause or- 1845 and who was a leading Unitari- tion is far-reaching indeed. dained a governmental abstention an, confirmed the plain historical That part of the First Amendment from all matters of religion, a neu- meaning of the First Amendment: which deals with religion reads: trality, as it were, between those who Probably at the time of the adoption "Congress shall make no law respect- believe in God and those who do not. of the Constitution, and of the first ing an establishment of religion, or An examination of the history of the amendment to it ... the general if not the universal sentiment in America. was, prohibiting the free exercise thereof clause, however, will not sustain that that Christianity ought to receive en- * . .". The original meaning of the analysis. Its end was neutrality, but couragement from the state so far as first clause is clear. Said Judge only of a sort. It commanded impar- was not incompatible with the private Thomas Cooley: "By establishment of tiality on the part of government as rights of conscience and the freedom of religion is meant the setting up or amnong the various sects of theistic religious worship. An attempt to level all religions, and to make it a matter of recognition of a state church, or at religions, that is, religions that pro- state policy to hold all in utter indiffer- fess a belief in God. But, as between least the conferring upon one church ence, would have created universal dis- of special favors and advantages theistic religions and those nontheis- approbation, if not universal indigna- which are denied to others."1 The tic creeds that do not acknowledge tion. amendment was prompted by the cir- God, the precept of neutrality under cumstance that, in the words of James the establishment clause did not ob- 1. COOLEY, PRINCIPLES OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW, tain. Government, conformably to the 224 (1898). Madison during the debate in Con- 2. 1 ANNALS Or CONG. 731 (1789). gress over its adoption, "the people establishment clause, could generate 3. Corwin, The Supreme Court as National School Board, 14 LAW & CONTEMP. PROS. 3, 11-12 feared one sect might obtain a pre. an affirmative atmosphere of hospitality (1949). November, 1964 e Vol. 50 1057 The Meaning of "Religion" The real object of the amendment 3, 1789, and every President, except said, "The term 'religion' has refer- was not to countenance, much less to Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, ence to one's views of his relations to advance, Mahometanism, or Judaism, has followed suit. his Creator, and to the obligations they prostrating Christian- or infidelity, by impose of reverence for his being and ity; but to exclude all rivalry among Would it not have been extraordi- Christian sects, and to prevent any nary for Congress to request a public character, and of obedience to his will." national ecclesiastical establishment day of prayer to be observed by "the In the Davis case, the Court held that which should give to a hierarchy the people of the United States" and on the federal law prohibiting polygamy exclusive patronage of the national 4 the very same day to propose a con- was not an infringement upon the re- government. stitutional amendment to prohibit that ligious freedom of the defendant. Logically, this means that for pur- very type of prayer? Indeed, the spe- It is obvious, however, that believ- poses of the establishment clause non- cific religious issue was raised by Rep- ers in nontheistic creeds, such as athe- theistic beliefs were riot considered to resentative Thomas Tucker of South ists and agnostics, should be protcctcd be religions. Otherwise, an affirmation Carolina in the debate preceding the in the free exercise of their religion as by government that there is a God adoption of the resolution. Mr. Tucker fully as are Baptists and Presbyterians. would be a governmental preference, objected that calling on the President And it ought not to be inferred, from through the assertion of the essential to proclaim a day of prayer "is a busi- the theistic definition of religion em- truth of theism, of a combination of ness with which Congress have nothing ployed by the Court in the Davis case religious sects, i.e., those that believe to do; it is a religious matter, and, as that, if the issue were presented to it, 6 in God, to the disparagement of those such, is proscribed to us." Congress, the Supreme Court would not have ac- other religions which do not profess however, passed the resolution. corded the protection of the free exer- such a belief. On the contrary, rather If the question of Congress's compe- cise clause to atheists and agnostics than regarding theism and nontheism tence in religious matters had not been even at the time when the Court was as merely variant religious sects with- raised, it could possibly be said that it formulating its theistic definition of re- in a broadly defined category of "re- had never occurred to the members ligion. The equity and reason of the ligion". the establishment clause re- and therefore the action of Congress matter are plain. Moreover, as Mr. garded theism as the common denom- ought not to be conclusive on the point. Justice Brennan properly acknowl- inator of all religions, and nontheism When, however, the issue was squarely edged in his concurring opinion in the it considered not to be a religion at all. joined, the First Congress deliberately Schempp case : Government itself could profess a be- overrode the same objections we hear [O]ur religious composition makes us so often today and voted to offer pub- lief in God, and, so long as a practical a vastly more diverse people than were neutrality was maintained among the- lic prayer to God. our forefathers. They knew differences istic sects, the neutrality command of chiefly among Protestant sects. Today the establishment clause would not be Definitions of Religion the Nation is far more heterogeneous breached. Are Given by the Court religiously, including as it does sub- stantial minorities not only of Catholics That it was not a purpose of the es- The history and informed logic of and Jews but as well of those who wor- tablishment clause to forbid such a the establishment clause, therefore, ship according to no version of the profession by government of the truth lead to the conclusion that its defini- Bible and those who worship no God at 8 of theism, or to forbid all official gov- tion of religion was similar to that used all ernmental sanction of public prayer, by Chief Justice Hughes in his dis- It is correct beyond dispute that the by the fact that on September is shown senting opinion in a 1931 case involv- scttled protections of the free exercise 24, 1789, the very same day that it ing the eligibility of a pacifist for clause ought to be extended today to approved the First Amendment, Con- naturalization: such nontheistic creeds as atheism and President to pro- gress called on the agnosticism. This conclusion, appar- claim a national day of thanksgiving .. The essence of religion is belief in a relation to God involving duties ently, determined the decision in Tor- and prayer, in the following resolution: superior to those arising from any hu- caso v. Watkins, 367 U. S. 488 (1961), man relation .... One cannot speak in which the Court invalidated a pro- That a joint committee of both of religious liberty, with proper appre- vision of the Constitution of Maryland Houses be directed to wait upon the ciation of its essential and historic sig- President of the United States to re- nificance, without assuming the exist- requiring a state employee to declare quest that he would recommend to the ence of a belief in supreme allegiance his belief in God.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Jay Bregman Hilary Armstrong Gave the Gnos
    NEOPLATONIZING GNOSTICISM AND GNOSTICIZING NEOPLATONISM IN THE “AMERICAN BAROQUE” Jay Bregman Hilary Armstrong gave the Gnostics a fair hearing in his “Dualism: Platonic, Gnostic, and Christian.”1 He basically viewed Gnosticism as having some points of contact with Platonism, but since they were not doing the same thing as philosophers, he reasoned, it would be wrong to treat them as “bad philosophers.” Although Gnostic anti-cosmism is balanced by his nuanced view of certain Gnostic pro-cosmic ideas, Gnostics are “mythicizers,” hence doing something very different from philosophers since, in the last analysis, they think that the cosmos is at best transitory—a place to flee from. However, in the last decade or so, there has been a reconsideration of Armstrong’s view. Led especially by John Turner and others, scholars have affirmed that Gnostics, Middle Platonists, and Neoplatonists indeed have more in common philosophically than had been previously supposed; Gnos- tics were perhaps even writing commentaries on Plato’s dialogues in order to gain a respectable hearing in Plotinus’ seminars.2 Nineteenth-century America was the scene of an earlier engagement with Gnosticism, through which heterodox thinkers paved the way for its current serious reception. I will trace the roots and anticipations of contem- porary discussions, in the Neoplatonic, late Transcendentalist journal, The Platonist, and other North American sources. Metaphysical thinkers of the later American Renaissance painted their religious symbols on a Neoplatonic canvas. A secularizing world had given rise to notions of a universal syncretistic cosmic Theism, which welcomed the “esoteric” strains of all traditions. Alexander Wilder, M.D., a regular con- tributor to The Platonist, also cast a wide syncretistic net: the Neoplatonists taught Platonic philosophy in the form of a religion embracing some of the characteristic features of Jainism, the Sankhya and Pythagorean schools (hē gnōsis tōn ontōn).
    [Show full text]
  • Statement of the Problem 1
    Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary THE INCOMPATIBILITY OF OPEN THEISM WITH THE DOCTRINE OF INERRANCY A Report Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Theology by Stuart M. Mattfield 29 December 2014 Copyright © 2015 by Stuart M. Mattfield All Rights Reserved ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS As with all things, the first-fruits of my praise goes to God: Father, Son and Spirit. I pray this work brings Him glory and honor. To my love and wife, Heidi Ann: You have been my calm, my sanity, my helpful critic, and my biggest support. Thank you and I love you. To my kids: Madison, Samantha, and Nick: Thank you for your patience, your humor, and your love. Thank you to Dr. Kevin King and Dr. Dan Mitchell. I greatly appreciate your mentorship and patience through this process. iii ABSTRACT The primary purpose of this thesis is to show that the doctrine of open theism denies the doctrine of inerrancy. Specifically open theism falsely interprets Scriptural references to God’s Divine omniscience and sovereignty, and conversely ignores the weighty Scriptural references to those two attributes which attribute perfection and completeness in a manner which open theism explicitly denies. While the doctrine of inerrancy has been hotly debated since the Enlightenment, and mostly so through the modern and postmodern eras, it may be argued that there has been a traditional understanding of the Bible’s inerrancy that is drawn from Scripture, and has been held since the early church fathers up to today’s conservative theologians. This view was codified in October, 1978 in the form of the Chicago Statement of Biblical Inerrancy.
    [Show full text]
  • Response to Papers on Theism (Just a Little) and Non-Theism (Much More)
    Quaker Religious Thought Volume 118 Article 6 1-1-2012 Response to Papers on Theism (Just a Little) and Non-Theism (Much More) Patrick J. Nugent Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Nugent, Patrick J. (2012) "Response to Papers on Theism (Just a Little) and Non-Theism (Much More)," Quaker Religious Thought: Vol. 118 , Article 6. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt/vol118/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Quaker Religious Thought by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RESPONSE TO PAPERS ON THEISM (JUST A LITTLE) AND NON-THEISM (MUCH MORE) Patrick J. nuGent am immensely grateful for the opportunity to respond to these I two papers and regret that I cannot be present. I am going to trust that Jeffrey Dudiak’s excellent and thought-provoking paper will inspire good conversation in San Francisco, and I wish take up the opportunity offered by David Boulton’s. I share Jeff’s position as a Christ-centered and theistic Friend, and I regret that he chose not to be more of an apologist for Quaker theism in his fine paper. My position remains that a thorough, contextual, and systematic reading of the Quaker authors of the first one hundred fifty years cannot sustain non-theism as authentically Quaker. Yet I would rather respond constructively to David’s paper as a theological colleague responding to an emerging theology that raises fertile theological opportunities to attain the mature theological credibility non-theism does not yet have.
    [Show full text]
  • The Vedanta of Ramanuja
    Cleveland State University EngagedScholarship@CSU Philosophy & Comparative Religion Department Faculty Publications Philosophy & Comparative Religion Department 2016 Review of Indian Thought and Western Theism: The Vedanta of Ramanuja Sucharita Adluri Cleveland State University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/clphil_facpub Part of the Catholic Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, Comparative Methodologies and Theories Commons, Hindu Studies Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! Original Citation Adluri, S. (2016). Review of Martin Ganeri's Indian Thought and Western Theism: The Vedanta of Ramanuja, Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies, 29, 77-9. This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Philosophy & Comparative Religion Department at EngagedScholarship@CSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Philosophy & Comparative Religion Department Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of EngagedScholarship@CSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies Volume 29 God and Evil in Hindu and Christian Article 14 Theology, Myth, and Practice 2016 Book Review: Indian Thought and Western Theism: the Vedan̄ ta of Ram̄ an̄ uja Sucharita Adluri Cleveland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/jhcs Part of the Catholic Studies Commons, Christianity Commons, Hindu Studies Commons, and the Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion Commons Recommended Citation Adluri, Sucharita (2016) "Book Review: Indian Thought and Western Theism: the Vedan̄ ta of Ram̄ an̄ uja," Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies: Vol. 29, Article 14.
    [Show full text]
  • Janne Kontala – EMERGING NON-RELIGIOUS WORLDVIEW PROTOTYPES
    Janne Kontala | Emerging Non-religious Worldview Prototypes | 2016 Prototypes Worldview Non-religious Janne Kontala | Emerging Janne Kontala Emerging Non-religious Worldview Prototypes A Faith Q-sort-study on Finnish Group-affiliates 9 789517 658386 ISBN 978-951-765-838-6 Åbo Akademis förlag Domkyrkotorget 3, FI-20500 Åbo, Finland Tfn +358 (0)2 215 4793 E-post: forlaget@abo. Försäljning och distribution: Åbo Akademis bibliotek Domkyrkogatan 2-4, FI-20500 Åbo, Finland Tfn +358 (0)2 215 4190 E-post: publikationer@abo. EMERGING NON-RELIGIOUS WORLDVIEW PROTOTYPES Emerging Non-religious Worldview Prototypes A Faith Q-sort-study on Finnish Group-affiliates Janne Kontala Åbo Akademis förlag | Åbo Akademi University Press Åbo, Finland, 2016 CIP Cataloguing in Publication Kontala, Janne. Emerging non-religious worldview prototypes : a faith q-sort-study on Finnish group-affiliates / Janne Kontala. - Åbo : Åbo Akademi University Press, 2016. Diss.: Åbo Akademi University. ISBN 978-951-765-838-6 ISBN 978-951-765-838-6 ISBN 978-951-765-839-3(digital) Painosalama Oy Åbo 2016 ABSTRACT This thesis contributes to the growing body of research on non-religion by examining shared and differentiating patterns in the worldviews of Finnish non-religious group-affiliates. The organisa- tions represented in this study consist of the Union of Freethinkers, Finland’s Humanist Association, Finnish Sceptical Society, Prometheus Camps Support Federation and Capitol Area Atheists. 77 non-randomly selected individuals participated in the study, where their worldviews were analysed with Faith Q-sort, a Q-methodological application designed to assess subjectivity in the worldview domain. FQS was augmented with interviews to gain additional information about the emerging worldview prototypes.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Theism and Pentecostalism: a Comparative Study of the Godhead, Soteriology, Eschatology and Providence
    OPEN THEISM AND PENTECOSTALISM: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE GODHEAD, SOTERIOLOGY, ESCHATOLOGY AND PROVIDENCE By RICHARD ALLAN A Thesis Submitted to the University of Birmingham for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham March 2018 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT Despite Open Theism’s claims for a robust ‘Social’ Trinitarianism, there exists significant inconsistencies in how it is portrayed and subsequently applied within its wider theology. This sympathetic, yet critical, evaluation arises from the Pneumatological lacuna which exists not only in the conception of God as Trinity, but the subsequent treatment of divine providence, soteriology and eschatology. In overcoming this significant lacuna, the thesis adopts Francis Clooney’s comparative methodology as a means of initiating a comparative dialogue with Pentecostalism, to glean important insights concerning its Pneumatology. By engaging in the comparative dialogue between to the two communities, the novel insights regarding the Spirit are then incorporated into a provisional and experimental model of Open Theism entitled Realizing Eschatology.
    [Show full text]
  • Is "Nontheist Quakerism" a Contradiction of Terms?
    Quaker Religious Thought Volume 118 Article 2 1-1-2012 Is "Nontheist Quakerism" a Contradiction of Terms? Paul Anderson Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt Part of the Christianity Commons Recommended Citation Anderson, Paul (2012) "Is "Nontheist Quakerism" a Contradiction of Terms?," Quaker Religious Thought: Vol. 118 , Article 2. Available at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/qrt/vol118/iss1/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Commons @ George Fox University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Quaker Religious Thought by an authorized editor of Digital Commons @ George Fox University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. IS “NONTHEIST QUAKERISM” A CONTRADICTION OF TERMS? Paul anderson s the term “Nontheist Friends” a contradiction of terms? On one Ihand, Friends have been free-thinking and open theologically, so liberal Friends have tended to welcome almost any nonconventional trend among their members. As a result, atheists and nontheists have felt a welcome among them, and some Friends in Britain and Friends General Conference have recently explored alternatives to theism. On the other hand, what does it mean to be a “Quaker”—even among liberal Friends? Can an atheist claim with integrity to be a “birthright Friend” if one has abandoned faith in the God, when the historic heart and soul of the Quaker movement has diminished all else in service to a dynamic relationship with the Living God? And, can a true nontheist claim to be a “convinced Friend” if one declares being unconvinced of God’s truth? On the surface it appears that one cannot have it both ways.
    [Show full text]
  • Hinduism and Hindu Philosophy
    Essays on Indian Philosophy UNIVE'aSITY OF HAWAII Uf,FU:{ Essays on Indian Philosophy SHRI KRISHNA SAKSENA UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII PRESS HONOLULU 1970 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 78·114209 Standard Book Number 87022-726-2 Copyright © 1970 by University of Hawaii Press All Rights Reserved Printed in the United States of America Contents The Story of Indian Philosophy 3 Basic Tenets of Indian Philosophy 18 Testimony in Indian Philosophy 24 Hinduism 37 Hinduism and Hindu Philosophy 51 The Jain Religion 54 Some Riddles in the Behavior of Gods and Sages in the Epics and the Puranas 64 Autobiography of a Yogi 71 Jainism 73 Svapramanatva and Svapraka!;>atva: An Inconsistency in Kumarila's Philosophy 77 The Nature of Buddhi according to Sankhya-Yoga 82 The Individual in Social Thought and Practice in India 88 Professor Zaehner and the Comparison of Religions 102 A Comparison between the Eastern and Western Portraits of Man in Our Time 117 Acknowledgments The author wishes to make the following acknowledgments for permission to reprint previously published essays: "The Story of Indian Philosophy," in A History of Philosophical Systems. edited by Vergilius Ferm. New York:The Philosophical Library, 1950. "Basic Tenets of Indian Philosophy," previously published as "Are There Any Basic Tenets of Indian Philosophy?" in The Philosophical Quarterly. "Testimony in Indian Philosophy," previously published as "Authority in Indian Philosophy," in Ph ilosophyEast and West. vo!.l,no. 3 (October 1951). "Hinduism," in Studium Generale. no. 10 (1962). "The Jain Religion," previously published as "Jainism," in Religion in the Twentieth Century. edited by Vergilius Ferm.
    [Show full text]
  • DEMOGRAPHY of UNBELIEF 243
    DEMOGRAPHY of UNBELIEF 243 nations by Gallup and similar organizations. Another resource, the evangelical-authored World Christian Encyclopedia, tabulates national census data on religion, though faith communities' official membership statistics are sometimes contradicted by surveys designed to cap- ture actual opinions among church members. The twentieth century can be seen as a grand culture war, a vast, historically unique societal experiment in which agnostics, absolute atheists, and other nonreli- gious ballooned to about one billion, a sixth of the world's population. Driven largely by conversion of believers, this vast expansion in unbelief-a multi-hun- dredfold upsurge in absolute numbers, and a fiftyfold increase in percentage of population in one long life span-far outstrips the growth of any major faith in the twentieth century, and probably.in history. Current Situation. Believers in the supernatural belong to some ten thousand significant sects, most aligned within ten major organized religions. Chris- tianity's percentage of the population has remained stag- nant overall, at about one in three. Christians are divided among some thirty-four thousand denominations, one of which-Roman Catholicism-claims almost half of all Christians. Most demographic losses among Christians represent conversions to nontheism rather than to any of the other major religions. Among the ten major religions, only Islam has seen major relative growth, moving from about 12 percent of the global population in 1900 to nearly 20 percent today, largely due to population DEMOGRAPHY OF UNBELIEF. Until the twentieth cen- growth rather than conversion. The third-largest faith, tury all peoples were highly religious: supernatural Hinduism, claims about a seventh of the global popula- belief was nearly universal and pervaded daily life.
    [Show full text]
  • Are Children ''Intuitive Theists''?
    PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE General Article Are Children ‘‘Intuitive Theists’’? Reasoning About Purpose and Design in Nature Deborah Kelemen Boston University ABSTRACT—Separate bodies of research suggest that young chil- objects and behaviors as existing for a purpose (Kelemen, 1999b, 1999c, dren have a broad tendency to reason about natural phenomena 2003; but see Keil, 1992) and are also broadly inclined to view natural in terms of purpose and an orientation toward intention-based phenomena as intentionally created, albeit by a nonhuman agent (Evans, accounts of the origins of natural entities. This article explores 2000b, 2001; Gelman & Kremer, 1991). This article explores these these results further by drawing together recent findings from findings further by drawing them together with other recent cognitive various areas of cognitive developmental research to address the developmental research to address the following question: Even if following question: Rather than being ‘‘artificialists’’ in Pia- children are not artificialists, as Piaget conceived of the term, are they getian terms, are children ‘‘intuitive theists’’—disposed to view perhaps ‘‘intuitive theists’’—predisposed to construe natural objects as natural phenomena as resulting from nonhuman design? A re- though they are nonhuman artifacts, the products of nonhuman design? view of research on children’s concepts of agency, imaginary companions, and understanding of artifacts suggests that by the time children are around 5 years of age, this description of them PROMISCUOUS TELEOLOGY AND ‘‘CREATIONISM’’ IN may have explanatory value and practical relevance. CHILDREN Contemporary research on teleological reasoning—the tendency to Piaget’s (1929) claim that children are ‘‘artificialists’’ who draw on reason about entities and events in terms of purpose—was initiated in their subjective intentional experience to conclude that all things are the context of the debate on the origins of biological understanding.
    [Show full text]
  • Open Theism and the Divine Timelessness Debate
    TMSJ 18/1 (Spring 2007) 43-68 IS IT TIME TO CHANGE? OPEN THEISM AND THE DIVINE TIMELESSNESS DEBATE Marshall Wicks* The recent popularity of Open Theism in evangelical circles has raised questions regarding the traditional doctrine of divine eternality, timelessness, or atemporality. The questions necessitate a three-part investigation of the subject. Part one investigates the present status of temporality studies which define time as either tenseless or dynamic. Part two compares the temporal position with the atemporal. The classical position has been that God is timeless, but some recent evangelical scholars have come to view God as a temporal being, with some others theorizing that He is both temporal and atemporal. The temporal position criticizes atemporalism in three ways: (1) the Bible presents God as a temporal being; (2) the modern consensus is that God is temporal; (3) atemporality is a result of the influence of Greek philosophy on Christian doctrine; (4) the idea of a timeless God is incoherent. In each case, the criticisms prove to be invalid. Part three examines positions that attempt to maintain temporality and atemporality simultaneously, but the composite approach proves to be nothing but another way of stating the atemporal position. A successful defense of the atemporal position proves Open Theism to be an unorthodox version of theism that should be rejected. * * * * * No generation in Christian history has debated like ours about whether God is timeless or whether he has unending duration, that is, whether temporal existence extends interminably forward and backward.1 *Marshall Wicks is Professor of Bible at the Word of Life Bible Institute.
    [Show full text]
  • Hinduism As Religion and Philosophy
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by OpenSIUC HINDUISM AS RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY Hinduism may best be treated from four different points of view. 1. Tbe lower popular cults and beliefs and practices which cen- ter around the worship of local godlings or village deities. 2. The religious sects on the middle and higher levels which worship deities of a more cosmic character. 3. The higher theology or philosophy which makes a synthesis of these various deities and tends to think of this unity as im- personal. 4. The basic social dharma which underlies all of these and finds its expression in the caste system. In what follows I shall try to -describe the forest of Hinduism without giving a detailed botanical description of each tree, by em- l)hasizing what seem to be the most significant general trends of thought and action, and by dwelling on the higher ideals and pre- suppositions of the system as a whole rather than on the lower pop- ular cults. Many treatments of Hinduism tend to compare the highest ideals and practices of western civilization and of Christian- ity with the lowest ideals and practices of Hinduism. Such com- jiarison is not fair. But Hinduism is extremely complex and diffi- cult to generalize about. Trying to grasp it is like trying to pick np cjuicksilver between the fingers. The religion of the masses consists almost entirely of animism, magic, and demonolog}'. Worship centers around local godlings and spirits, freaks of nature, trees and lakes and rivers and hills, inani- mate things which have mysterious powers of motion, tools and im- plements like the plow, animals which are feared like the snake or which are useful like the cow, and spirits of the dead.
    [Show full text]