DOCSLIB.ORG

Bishop S 27155218.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Bishop S 27155218.Pdf The (lack of) reception of Reformational ideas by English Calvinists: a philosophical enquiry S Bishop orcid.org 0000-0002-4547-0597 Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy at the North-West University Promoter: Prof R Coletto Examination: May 2018 Student number: 27155218 Declaration of Authorship I declare that this thesis, entitled: The (lack of) reception of Reformational ideas by English Calvinists: a philosophical enquiry, and the work presented in it, is my own and has been written by me – as the result of my own original research. I confirm that: 1. This work was done wholly while in candidature for a PhD degree at the North-West University. 2. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly acknowledged. 3. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work. Stephen Bishop May 2018 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 9 Abstract 10 Chapter 1. Introduction 1.1 Some background 11 1.2 Problem statement and sub-questions 14 1.3 Leading theoretical arguments 15 1.4 Objectives 16 1.5 Proposed contributions 17 1.6 Area of study 18 1.7 Method 18 1.8 Definitions 19 1.8.1 An overview of the movements discussed in this study 19 1.8.2 Kuyperian and neo-Calvinist 20 1.8.3 Reformational 20 1.8.4 Calvinist 21 1.8.5 Evangelical 21 1.8.6 Science, scholarship, worldview and ground-motive 22 1.9 Outline of the chapters 22 Chapter 2. A brief introduction to Reformational ideas and English Calvinism 2.1 Introduction 24 2.2 Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) 25 2.2.1 A brief biography 25 2.2.2 Key Kuyperian themes: the sovereignty of God 27 2.2.3 The cultural mandate 28 2.2.4 Common grace 28 2.2.5 Christianity as a Weltanschauung (creation, fall and redemption) 30 2.2.6 The antithesis 31 2.2.7 Sphere sovereignty 32 2.2.8 Theological distinctives 33 3 2.2.8.a The church as organism and as an institution 33 2.2.8.b Supralapsarianism and presumptive regeneration 34 2.2.8.c The Holy Spirit 35 2.2.8.d Faith as a function 36 2.2.8.e The role of the heart 36 2.3 Herman Dooyeweerd (1894—1977) 36 2.3.1 A brief biography 37 2.3.2 Key Dooyeweerdian themes: the role of religious presuppositions 42 2.3.3 The nature of theoretical and pre-theoretical thought 43 2.3.4 The nature and relation of theology and philosophy 43 2.3.5 Modal aspects 45 2.3.5.a Qualifying functions 47 2.3.5.b Subject and object functions 48 2.3.6 Theory of entities 49 2.3.7 Ground-motives 51 2.3.8 Biblical contours of Reformational philosophy 54 2.3.8.a The sovereignty of God 54 2.38.b Sphere sovereignty 55 2.3.8.c Law as the boundary between Creator and creation 55 2.3.8.d Archimedean points, immanent and transcendental philosophies 55 2.4 Dirk Hendrik Theodoor Vollenhoven (1892- 1978) 56 2.4.1 A brief biography 57 2.4.2 Vollenhoven‘s basic approach 59 2.4.3 The consequent problem-historical method 62 2.4.3.a Types, time-currents and other categories 64 2.4.3.b Subjectivists, objectivists and realists 66 2.4.4 The enduring influence of Vollenhoven 67 2.5 A Brief history of Calvinism in England 68 2.5.1 Introduction 68 2.5.2 First phase — the start 71 2.5.3 The second and third phases – suffering and then settlement 72 2.5.4 The Clarendon Code – the separating phase 75 2.5.5 The Evangelical Revival 77 2.6 Summing up and concluding 80 4 Chapter 3. English Calvinism and socio-political relevance 3.1 Introduction 82 3.2 English Calvinism and socio-political involvement: a preliminary exploration 84 3.3 Some characteristics of English Calvinism 86 3.3.1 Individualism 86 3.3.2 Individual or communal involvement? What about Christian political parties? 88 3.3.3 Ecclesiastisation 91 3.3.4 A downplaying of creation 98 3.3.5 The question of priorities 101 3.3.5.a Priorities and sermons 103 3.3.5.b Priorities and social concerns 105 3.3.5.c Affirmation 2010 106 3.3.5.c Social concern or evangelism? Creation or kingdom? 108 3.3.6 Calvinism and politics 111 3.3.6.a A Reformational point of view 112 3.3.6.b An English-Calvinist point of view 113 3.3.6.c English Calvinist ‘allergies’, conferences and publications 115 3.3.6.d Past and future: sketching a Calvinist view of politics 116 3.4 The pre-scientific roots of the English Calvinist approach 118 3.4.1 The ground-motive of nature and grace 118 3.4.2 Intermezzo: a recent proposal by VanDrunen 121 3.4.3 Different versions of the nature and grace motif 124 3.4.4 At the roots of English Calvinism 130 3.4.4.a Preliminary notes 130 3.4.4.b Is it possible to ‘mix’ the (sub-versions of) worldviews? 131 3.5 Utilising Vollenhoven’s categories 133 3.5.1 Intellectual influences on Calvin 133 3.5.2 Vollenhoven and van der Walt on Calvin and the Synod of Dordt 133 3.5.3 English Calvinism and Calvin 135 5 3.5.3.a English Calvinism and anthropological dualism 136 3.5.3.b English Calvinism, ontological dualism and a static view of creation 138 3.6 Conclusion 139 Chapter 4. English Calvinism and academic relevance 4.1 Introduction 142 4.2 English Calvinism and scholarship: a preliminary exploration 143 4.3 Positivist and logical positivist influences 146 4.3.1 Positivism and logical positivism 146 4.3.2 English Calvinism and positivism 148 4.4 Reijer Hooykaas, Donald MacKay, Oliver Barclay 149 4.4.1 Reijer Hooykaas (1906-1994) 150 4.4.2 Donald MacCrimmon MacKay (1922-1987) 152 4.4.3 Oliver Rainsford Barclay (1919-2013) 154 4.5 English Calvinist views of science and Christianity 156 4.5.1 Logical indeterminacy 157 4.5.2 Complementarity and the autonomy of natural science 158 4.5.3 Objectivity and objectivism 160 4.6 The pre-scientific presuppositions at work – Scholastic and complementary tendencies 161 4.6.1 Scholastic tendencies 161 4.6.2 The complementarity approach 163 4.7 Further explorations: worldview, philosophy, theology, objectivity... 167 4.7.1 English Calvinist use of the term worldview 167 4.7.2 Theology, philosophy and the Bible 170 4.7.3 Barclay‘s view of theology and philosophy 173 4.7.4 Objectivity and subjectivity 177 4.8 Interpreting the results 181 4.8.1 The rejection of worldviews – or at least Christianity as a worldview 181 6 4.8.2 The primacy of theology 181 4.8.3 Objectivity and subjectivity in English Calvinism 182 4.9 Sub-versions of the nature—grace motif influencing English Calvinism 183 4.9.1 A unique worldview or a variety of approaches? 183 4.9.2 A final comment 185 4.10 Conclusion: reasons for the neglect and rejection of Reformational thought 187 Chapter 5. Lessons and hopes for the Reformational movement 5.1 Introduction 190 5.2 Issues of attitude 190 5.2.1 A confrontational approach 190 5.2.2 A tendency towards arrogance? 192 5.2.3 A tendency towards dotting the i‘s and crossing the t‘s 192 5.2.4 The lack of piety or a perceived un-spirituality 192 5.2.5 Triumphalism? 193 5.3 Issues with presentation: opacity and relevance 196 5.3.1 Opacity 196 5.3.2 Relevance and applicability 198 5.4 Issues of content (with some misunderstandings) 200 5.4.1 Perceived as promoting subjectivism and idealism 200 5.4.2 The elevation of philosophy to the queen of the sciences 202 5.4.3 Minimising Scripture 203 5.4.4 Denigration of the church 203 5.4.5 From criticism to enrichment 204 5.5 Conclusions 205 Chapter 6. Conclusions 6.1 Introduction 207 7 6.2 Summary points from previous chapters 207 6.3 Answers to the sub-questions 211 6.4 Limitations of the study 213 6.5 Areas for further study 213 Bibliography 215 8 Acknowledgements The writing of this thesis has been a long time in coming. I would particularly like to thank Professor Renato Coletto for offering to supervise it. He has gone above and beyond the role of a supervisor/ promoter; his wisdom, insight, and continually pushing me to justify each point, has made the dissertation that much better. Thanks go to Revd Richard Russell and Mark Roques for first introducing me to Reformational philosophy. And also to Richard for long chats about the Reformational movement. My thanks to all who have offered advice and help along the way. Not least Mark Roques and David Hanson for taking the time to comment on a draft and to point out copious typos. Thanks too must go to the three (anonymous) external examiners who made some excellent suggestions for improvement. Above all, I would like to thank my family, and Susie, my wife in particular, for their patience, love and support. The thesis has seen a number of changes to family life; my wife, Susie, has become ordained; my son, Jack, married Megan, and my daughter, Sophie, has left home for university to study photo-journalism.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • O Emprego Do Instrumento Militar Na Resolução De Conflitos
    OBSERVARE Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa ISSN: 1647-7251 Vol. 3, n.º 2 (fall 2012), pp. 43-71 VISIONS OF THE EMPIRE RELIGION, ONTOLOGY AND THE ‘INTERNATIONAL’ IN EARLY MODERNITY Lucas G. Freire [email protected] Graduate in Economics (UFMG) and in International Relations (PUC-Minas), Master in International Relations (Exon.) and currently completing his PhD in Politics at the University of Exeter, where he is an Associate Lecturer. His thesis focuses on metatheoretical issues in International Relations . Summary This paper analyzes the relation between basic religious motifs of theoretical thought, general ontology and their specific use in 'international' political theory at the onset on the Modern Era. The analysis is based on Herman Dooyeweerd's reformational philosophy in identifying the basic assumptions on the origin of life, coherence and diversity of reality in several trends of thought. The Greek and Roman classical legacy, in combination with ancient Christian concepts, is emphasized, namely in terms of motifs such as Nature and Grace, guidelines of scholastic worldview, thus influencing its perspective of Christianity, of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Papacy. Reformed Protestantism adopted a more radically Biblical set of assumptions which culminated in a ontologically plural perspective of social authority and political community, as well as of the empire. Christian humanism, and some Protestant thinkers, was also heavily influenced by the motifs of Nature and Grace, but now with a strict separation between both 'logics'. The theorization of an 'internal logic' for each of these spheres gave origin to a reinterpretation of Nature in classical Humanism, according to a 'mechanistic' perspective of reality with its ideal of control.
    [Show full text]
  • Inity Church Utrecht and Anglican Church Zwolle
    Holy Trinity Church Utrecht and Anglican Church Zwolle Illustration of Revelation 14:14-21 from the so-called Beatus Facundus, Spain, 11th century. September 2015 Newsletter Newsletter Editor Judy Miller [email protected] If you have contributions for the next Newsletter we need to receive them by the middle of the previous month. The contents of this newsletter are copyright. If you wish to reproduce any part of it elsewhere, please contact the editor. Holy Trinity Directory Van Hogendorpstraat 26, 3581 KE Utrecht www.holytrinityutrecht.nl The Bishop of Gibraltar: Robert Innes Tel: +44 20 7898 1160 Chaplain: David Phillips Tel: 06 124 104 31 [email protected] Administrative Assistant: Hanna Cremer Eindhoven Tel: 06 28 75 91 09 [email protected] Lay Pastoral Assistants: Peter Boswijk Tel: 06 211 152 79 Harry Barrowclough [email protected] Coordinator of Student Ministry: Eric Heemskerk Tel: 06 311 845 90 [email protected] Director of Music: Henk Korff: 06 53 13 00 86 [email protected] Wardens: Rosemarie Strengholt [email protected] Adrian Los: 06 11 88 50 75 [email protected] Treasurer: Sandra Sue Tel: 035 694 59 53 [email protected] Secretary: Simon Urquart [email protected] If you would like to make a contribution to support the work of our churches: Holy Trinity Utrecht General Giving: NL84INGB0000132950 – tnv Holy Trinity Church Utrecht Charitable Giving: NL92TRIO019772361 – tnv Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Utrecht Anglican Church Zwolle General Giving: NL02 INGB 0007 2290 06 - tnv English Church Zwolle Cover Image: Facundus made a copy in 1047of an earlier manuscript on Revelation.
    [Show full text]
  • Streams of Civilization: Volume 2
    Copyright © 2017 Christian Liberty Press i Streams Two 3e TEXT.indb 1 8/7/17 1:24 PM ii Streams of Civilization Volume Two Streams of Civilization, Volume Two Original Authors: Robert G. Clouse and Richard V. Pierard Original copyright © 1980 Mott Media Copyright to the first edition transferred to Christian Liberty Press in 1995 Streams of Civilization, Volume Two, Third Edition Copyright © 2017, 1995 Christian Liberty Press All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher. Brief quota- tions embodied in critical articles or reviews are permitted. Christian Liberty Press 502 West Euclid Avenue Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004-5402 www.christianlibertypress.com Copyright © 2017 Christian Liberty Press Revised and Updated: Garry J. Moes Editors: Eric D. Bristley, Lars R. Johnson, and Michael J. McHugh Reviewers: Dr. Marcus McArthur and Paul Kostelny Layout: Edward J. Shewan Editing: Edward J. Shewan and Eric L. Pfeiffelman Copyediting: Diane C. Olson Cover and Text Design: Bob Fine Graphics: Bob Fine, Edward J. Shewan, and Lars Johnson ISBN 978-1-629820-53-8 (print) 978-1-629820-56-9 (e-Book PDF) Printed in the United States of America Streams Two 3e TEXT.indb 2 8/7/17 1:24 PM iii Contents Foreword ................................................................................1 Introduction ...........................................................................9 Chapter 1 European Exploration and Its Motives
    [Show full text]
  • REFORMATIONAL PHILOSOPHY on the BOUNDARY BETWEEN the PAST and the FUTURE* the World Has Changed Drastically. Seven Central Theme
    REFORMATIONAL PHILOSOPHY ON THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN THE PAST AND THE FUTURE* J ac ob Klapwijk It is my intention in this paper to cast a look back over fifty years of reformational philosophizing. Together with you I want to ask: What have been the most important fruits of all the scholarly efforts that were made in the past within the Association for Calvinist Philosophy? It is also my intention to take a look ahead, to the extent that this is humanly possible. Let us ask what reformational philosophizing could mean for today's situ­ ation, and for tomorrow's. The world has changed drastically. Seven central themes The world has changed drastically. Today's world is different from the one in wh ich our pioneers, Vollenhoven and Dooyeweerd, on ce had to lift their voices. The thirties were years of uncertainty, of economic malaise and political tension, a time during wh ich the dark shadows of the Second World War began to form. Yet there was also at the same time unbounded self-confidence, belief in human resilience and in the impelling force of 'scientific intelligence' (the term is John Dewey's). Here, on the European continent, our Association was confronted wih the self-confidence of neo­ kantian and phenomenological thinkers who adhered to the self-suffi­ ciency of theoretical reason or who cherished philosophical intuition as an axiomatic certainty and who brushed Christian presuppositions or princi­ pIes aside as 'theology'. Fifty years later this world has taken on a very different appearance. We have had two world wars and are confronted by the threat of a nuclear holocaust.
    [Show full text]
  • Neo-Calvinism” Is an Expression Which Was First Used by Max Weber in His Contributions to the Sociology of Religion
    Christian Social Thought in the Dutch Neo-Calvinist Tradition Bob Goudzwaard From: Walter Block and Irving Hexham (eds) Religion, Economics and Social Thought: Proceedings of an International Conference Vancouver, Fraser Institute 1986 pp. 251-279 (Chapter Seven). “Neo-Calvinism” is an expression which was first used by Max Weber in his contributions to the sociology of religion. He used it to describe the revival of the social and political teachings of John Calvin which took place, especially in the Netherlands, during the last part of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. The roots of that revival lie mainly in the so-called Réveil movement, which had its origin in the first half of the nineteenth century in Protestant - not only Calvinistic - circles in Switzerland. That movement stressed the significance of a living Christian faith: biblical studies, and prayer for the reformation of the Church and the renewal of society. The most important Dutch representative of that Réveil was Guillaume Groen van Prinsterer (1801- 1876). Deeply influenced by German thinkers Von Haller and Julius Stahl, who were primarily within the Romantic tradition, Groen gradually developed his own approach to the social and political problems of his time, although he always remained a true “son of the Réveil!” His main published work was a major study of the spirit of the French Revolution, Unbelief and Revolution. He saw the Revolution and its ideals as the driving force behind the modern unbelief of his age. However, Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920) must be seen as the founding father of Dutch neo-Calvinism.
    [Show full text]
  • Braun G.Pdf (1.681Mb)
    1 Table of Contents 1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 4 1.1 Background and statement of problem ............................................................................................ 4 1.2 Research aim ................................................................................................................................... 8 1.3 Research questions .......................................................................................................................... 9 1.4 Methodology ................................................................................................................................. 10 1.5 Value of research .......................................................................................................................... 11 1.6 Concept clarification ..................................................................................................................... 11 1.7 Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 16 2. Dooyeweerd’s transcendental critique & Van Til ........................................................................... 17 2.1 Dooyeweerd on Van Til ................................................................................................................ 17 2.2 Van Til on Dooyeweerd ...............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Religion and Science at the Turn of the Century
    Religion and Science at the Turn of the Century North Americans live in a place and at a time when the practice of religion seems to be making a comeback. Even though Western Civilization has long embraced a secular approach to daily life, banishing religion to the private realms of personal morality, spiritual devotion, and ecclesiastical ritual, many orthodox Christians, Jews, and Muslims continue to assert the public relevance of their faith. This is obviously true in politics, where a number of moral agendas are being pursued, but religious concerns have also been broached in other areas, such as biotechnology research, energy use, and environmental care. The case of science is an interesting one, as this provided the core inspiration and wellspring of revelation for Enlightenment humanism. The grand success of natural science during the 17th and 18th centuries in unlocking the secrets of the physical universe prompted secular thinkers to extrapolate and advocate a rational approach to all of life. Individual subjectivity due to religion, ethnicity, class, or personal bias was to be suppressed in order to attain universally true objective knowledge that all people could acknowledge as a common basis for organizing the world and living together. Religious and metaphysical notions were deemed vestiges of an earlier time in human history, when nothing better was available. But once the era of science had arrived, these childish ideas and concerns were to be cast aside or, at the very least, circumspectly kept in their place. When religious interests refused to be so closeted, secular thinkers fought back. Notably, this occurred in connection with late 19th and early 20th century debates over Darwinian evolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Evangelikal – Radikal – Sozialkritisch. Zur Theologie Der Radika- Len Evangelikalen
    EVANGELIKAL – RADIKAL – SOZIALKRITISCH. ZUR THEOLOGIE DER RADIKA- LEN EVANGELIKALEN. EINE KRITISCHE WÜRDIGUNG (THE THEOLOGY OF RA- DICAL EVANGELICALISM) by ROLAND HARDMEIER submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF THEOLOGY in the subject MISSIOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: PROF J REIMER MAY 2006 *********** MTH structured Evangelikal – radikal – sozialkritisch. Zur Theologie der radikalen Evangelikalen ii DEUTSCHE ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Die vorliegende Dissertation erfasst die geschichtlichen und theologischen Grundlinien des radikalen Evangelikalismus und stellt ihn in den Kontext ähnlicher und ihn beeinflussender Theologien. Es wird aufgezeigt, dass der radikale Evangelikalismus eine evangelikale Grundkonzeption mit Elementen des Anabaptismus, des Social Gospel, der Befreiungstheologie und der Theologien im Umfeld des Öku- menischen Rates der Kirchen bereichert. Dabei wird deutlich, dass die radikale Theologie genuin e- vangelikal ist, die Einseitigkeiten der westlichen evangelikalen Theologie aber zu überwinden vermag. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit ist den Beiträgen radikaler Nord- und Lateinamerikaner gewidmet, da diese den radikalen Evangelikalismus wesentlich geprägt haben. Ziel ist es, den radikalen Evangelikalismus darzustellen, kritisch zu würdigen und für die europäische evangelikale Szene fruchtbar zu machen. Der erste Teil nennt die Quellen, aus denen sich die radikale Theologie speist. Der zweite Teil zeichnet den geschichtlichen Werdegang des radikalen Evangelika- lismus nach. Es wird nachgewiesen, dass der radikale Evangelikalismus in den dreissig Jahren seines Bestehens zu einem bestimmenden Faktor in der weltweiten evangelikalen Bewegung geworden ist. Der dritte Teil stellt die Grundzüge der radikalen Theologie mittels ausgewählter Themen dar. Er zeigt auf, dass die Radikalen die evangelikale Bewegung mit einer transformatorischen Missionstheorie konfrontiert haben, die relevant für die drängenden Probleme der Gegenwart ist.
    [Show full text]
  • Science and Belief from the Copernicans to the Creationists and the Way Ahead
    Science and belief from the Copernicans to the Creationists and the way ahead Course Number: HIST/INDS 550 Institution: Regent College Instructors: Dr. David Livingstone and Dr. Mark Noll Course Description This course examines critical historical episodes in the interaction between Christianity and science from the sixteenth century to the present. A major goal is to show how deeply embedded in specific cultural situations are all “encounters” between Christianity and science. A second goal is to subvert the notion that talking about “creation” and “evolution” was or ever can be a simple matter. A third goal is to suggest Christian strategies for a more fruitful interchange between science and faith. From this course, students should take away both enriched historical understanding and better theological balance for approaching critical questions relating science and Christianity. Class Outline Mon, July 17: I. Introduction II. Telling the Story of Science and Christianity Tues, July 18: III. The Copernican "Revolution" IV. The Reformation and Science Wed, July 19: V. The Puritans and Science VI. Newton and the Mechanistic World Picture Thurs, July 20: VII. Enlightenment and the Human Sciences VIII. Enlightenment, Science, and Christianity in North America Fri, July 21: IX. Pre-Darwinian, Early-Victorian Science X. The 1830s as a crucial decade for science, theology, and society Mon, July 24: XI. Darwin the man XII. Evolutionary Theories in the Late 19th Century Tues, July 25: XIII. Christian Scientists Encounter Evolution XIV. Theological Evaluations of Darwin and Darwinism Wed, July 26: XV. Creationism in the Context of American Religious History XVI. Interpreting the New Creationism Thurs, July 27: XVII.
    [Show full text]
  • P John Williams Kay Stables Editors Critique in Design and Technology Education Contemporary Issues in Technology Education
    Contemporary Issues in Technology Education P John Williams Kay Stables Editors Critique in Design and Technology Education Contemporary Issues in Technology Education Series Editors P John Williams Curtin University, Perth, Australia Alister Jones University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand Cathy Buntting University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand Contemporary Issues in Technology Education - About this series Technology education is a developing field, new issues keep arising and timely, relevant research is continually being conducted. The aim of this series is to draw on the latest research to focus on contemporary issues, create debate and push the boundaries in order to expand the field of technology education and explore new paradigms. Maybe more than any other subject, technology education has strong links with other learning areas, including the humanities and the sciences, and exploring these boundaries and the gaps between them will be a focus of this series. Much of the literature from other disciplines has applicability to technology education, and harnessing this diversity of research and ideas with a focus on technology will strengthen the field. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13336 P John Williams • Kay Stables Editors Critique in Design and Technology Education 123 Editors P John Williams Kay Stables Science and Maths Education Centre Goldsmiths, University of London (SMEC) London, UK Curtin University Perth, WA, Australia ISSN 2510-0327 ISSN 2510-0335 (electronic) Contemporary Issues in Technology Education ISBN 978-981-10-3104-5 ISBN 978-981-10-3106-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-981-10-3106-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2017930627 © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
    [Show full text]
  • (SAM) BERRY Christians in Science: Looking Back – and Forward
    S & CB (2015), 27, 125-152 0954–4194 MALCOLM JEEVES AND R.J. (SAM) BERRY Christians in Science: Looking Back – and Forward Christians in Science had its origins in 1944 in a small gathering of mainly postgraduate students in Cambridge. This group became the nucleus of the Research Scientists’ Christian Fellowship (which changed its name in 1988 to Christians in Science). The RSCF was originally a graduate section of the Inter-Varsity Fellowship (now the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship), but is now an independent charity and limited company, albeit still retaining close links with UCCF. We review the seventy year history of CiS and its contributions to the maturing discussions in the faith-science area; we see a positive and developing role for the organisation. Keywords: Oliver Barclay, Donald MacKay, Reijer Hooykaas, Essays and Reviews, Victoria Institute, Research Scientists’ Christian Fellowship, God- of-the-gaps, naturalism A range of scientific discoveries in the first half of the nineteenth century raised worrying conflicts over traditional understandings of the Bible. The early geologists produced evidence that the world was much older than the few thousand years then assumed, more powerful telescopes showed that the solar system was a very small part of an extensive galaxy, and grow- ing awareness of the plants and animals of the Americas and Australasia led to unsettling suggestions that there might have been several centres of creation. These problems over biblical interpretations became focused in mid-century
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT Reclaiming Peace: Evangelical Scientists And
    ABSTRACT Reclaiming Peace: Evangelical Scientists and Evolution After World War II Christopher M. Rios, Ph.D. Advisor: William L. Pitts, Jr., Ph.D. This dissertation argues that during the same period in which antievolutionism became a movement within American evangelicalism, two key groups of evangelical scientists attempted to initiate a countervailing trend. The American Scientific Affiliation was founded in 1941 at the encouragement of William Houghton, president of Moody Bible Institute. The Research Scientists‘ Christian Fellowship was started in London in 1944 as one of the graduate fellowship groups of Inter-Varsity Fellowship. Both organizations were established out of concern for the apparent threat stemming from contemporary science and with a desire to demonstrate the compatibility of Christian faith and science. Yet the assumptions of the respective founders and the context within which the organizations developed were notably different. At the start, the Americans assumed that reconciliation between the Bible and evolution required the latter to be proven untrue. The British never doubted the validity of evolutionary theory and were convinced from the beginning that conflict stemmed not from the teachings of science or the Bible, but from the perspectives and biases with which one approached the issues. Nevertheless, by the mid 1980s these groups became more similar than they were different. As the ASA gradually accepted evolution and developed convictions similar to those of their British counterpart, the RSCF began to experience antievolutionary resistance with greater force. To set the stage for these developments, this study begins with a short introduction to the issues and brief examination of current historiographical trends.
    [Show full text]