Re: God of gaps (was Re: What would you ask ?) (fwd)

George Murphy (gmurphy@raex.com)
Thu, 22 Oct 1998 12:48:21 -0400

Joel Cannon's (listserv) wrote:
>
> John Mckiness asked about the origin of the "God of the Gaps"
> phrase. George Murphy quoted the Bonhoeffer pages which show the clear
> sense of God of the Gaps.
>
> At the CIS/ASA meeting this summer, I heard Michael Poole state that
> C.A. Coulson was the first to use the term and did so in the early
> 1950's.

Thanks for the reference. It's been years since I read Coulson's _Science and
Christian Belief_, first published in 1955. In it he uses the phrase "God of the gaps"
twice (pages 32 & 41 of the Fontana edition). Both times the phrase is in quotes, which
may mean he thinks he's coining it: No reference is given. Coulson apparently had some
familiarity with Bonhoeffer's _Letters and Papers from Prison_ because he refers to it
in another connection in one place (Note 27 of Chapter III).

George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/