Re: P.J. Bowler book

From: Michael Roberts (topper@robertschirk.u-net.com)
Date: Fri Jan 11 2002 - 05:07:50 EST

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    Thanks Karl for your comments

    You wrote;
    Bowler deals with the
    > reconciliation of science and religion as expressed by liberal Anglicans
    > (Modernists) and non-materialist scientists. The reconciliation is
    crucially
    > dependent on the thesis that both these groups shared a faith in Progress.
    > This faith, and the 'second age' of sci/rel dialogue (we're in the third)
    > survived World War I but ended for several reasons: 1) the rise of
    fascism,
    > 2) the Depression and related suffering, 3) evangelical voices from the
    free
    > churches, and 4) the rise of Barthian neo-orthodoxy with its disdain for
    > natural theology.
    I would agree with reasons 1,2 and 4 , but 3 is wrong as in Britain the
    resurgence of evangelicals came dominantly from Church of England
    evangelicals of the post war generation e.g. JRWStott and also the whole
    cluster of people including non-Anglicans as FFBRuce, Martin Lloyd Jones
    etc.From 1900 to 1950 there was a rump of evangelicals in the Cof E whose
    effortw bore fruit after the war. (There werent many evangelicals in the
    Anglican Church in Wales as the Welsh Bishops did not like evangelicals and
    forced them out after Disestablishment in 1920. One of my bishops while I
    was in Wales asked me how I could be associated with Evangelicals as I was a
    scientist and didnt take the bible literally and another asked if I actually
    believed Pauls Letter to Romans, that was in 1995 and 2000.The numbers of
    evangelicals in the Church in wales is increasing mostly by attracting
    clergy from England as wooly liberal theology doesnt attact potential
    clergy!) There is a false perceptons that Evangelicals are largely to be
    found in the Free Churches whereas from 1730 about half of British
    evangelicals have been Anglican. It has to be said that only a small
    minority Cof E evangelicals
    tend to YEC though this does mean that 5% of Cof E clergy lean to YEC.

    Regards

    Michael

    >
    > But even to say that is to oversimplify and Bowler introduces a wonderful
    > collection of characters (in several senses of that word!) in a most
    > enjoyable presentation. Other interesting tidbits include the fact that
    the
    > philosopher Joad found A.N. Whitehead's Process and Reality to be
    > incomprehensible, and that by the time Whitehead finished giving the
    Gifford
    > lectures (from which the book resulted), there were only about half a
    dozen
    > people in the audience!
    >
    > Hope you get to read the book soon. I think you'll like it.
    >
    > Karl
    > **************************
    > Karl V. Evans
    > cmekve@aol.com
    >
    >



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