Hi Todd,
You wrote:
> A further aspect is that what is considered to be a topic of "origin"
> (a matter for theology or metaphysics) or a topic of "formation" (a
> matter amenable to scientific investigation) can and does change, such
> that what was formerly considered to be a topic of origin becomes a
> topic of formation. And this is when there is some chafing with many
> theologists. ;-) In this case the problem is not so much semantic
> confusion as it is "turf war."
Yes, you're quite correct to call attention to the turf war phenomenon. Both
sides of the debate between episodic creationism and evolutionary naturalism
could be cited for turf violations.
Episodic creationists proceed on the assumption that (1) to call the
biblical text "the word of God" is not a metaphor but a simple statement of
authorship, and (2) early Genesis is not only Israel's declaration that
Yahweh is the Source (origin) of the universe's being, but is also a
divinely written chronicle of the _formation_ of the various members of the
Creation. Here, in (2), episodic creationism invades the turf of the
scientific
enterprise.
The rhetoric of evolutionary naturalism often includes the claim that if the
formational history of the universe is evolutionary in character (requiring
no form-imposing divine interventions), then it needs no Creator as the
Source of its being. Here evolutionary naturalism invades the turf of
religion.
The battle goes on.
Cordially,
Howard Van Till
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