Re: Tipler quote

----- Original Message -----
From: "Carol or John Burgeson" <burgytwo@juno.com>
To: <asa@calvin.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 9:24 AM
Subject: Tipler quote

> Glenn wrote: >>But I am convinced what Tipler says about the preferred
> relationship between theology and science is true:"Of course, the real
> reason modern theologians want to keep science divorced from religion is
> to retain some intellectual territory forever protected from the advance
> of science. This can only be done if the possibility of scientific
> investigation of the subject matter is ruled out a priori." (Tipler 1994,
> p. 7)">>
>
> This is a classic case of ascribing to others motivations which, in
> essence, cannot ever be known. That Tipler may be correct (at least about
> SOME theologians) is probably (though not certainly) true. That he is
> incorrect about SOME theologians is almost certainly NOT true at all.
>
> Tipler sets up a class "modern theologians" and ascribes to this class
> base motivation. In so doing, he says more about himself than any who
> might belong to that class.

Well said. It's certainly true that some modern theologians divorced their
theology from science - I think Bultmann is the worst example. But there is
no reason at all to think that he did that to "protect" his theology. He
just didn't think that science (& in fact pretty much the material world)
was relevant to the question of existential commitment that was at the heart
of his theology. He was profoundly wrong about that but that's another
matter.

& in fact when Tipler wrote that he knew very well that wthere were some
theologians like Pannenberg, Hefner & others who were very much concerned
with science. & that number has increased greatly in the intervening time.

Shalom
George
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/

 
Received on Tue Jun 21 16:19:32 2005