Discussion: What is your favourite word-picture to describe God? Why? How do you think people picture God today?

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1 Key Take-Away points from the class thus far 1. The story of Christianity and Science being in a perennial conflict is a myth. Like everything else, the real story is more complex. 2. The Christian understanding of Creation and humanity opens the way for science to develop and flourish 3. Plato and Aristotle figured significantly in the early stages of science in the West 4. The key ideas surrounding the Reformation provided the foundation for the explosion of science we find in the Scientific Revolution (though many of the key figures were Catholic) 5. A radical re-interpretation of the universe and our place in the universe took place through the influence of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo which seemed to contradict Scripture. As it turned out (didn t know this at the time), the new view of the universe could be accepted as true without compromising the truth of the Word of God. 6. This re-interpretation is rooted in the approach called accommodation, that is recognizing that revelation takes place in culturally and anthropologically conditioned forms with a specific audience in mind and therefore Scripture needs to be interpreted accordingly. [The Bible is not written to us, but for us]. We find this way of thinking right through Church history, but especially so in the 16th-Century. Discussion: What is your favourite word-picture to describe God? Why? How do you think people picture God today? A Mechanistic Universe "Men became scientific because they expected law in nature and they expected law in nature because they believed in a lawgiver." C.S. Lewis What happens when we begin to see God in mechanistic terms? That s what happens during the period that we are going to look at. One of the key developments of the Enlightenment (17th-18th-Centuries) is the introduction of Mechanical metaphors to describe the world.

2 Three Tasks: 1. What were the ideas that led to this change? 2. Who were some of the key thinkers? 3. How did the broader social/political context shape all this? Rooted in these New Ideas 1. New theory of matter matter is composed of smaller, inert pieces (do not have spirits within themselves), need to be contacted by another piece of matter 2. New concept of causality changes in the natural world were due to mechanical contact between bodies. Atoms? Corpuscles? 3. New view of the explanatory power of science mechanical explanations properly carried out could explain a lot of things 4. New view of society the establishment of absolute monarchies in Europe. In the same way the king is supreme and can order different pieces of society to make it good, God is supreme and can order the universe to make things work just right 5. A growing focus on design the well-ordered natural world is a reflection of a well-ordered MIND behind all things A shift of how we see the world: From Mother Nature A Clockmaker The key questions that emerge at this time are: What is God s relationship to Nature? What role would God play (what would He be like) if the universe ran like clockwork? What is God like? Does He have to be good or just efficient? For guys like Robert Boyle (who is a Protestant and the father of chemistry), there is no conflict between a Creator who is a great mechanic, a great mathematician, a great Clockmaker and the Bible. (The world is) like a rare clock, such as may be that at Strasbourg, where all things are so skillfully contrived, that the engine being once set a-moving, all things proceed, according to the artificer s first design, and the motions of the little statues, that at such hours perform these or those things, do not require the peculiar interposing of the artificer, or any intelligent agent employed by him, but perform their functions upon particular occasions, by virtue of the general and primitive contrivance of the whole engine. Robert Boyle ( )

3 Some important figures Rene Descartes ( ) All reality composed of two substances o Spiritual mind, thinking, believing, mental operation o Material something that could be measured World is full of tiny, invisible objects all movement comes through one tiny billiard ball hitting another. Matter is inert and is enacted upon by an external force. Humans were machines with a difference. We were gifted an immortal soul (unlike animals) and had free will, spoke language, and had self-consciousness. To be human is to be rational. Animals were not rational and therefore did not have souls. Therefore, animals were considered little more than machines. Divided us from the world around us. We can now use our reason to control our surroundings - and be just like God. In fact, we may not even need Him anymore "Please do not bring a dog for Pauline. We want only rational creatures here, and belonging to the sect we belong to we refuse to burden ourselves with these machines." Mme. de Grignan 1690 Isaac Newton ( ) Greatest scientist before Einstein Gives the math for this new mechanical philosophy The Man born when Galileo died. Genius, but very weird. Nagging question: Could the motion of the earth, moon, and planets all be accounted for on the basis of a single principle? The Laws unifies the universe through a series of demonstrable laws (don t need to know the details) o Laws of motion - were it not for forces of friction, once a body started moving it would keep moving until a force acts against it. o Laws of friction motion in straight lines Nature and Nature s o Laws of force - acceleration and clashing Laws lay hid in night; o Laws of gravitational attraction (applied to planets) planets influence one another through the force of God said, Let Newton gravitational attraction. Keeps the moon - force Be, and all was light. pulling towards the sun and force pulling it towards the earth. Stops us from having only one moonlit Alexander Pope night! o Universal laws Applied everywhere! Debunks Aristotle s ideas about earth and the celestial regions as operating by different laws. Only one form of motion and it applies universally. Universal mechanistic understanding

4 Newton s Three Laws of Motion 1. An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force. An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.this law is often called "the law of inertia. 2. Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass (of the object being accelerated) the greater the amount of force needed (to accelerate the object). FORCE = MASS times ACCELERATION 3. For every action there is an equal and opposite re-action. Newton s theories were grounded on basic concepts of mass, space, and time. Each of these concepts can be measured mathematically. These provided the foundations for modern physics today. From here, you could develop ideas of acceleration, force, momentum, and velocity. The key thing to walk away with in regards to Newton is how much could be explained on the basis of universal principles which work. Significance o Same laws now apply throughout the universe (new system of knowledge) o The language of nature is mathematics, rendered into formula and understood in material terms [invented calculus] o Power of number to explain operations in the world o New formulae explains reality Makes Newton sound just like a modern, rational scientist who was distinct from the previous, more superstitious ways of seeing the world. Not so. Newton the last of the magicians o o o Spent a lot of time trying to unlock strange forces, hidden secrets in the world in to turn elements into gold (alchemy). Did this in secret because maleficarum (black magic) was outlawed in England Natural magic which fed into science Here s the irony of it all: If he wasn t steeped in magic and the occult and alchemy, he may not have come to the conclusions he did regarding movements and the gravitational attraction and repulsion between objects. Fascinating! Newton - Strange Theology o Fascinated by apocalyptic science - biblical prophecy wrote more about this than science!! Desired to bring scientific principles to break the Code of the Bible which would reveal the past and the future Early pre- millennialist - thought he could predict when the Second Coming would occur. Thought it would happen in 2060!

5 Discussion: Where do you think this is going to go when applied to our understanding of God? A clockwork universe demanded nothing more than an original clockmaker. John Hedley Brook. What is going on in the world at this time? Let s look at the social and political context of these changes 1. Newton comes on the scene during some pretty disruptive forces: Protestantism Rise of capitalism (sunrise vs. the sound of the work whistle, time quantified) population growth urbanization (social ills, population growth, slums, crime, class) advancement competition between nation states civil wars unsettled times [best of times, worst of times] A reminder that all broad scientific debates have historical origins. They emerge out of real circumstances. 2. Uncertainty because of rapid change creates a deep desire to find reliable authorities who can we trust? 3. Science as Peacemaker 4. Introduced an analogy between the natural world and the political world 5. Rise of Natural Theology an attempt to figure out God (or some things about God) by human reason from studying nature. a. Use of science to prove God. Science can teach us so much about the natural world, society, and politics, perhaps it can teach us about the nature of religion b. Sets out to show that one can believe certain propositions about God, the Bible, or theology BECAUSE science has proven it to be true. Christianity is to be viewed as rational c. The God that we are left with is a Rational Being no real need for some of the doctrines related to Christianity itself So, we have in Galileo (1630) a scientist that the church silences because his science violates the Scriptures Yet, in 1802, William Paley is a churchman keeps God relevant by using science to validate God s existence Newton is the transition figure. Extraordinary person for the inner and outer development of science Let s linger here for a moment

6 Natural Theology from William Paley to Today 1 William Paley, Archdeacon of Carlisle - compared God to one of the mechanical geniuses of the Industrial Revolution. God had directly created the world with all its intricacy in its finished form. Nothing was left unfinished. The present organization of the world both physical and biological were compelling witnesses to the wisdom of the God who creates. Natural Theology; or Evidences of the Existence and Attributes of the Deity, Collected from the Appearances of Nature (1802) Argument from Design Every indication of contrivance, every manifestation of design, which existed in the watch, exists in the works of nature. William Paley God s Existence: His most famous argument was that if you were in the wilderness and found a watch lying on the ground, you would never think it was natural. You could tell that the watch was designed for a purpose, so therefore there had been a designer. Paley then went on to say, with examples, that living creatures were clearly designed for a purpose, and that this was a proof of God. This sort of argument for the existence of God is known as the argument from design. God s Goodness: Paley also argued that the beauty in nature showed us the goodness of God. That didn t work so well even in Paley s day. If you want to argue from nature for God s goodness, what about parasites, and lions tearing apart zebras and all the things in nature that don t seem so good to us? Three reasons why natural theology might be appropriate in some circumstances 1. It can provide common ground in discussions with those outside the faith. Many people have no reason to listen to the Bible, but nature is something common to all. 2. It can be a first step, getting people to the idea of the existence of God. This may at least partly explain why the Apostles never made these arguments in their preaching, because back then almost nobody was an atheist, everybody believed in a god or gods. 3. If God has made the creation, shouldn t we at least consider that it might help us learn about God? That doesn t mean natural theology will always work or always be a good idea, but it seems we shouldn t automatically rule it out. Criticisms of Natural Theology 1. The first serious problem should be obvious from the example of Paley. What if somebody does find a natural explanation for the watch, like Darwin explained many of Paley s examples? If people base their faith on the existence of some apparent design in nature where God supposedly miraculously intervened, and then another explanation comes along, 1 Allan H. Harvey, Science and Nature in Christian Perspective, used with author s permission.

7 the foundation of their faith is undermined. So, at a minimum, we must say that it is dangerous and unwise to make arguments from natural theology foundational to the faith. 2. Second, natural theology tends to put God on the same level as natural causes, as though God is just another competing force within nature, like gravity. 3. Natural theology can only lead you to a form of Deism, not Christianity. The Enlightenment The Enlightenment can be captured in two primary thoughts: Firstly, the rise of the imperial self; dare to think for yourself, seek the supreme touchstone of truth in ones own reason. What this amounted to was the elevation of human reason to the position of ultimate authority. Secondly, a radical suspicion of authority and tradition, especially Christian authority and tradition. Characteristics of the Enlightenment: To summarize Reason could set us free! Reason offers answers to all of life s questions Reason offers objective, neutral, and unbiased ways of looking at the world Reason was seen as untainted and unbiased Reason was more important than tradition Reason brings improvement (agriculture, industry, social, politics, etc.) through rational methods Reason and technique Reason makes the world completely knowable Effects on the church Archbishop John Tillotson ( ). Tillotson argued that all problems related to the matters of religion could be investigated and ultimately resolved through the means of common sense and reason. The call of the Christian, according to Tillotson, was to cultivate a sense of duty and morality rather than focus on such outdated notions as original sin, substitutionary atonement, revelation, and the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit. Samuel Clarke ( ) John Toland ( ) Anthony Collins ( ) Thomas Woolston ( ) Matthew Tindal ( ) Christianity as old as the Creation (1730) Ultimately, the effect of this growing body of literature was that it began to move the Established Church inexorably away from orthodoxy towards Unitarianism and Deism. God was replaced with human reason; the supernatural was replaced with morality; revelation was replaced with the senses and the authority of the Church was replaced with the authority of the self. And so, God is indeed watching over us, but from far, far away

8 David Hume ( ) takes this thinking further and turns on deism as well as the supernaturalists. He rules out miracles entirely. Immanuel Kant ( ) self consciously placed humanity at the centre of the universe in his philosophy. François-Marie Arouet, better known by his pen name of Voltaire ( ) ridicules Christianity. He is one who attacks with sarcasm and criticism. What he wanted was a simple ethical religion based upon nature. He called Christianity a fraud and unreasonable When reason, freed from its chains, will teach the people that there is only one God, that this God is the universal father of all men, who are brothers; that these brothers must be good and just to one another, and that they must practise all the virtues; that God, being good and just, must reward virtue and punish crimes; surely, my brethren, men will be better for it, and less superstitious. Voltaire [and yet tell about Voltaire and his servants] If the universe was rational, knowable, explainable, and open to study, then this scientific approach could be applied to OURSELVES! The Rise of the Human Sciences All the things learned about the heavens, matter, physics, society, politics, etc. were to be now applied to the study of humans. Let s do for human nature what was done about the heavens and the natural world. We can apply the same scientific methods used when studying nature to the study of human nature When applied to humans, we become the subjects in the laboratory To become subjects of investigation, you had to first be willing to set aside the idea of PURPOSE and Imago Dei The Development of Anthropology Initially, people believed that human nature was unified. Why? Because we have a unified place of origin. To be human meant that you were a descendent of Adam and Eve (Augustine). It was this truth that defined us as humans. Several things begin to challenge this understanding in the 1400s up to the 1600s. There was the voyages of discovery that showed the existence of people in the Americas and elsewhere. The question became: how did they get there and still be descended? Were they good swimmers? But what happens when people travel and discover monstrous races in exotic places around the world? Were they really human? Pagan chronicles chronologies of world history from ancient civilizations which seemed to predate Adam and Eve. Did God create different human beings in different parts of the world? Such thinking was viewed as heresy!

9 And yet, the question was raised: maybe all races aren t unified! Maybe Europe is not that unique? And so, different solutions were put forth Isaac La peyrere Protestant who was fascinated with people in other cultures and locations. Why did they have such different cultures? How did the New World get populated? 1655 Preadamite Man the story of the biblical Adam is just the story of the Jewish people. All the rest of us are descended by some other "Adam". Different racial Adam? Proposed a theory of multiple origins poly-genesis A big debate ensues which pit the monogenists against the polygenists Behind polygenists ideas was the promotion of racism and slavery Critical of the Bible - argued that they were put together from different sources and we're open to criticism. Where this leads - bombshell! Human nature is up for grabs there is no common human nature! As inferior people groups were discovered, scientist theorized what human society would have looked like in the past What s more, these people groups in different lands seemed to have their own religious beliefs. So, the question was asked, Why do they believe these things? How did their environment shape what they believed? Hmmm perhaps science could also offer an explanation of the human understanding of God Biblical criticism - the use of non Biblical sources, non-theological sources, to critique the Bible. Beginnings of archeology. Extra-biblical bits of data to have a bearing to reading the Bible. Uses bits within the Bible to critique the Bible itself. Growing pressure to treat the Scriptures in the same way that Nature was being studied and understood. Needs to be dissected and its multiple origins need to be discovered Perhaps the Bible is simply one of many classical writings from history Science offered a neutral way to get to the same place it is safe and universal and you don t have to deal with denominations or kings Science is the basis for moral order (these things are self-evident) What is behind this? We begin to move away from what is distinctively Christian We begin to abandon the relational truth of Christianity Starting point is no longer God, but self Hubris through reason, we can understand everything (including how God functions) o Standing over, not standing under revelation in fact, revelation is viewed as increasingly unnecessary. We have REASON that should suffice. o Placing God as an object of investigation

10 The disappearance of wonder and awe (and compassion) because of the mechanistic view of reality Christianity s Response: Evangelicalism and Revival Ideas have consequences, and when God is removed from a person s life, then there are consequences on a society The rise of Evangelicalism takes place at this time Great Awakening and Evangelical Revival take place in the midst of the Enlightenment. Reaction against the effects of a mechanistic view of reality. Saw the dangers of Deism, but did not throw out the baby with the bathwater saw that head and heart could work together Emphasis on the experience of the saving work of Jesus in one s life and the experience of sanctification throughout one s days (A lively experience of faith) At the end of the Enlightenment period, there remained one area of science where appeals to the Divine still remained quite strong: biology. However, by the nineteenth-century, with the arrival of a fellow named Charles Darwin, even this began to change Up until this point, conversation about the nature of the world including humanity was rooted in a static world - a world that did not take into account change - The challenges that a dynamic system like Darwinism would soon bring would turn everything upside down. Next Week: Charles Darwin, Evolution, and the rise of Creation Science