vol 3: Development
7 Theology
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This site is part of the natural religion project The natural religion project A new theology A commentary on the Summa The theology company
Theology: Introduction
Theology is about the whole. In the Christian tradition, the whole has been divided into two very unequal parts, god and the world. Here I propose to replace this dichotomy with a spectrum running from the simplest entities in the whole to the most complex. This spectrum does not describe god, but provides us with a sort of arrow, pointing toward god. We fit somewhere in that spectrum, between atoms and galaxies. On this hypothesis, we are divine parts of a divine whole.
Let us assume that theology, since it applies to the whole, must be consistent with every part of the whole. We cannot see the whole, but we can see the parts. Using our consistency assumption, what can the parts tell us about the invisible whole? If theology is to be scientific, such logical consistency is not enough. Theological models must be compared to the experiences they model to see if they fit. This brings us to the fundamental question: does the model proposed here fit human experience better than the Christian model?
A mathematical model of the arrow pointing toward god is under construction in another section of this site. Model. Here we propose a way to map this model onto everyday human experience, so giving it meaning for us. Then we may stand back and see whether our modelling looks true to life, or whether it needs further adjustment. A common element of scientific belief is that we shall never get to the end of the detail of the world. Not least because as we seek more and more detail, we add more details in the process.
Since we are (by assumption) part of god, a fitting model of human experience will lead us to god through theology. Each science is looking for invariant structures and symmetries in the subject that it studies. The notion of evolution, for instance, has explanatory power right across the spectrum of life. In this picture, theology, since it deals with the whole, is interested in finding structures that are invariant across the whole spectrum of existence. Once we find such a structure and identify it within ourselves, we can apply it to other entities with some feeling for what it means. We can also, because it is an arrow, project it 'up' to god and 'down' to the particles which we currently see as the smallest parts of god.
This proposal, 'natural theology' (think natural science) is a transformation of the Christian theology propounded by the Roman Catholic Church. This theology came to be from the fusion of Greek and Hebrew tradition which grew during the slow death of the Roman Empire. The medieval synthesis written by Thomas Aquinas put all the ancient wisdom in perspective, laying the foundation for the Galilean and Lutheran revolutions. The gulf between science and theology became so wide that it was proposed to divide science into natural and spiritual science, each with its own methods. Here we attempt a unification under the title of natural theology, and its counterpart, natural religion.
The Greeks started with a pantheon of very human gods who loved and fought one another and through their activities somehow guided (and misguided) the human world. After about 700 bc, Greek thinkers began to move toward a more scientific view of the world, and gradually refined the idea of god using quite sophisticated physical, psychological and metaphysical models.
This process reached its high point in the work of Aristotle and Plato, which laid the foundations for much that came after. Between them Aristotle and Plato saw God as the One, the source of being, the unmoved first mover, spiritual rather than material, invisible, all attributes that stayed with the Christian God. All the Greek god lacked was personality, the philosophers having refined personalities out of their world view.
The personality of the Christian god came from the Hebrew tradition. These two traditions met three or four hundred years after the death of Aristotle, when Christian missionaries first began to take their ideas out of Jerusalem to other parts of the Mediterranean, including Rome, Athens, Alexandria. The result was a set of religious institutions have lasted for nearly two thousand years and had an enormous influence on human affairs.
These ancient religions have a common weakness however. They are based primarily on the interpretation of ancient texts rather than on the interpretation of everyday human experience. True, these texts are records of human experience, but of a very limited point in the space and time of human experience.
The 'hard' science were able to break away from the textual model long ago. The exciting stories which they read in the book of nature were more than enough reward for the effort. And our history shows that the application of this new information has transformed human life possibly as much as religion ever did. Theology has been left behind in this revolution, partly because of the difficulty of its material, partly from institutional inertia.
For the institutions, the vision of god is the carrot they use to ensure the loyalty and contributions of their members. If the universe is divine and we can have our carrot right now, how will the institutions survive? The way to overcome this institutional inertia in theology, as in science, is to demonstrate results exciting enough to attract attention.
That is the aim of this site.
(revised 1 July 2007)
Further reading
Books
| Aquinas, Thomas, Summa Theologica (translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province), Tabor Publishing 1981 'Brother Thomas raised new problems in his teaching, invented a new method, used new systems of proof. To hear him teach a new doctrine, with new arguments, one could not doubt that God, by the irradiation of this new light and by the novelty of this inspiration, gave him the power to teach, by the spoken and written word, new opinions and new knowledge.' (William of Tocco, T's first biographer) Amazon back |
| Avis, Paul D L, The Methods of Modern Theology : the Dream of Reason , Marshall Pickering 1986 'The purpose of this book is to give an in depth critical introduction to the methods of modern theology.' [xi] Discusses Barth, Lonergan, Pannenberg, Rahner, Ritschl, Schleiermacher, Tennant and Tillich . Amazon back |
| Chan, Wing-Tsit (translator and editor) , A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy , Princeton UP 1969-1973 Preface: ' ... in order to understand the mind of China, it is absolutely necessary to understand Chinese thought, especially neo-Confucianism in its entire historical development. The present book has been prepared primarily to meet this urgent need. ... my choice of philosophers and schools has been guided by theior relative influence on the development of Chinese thought, not by the temporary interest of non-Chinese scholars.' ix Amazon back |
| Denzinger, Henricus, Enchiridion Symbolorum, Definitionum et Declarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum, Herder 1963 Introduction: 'Dubium non est quin praeter s. Scripturam cuique theologo summe desiderandus sit etiam liber manualis quo contineantur edicta Magisterii ecclesiastici eaque saltem maioris momenti, et quo ope variorim indicum quaerenti aperiantur eorum materiae.' (3) 'There is no doubt that in addition to holy Scripture, every theologian also needs a handbook which contains at least the more important edicts of the Magisterium of the Church, indexed in a way which makes them easy to find.'back |
| Ford, David, The Modern Theologians : An Introduction to Christian Theology in the Twentieth Century, Blackwell 1997 Preface: 'The main aim of this volume is to introduce the theology of most leading twentieth-century Christian theologians and movements in theology. ... The contributors are mostly based in Europe of North America and come from a wide range of institutions, denominational backgrounds, and countries. Most are themselves constructively engaged in modern theology, and their purpose has been to produce a scholarly account of their subject and also carry further the theological dialogue in each case." http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0631195920/tnrp">Amazon back |
| Fredriksen, Paula, From Jesus to Christ: The Origins of the New Testament Images of Jesus, Yale University Press 1988 Jacket: 'How did Jesus of Nazareth become the Christs of the Christian tradition? And why did the early Christian communities develop different theological images of Jesus? In this exciting book, PF answers these questions by placing he various canonical images of Jesus within their historical context.' Amazon back |
| Goddard, Dwight, A Buddhist Bible, Beacon 1970 Introduction: '[This] was one of the books that simulated the Western interest in Buddhism ... . The real reasonm for restoring the book to print and for making it available to a wider audience through paperback is not historical, however, but contemporary. No other collection quite takes its place. Some of its companions have individual virtues which Goddard's collection cannot boast, but for the reader who is looking for scholarship and meaning, coverage and control - all four - I know of no alternative that is equal.' Huston Smith (vii) Amazon back |
| Haight, Roger, Jesus Symbol of God, Orbis Books 1999 Jacket: 'This book is the flagship of the fleet of late twentieth century works that show American Catholic theology has indeed come of age. Deeply thoghtful in its exposition, lucid in its method, and by turns challenging and inspiring in its conclusions, this christology gives a new articulation of the saving "point" of it all. ... Highly recommended for all who think about and study theology.' Elizabeth Johnson CSJ, Fordham University. Amazon back |
| Jackson, Roger, Buddhist Theology: Critical reflections by contemporary Buddhist ScholarsRichmond, Curzon Press 1999 Jacket: 'This volume is the expression of a new development in the academic study of Buddhism: scholars of Buddhism, themselves Buddhist, who seek to apply the critical tools of the academy to reassess the truth and transformative value of their tradition in its relevance to the modern world.' Amazon back |
| Jones, Alexander (ed), The Jerusalem Bible, Darton Longman and Todd 1966 Editor's Foreword: '... The Bible ... is of its nature a written charter guaranteed (as Christians believe) by the Spirit of God, crystallised in antiquity, never to be changed ... . This present volume is the English equivalent of [La Bible de Jerusalem] ... an entirely faithful version of the ancient texts which, in doubntful points, preserves the text established and (for the most part) the interpretation adopted by the French scholars in the light of the most recent researches in the fields of history, archaeology and literary criticism.' (v-vi) Amazon back |
| Knowles, David, The Evolution of Medieval Thought, 1989 Preface: '... this book is an endeavour to present medieval or schalastic philosophy as a direct continuation of Greek thought, coloured though it may be by its surroundings, and impoverished by many losses, but also fertilized and enriched by Christian teaching.' Amazon back |
| Lonergan, Bernard J F, Method in Theology, University of Toronto Press for Lonergan Research Institute 1996 Introduction: A theology mediates between a cultural matrix and the signifcance and role of religion in that matrix. ... When the classicist notion of culture prevails, theology is conceived as a permanent achievement, and then one discourses on its nature. When culture is conceived empirically, theology is known to be an ongoing process, and then one writes on its method. Method ... is a framework for collaborative creativity.' Amazon back |
| O'Murchu, Diarmuid, Quantum Theology : Spiritual Implications of the New Physics , Crossroad Publishing Company 1997 Jacket: 'For quantum theorists, the fact that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts underpins all reality. "This is not merely a scientific principle of immense significance for our times" writes DO'M, "it is also a theological norm, known to mystics for centuries and now maturing into the supreme wisdom of our age."' Amazon back |
| Reese, William L, Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion: Eastern and Western Thought, Humanities Press/Harvester Press 1996 'The present volume ... has many encyclopedic features, including analyses of the thought of all major philosophers and religious leaders. ... One of the key features of the volume is the extent of its cross references. ... The reader is thus encouraged to undertake his own explorations of the themes, movements and thinkers important in philosophy and religion.' Amazon back |
| Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro, Studies in Zen, Rider and Co, for the Buddhist Society 1953 Studies in Zen is the eigth volume of the collected works of DT Suzuki. Jacket: 'These studies, packed with the jewels of Zen wisdom, and written with unrivalled knowledge, will appeal to all who seek a deeper understanding of Eastern ways of thought and spiritual achievement. For Zen is unique in the whole range of human understanding, and Dr. Suzuki is accepted as its greatest exponent. Amazon back |
| Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro, Mysticism, Christian and Buddhist, George Allen and Unwin 1976 Jacket: 'In this clear account of the essentials of mysticism, Mr. Suzuki has taken as examples the Zen Buddhism of the East and the reflections of Meister Eckhart. With a wealth of illustration and explanation, he shows how the Chinese sage and the German philosopher meet on common ground.' Amazon back |
| Tracy, David, The Analogical Imagination: Christian Theology and the Culture of Pluralism, Crossroad 1991 Preface: 'The major question this book addresses is a perplexing one. In a culture of pluralism must each religious tradition finally either dissolve in some lowest common denominator or accept a marginal existence as one interesting but purely private option? Neither alternative is acceptable to anyone seriously committed to the truth of any major religious tradition. The need is to form a new and inevitably complex theological strategy that will avoid privatism by articulating hte genuine claims of religion to truth.' xi. Amazon back |
Papers
| Charlesworth, Hilary, "No principled reason", Eureka Street, 7, 9, November 1997, page 24-31. 'HC on human rights and religious traditions'. back |
| Crotty, Robert, "That holy night", Eureka Street, 7, 10, December 1997, page 33-37. 'RC on the history of the Christmas story'. back |
| Lee, Dorothy A, "Dethroning the Goddess", Eureka Street, 3, 3, April 1993, page 21-23. 'She Who Must be Obeyed won't comfort femininist theologians any more than He Who Must Be Obeyed, argues DL. back |
| Strutt, Victoria, "The geography of silence", Eureka Street, 9, 6, July/August 1999, page . 'VS ponders the dynamics of silence in two Vipassana meditation retreats'. back |
Links
| ACU Australian Catholic University back |
| Augustine Augustine of Hippo back |
| Bernard Lonergan Sites On or About Bernard Lonergan back |
| Ccel.org Christian Classics Ethereal Library Collection of Christian documents back |
| CTNS The Center for Theology & the Natural Sciences (CTNS) The mission of CTNS is to promote the creative mutual interaction between contemporary theology and the natural sciences. back |
| CUA Catholic University of America back |
| Internet Theology Resources Internet Theology Resources/Scholarly Societies back |
| Jesuit Publications Eureka Street "A magazine of public affairs, the arts and theology" back |
| Murdoch University Murdoch University - Theology Programme back |
| Science and Theology The Science and Theology Web Ring back |
| Teilhard de Chardin Teilhard de Chardin Study Group back |
| The Holy See The Holy See The see of Rome; the office or jurisdiction of the pope; the papal court. back |
| Thomas Aquinas Summa The medieval theological classic back |
| University of Cambridge Theology and Religious Studies, Faculty of Divinity, back |
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