vol 3: Development
cap 1
page
Site map
Directory
Search this site
Home
1: About
2: Synopsis
3: Development
Next:
Previous: Theology Toc
... to restore theology to the mainstream of science
Is theology a science?
The hypothesis underlying this site is that the universe is divine. Although we cannot know the whole in detail, we can know about things near us and use this knowledge to extrapolate to the whole. In this way Einstein was able to extrapolate from the local physics described by the special theory of relativity to the global physics of the general theory. We may describe features which we feel to be true of the whole as metaphysical, and so, like Aristotle, we identify metaphysics and theology.
This theology is to be scientific, based on experienceI see the most desirable feature of any future theology to be the ability to embrace all historical theologies. At first glance, theology seems to correlate with language. Each language group of people has a set of narratives that explain their origin and history.
One option available to theology is to take the route taken by the sciences. Scientists have overcome their language barriers by adding mathematical expressions and physical observations to their linguistic toolkit. Meanings in every language are fixed by anchoring them to demonstrable objects in the world, as when we name a tree Eucalyptus citriodora. Mathematics allows us to greatly expand the set of relationships between things that can enter into our hypotheses.
My proposal is that we create a mathematical model of god (or not-god!) and see if it is possible to map such a model onto the world we experience. Scientific method is cyclic. One begins with a model, a creative construct of the mind guided by experience. Observational consequences flowing from the model provide tell us whether or not it usefully describes reality.
When Galileo used his telescope to observe the phases of Venus, for instance, this gave him critical information about the spatial relationships of Earth, Venus and the Sun which made it impossible to believe that the earth was at the centre of the solar system.
The Christian god is invisible, its properties defined by ancient law and custom. There seems to be no foothold for the scientific method. To defend this position the Catholic Church maintains to this day that it has access to sources of information which are not available to the general community [see, for instance, Pope John Paul II's views on Evolution].
Theology is not outside science, however. I know from my own experience that the Catholic model is false because one of its consequences is that I am a defective being, an original sinner. There is not the slightest scientific evidence for this position in anything we know about the natural world.
The scientific purpose of this site is to bring theology in from the cold to once more join the galaxy of science which it left around the time of Galileo. If theology is to be scientific, we must be able to observe God. In other words, we must put aside the invisible Christian god and consider the possibility that the universe itself is divine. A consequence of this assumption is that we are part of God and that the universe.
Despite the defects that many find in the world, it is as perfect as can be, and plays the role of god for us. From it we obtain our life, by it our activites are judged. The art of survival is to act in a way pleasing to our world, so that it will yield the treaures we need to live.
Click on an "Amazon" link in the booklist at the foot of the page to buy the book, see more details or search for similar items
Related sites:
Concordat Watch
Revealing Vatican attempts to propagate its religion by international treaty
