scholarly journals Nonoverlapping Magisteria

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 7-21
Author(s):  
Stephen Jay Gould

There is no conflict between science and religion. Creationism is only a local movement, prevalent only among the few sectors of American Protestantism that read the Bible as an inerrant, literally true document. Creationism based on biblical literalism makes little sense in either Catholicism or Judaism, for neither religion maintains any extensive tradition for reading the Bible as literal truth. The lack of conflict arises from a lack of overlap between the respective domains of professional expertise of science and religion. No conflict should exist because the magisteria of science and religion do not overlap. According to the principle of NOMA — “nonoverlapping magisteria” — science covers the empirical universe, while religion covers questions of moral meaning and ethical value. This principle was obeyed by both Pius XII and John Paul II. They both saw no conflict between Catholic faith and a theory of evolution. However, there is one important difference between their positions. Pius XII admitted evolution as a legitimate hypothesis, but at the same time he proclaimed that the theory of evolution had not been proven and might well be wrong. On the other hand, John Paul II stated that evolution can no longer be doubted. Now, he stated, evolution must be accepted not merely as a plausible possibility but also as an effectively proven fact. This fact is no threat to religion if one accepts the principle of NOMA. As a consequence of this principle, religion can no longer dictate the factual conclusions that belong to the magisterium of science, nor may scientists decide on moral truths.

2012 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 301-315
Author(s):  
Geert Lernout

According to the traditional (or ‘whig’) interpretation of history, sometime in the seventeenth century science was born in the form that we know today, in a new spirit that can best be summed up by the motto of the Royal Society: nullius in verba, take nobody's word for it. In the next few centuries this new critical way of looking at reality was instrumental in the creation of a coherent view of the world, and of that world's history, which was found to be increasingly at odds with traditional claims, most famously in the case of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. By the end of the nineteenth century, the divide between science and religion was described by means of words such as ‘conflict’ and ‘warfare,’ the terms used by John William Draper and Andrew Dickson White in the titles of their respective books: History of the Conflict between Religion and Science (1874) and History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom (1896).


1993 ◽  
Vol 49 (1/2) ◽  
Author(s):  
P. J. Van Dyk

Evolution: The misunderstanding between theology and biology Theological reaction to the theory of biological evolution ranged from an outright rejection to positive acceptance. Both these extreme viewpoints are, however, often mistaken in their basic assumptions. Rejection of evolution is often based on fundamentalist preconceptions th a t are both unnecessary and inconsistent with the Bible. On the other hand, acceptance of the theory of evolution is often based on an idealistic definition of evolution that is incongruous with the materialistic definition used by biologists.


2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-180
Author(s):  
David Foster

This article examines the use of movement and visual form in the film adaptation of Samuel Beckett's Comédie (Marin Karmitz, 1966). The article broaches the kinetic elements of the work through addressing the manner in which the diegetic motion of the film can be seen to reflect extra-diegetic cinematic processes. The sense of movement that is created through Comédie's montage is then considered at length, making use of work on this theme by two quite different (though tangentially related) theorists: Sergei Eisenstein and Jean-François Lyotard. The article then charts the film's different manifestations of formal movement, and a basic framework is proposed to explain the manner in which the film creates moments of intensity, through what is termed the ‘local movement’ of the montage, and the manner in which the film manifests an overall curve of intensity, through what is termed the montage's ‘global movement’. It is argued that each form of montagic motion is reflected in the other, and that ultimately these movements might be seen to dramatise a human drive towards, and a concomitant flight from, an impossible state of ontological totality.


Author(s):  
Viola Kita

Raymond Carver’s work provides the opportunity for a spiritual reading. The article that offers the greatest insight into spirituality is William Stull’s “Beyond Hopelessville: Another Side of Raymond Carver.” In it we can notice the darkness which is dominant in Carver’s early works with the optimism that is an essential part of Carver’s work “Cathedral”. A careful reading of “A Small Good Thing” and “The Bath” can give the idea that they are based on the allegory of spiritual rebirth which can be interpreted as a “symbol of Resurrection”. Despite Stull’s insisting in Carver’s stories allusions based on the Bible, it cannot be proved that the writer has made use of Christian imagery. Therefore, it can be concluded that spirituality in Carver’s work is one of the most confusing topics so far in the literary world because on one hand literary critics find a lot of biblical elements and on the other hand Carver himself refuses to be analyzed as a Christian writer.


2014 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-53
Author(s):  
Jeroen de Ridder

Much of Alvin Plantinga’s Where the Conflict Really Lies(2011) will contain few surprises for those who have been following his work over the past decades. This —I hasten to add — is nothing against the book. The fact alone that his ideas on various topics, which have appeared scattered throughout the literature, are now actualized, applied to the debate about the (alleged) conflict between science and religion, and organized into an overarching argument with a single focus makes this book worthwhile. Moreover, I see this book making significant progress on two opposite ends of the spectrum of views about science and religion. On the one end, we find the so-called new atheists and other conflict-mongers. Compared to the overheated rhetoric that oozes from their writings, this book is a breath of fresh air. Plantinga cuts right to the chase and soberly exposes the bare bones of the new atheists’ arguments. It immediately becomes clear how embarrassingly bare these bones really are. On the other end of the spectrum are theologians and scientists who envisage harmony and concord between science and religion.


2011 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jos Huls

This article discussed the use of the Bible in ‘Love’s hidden life and its recognizability by its fruits’, which is the first reflection of Søren Kierkegaard’s book, Works of love. Firstly, this article discussed Kierkegaard’s lack of clarity about the fruits of love, even though he stresses their divine origin. Secondly, it reflected on his argument that, even though deeds are more important than words, words remain necessary because of the need to express love to others. In a following section he points out that neither specific words nor particular works of love can demonstrate that love exists. One needs to distinguish between works of love and the attitude with which works are done. Thirdly, it pointed out how Kierkegaard argues that the inability to demonstrate love unconditionally does not negate that love is to be known by its fruits. It is rather a personal incitement to love for the sake of love itself. Noting that there is no direct relationship between the fruits of love and the actual effects our love has on others, he points to the fact that the result of love is in the hands of God. He then argues that though fruits of love may be invisible, they become apparent in the strength of our love. The only responsibility we have is to follow love as the divine movement of our heart. In the final part of his reflection, Kierkegaard notes that there is no other way to enter into the reality of love than to believe in it. This implies that one should be careful of making demands on someone in a loving relationship. What is needed is to become rooted in love as the divine source of the heart so that one will understand that this unseen reality is the foundation of existence in which one is known by the Other, whose essence is love.


2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-109
Author(s):  
Levente Balázs Martos

The concept of motivation is related to the encouraging effect on others on the one hand and the reasons for our own actions on the other. Motivation always reflects a specific set of values and tools, as well as behavior. In our short study, some of the fundamental values characteristic of the Bible will be presented, and then we observe the motivating presence of Jesus for his disciples in the narration of the fourth gospel, the Gospel of John.


2021 ◽  
Vol 101 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 376-398
Author(s):  
Nigel Smith

Abstract This article contrasts hostility toward visual and literary art in English radical Puritanism before the late seventeenth century with the central role of art for Dutch Mennonites, many involved in the commercial prosperity of Amsterdam. Both 1620s Mennonites and 1650s–1660s Quakers debated the relationship between literal truth of the Bible and claims for the power of a personally felt Holy Spirit. This was the intra-Mennonite “Two-Word Dispute,” and for Quakers an opportunity to attack Puritans who argued that the Bible was literally the Word of God, not the “light within.” Mennonites like Jan Theunisz and Quakers like Samuel Fisher made extensive use of learning, festive subversion and poetry. Texts from the earlier dispute were republished in order to traduce the Quakers when they came to Amsterdam in the 1650s and discovered openness to conversation but not conversion.


1995 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 169-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen J. Stein

In America the category ‘bible’ enjoys a privileged cultural position. That fact was brought home to me anecdotally several years ago when I received a telephone call forwarded through a departmental secretary. The woman on the other end of the line expressed frustration because she did not know what to do with a worn-out Bible. She asked if there was a proper way to handle the situation: should she bury it, or burn it? She was genuinely perplexed. Of one thing alone was she certain: she could not throw the Bible into a garbage can. As it turned out, I was of little help. I knew no liturgy for disposing of old Bibles, nor any special protocol for handling them. But I also do not remember ever throwing one away. I am accustomed to seeing old Bibles in attics or on shelves of used-book stores. The telephone call underscored in a practical way the special aura that surrounds the ‘bible’ in America.


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