THE AUTHORITY OF SCIENCE IN THEOLOGICAL REASONING: WITH CASE STUDY

From the standpoint of theology in the modern, liberal Christian tradition (including, but not limited to, mainstream Catholicism, Anglicanism, and liberal Protestantism), a "war", per se, between creation and evolution is generally not at issue, due to acceptance of the results of physical science as important descriptions of reality that must be considered in theological examinations of the meaning of "Creation". This talk will present a classical liberal Christian perspective on the nature of authority in theological thinking, focusing in particular on the "Anglican stool" of scripture, tradition, and reason--the latter being broadly understood to encompass human experience in all its dimensions, including science. In this conception, the widely-held findings of science are not external to theology but rather are internal, and thus may lead to difficult issues and possible (at least contingent) contradictions. It is not considered acceptable to sidestep such problems by the expedient of putting the findings of science and theology in separate "boxes" that need not be addressed simultaneously, or which can even be at "war". Some of these issues and contradictions may present deep challenges to core theological affirmations. One of these challenges concerns the fact of genetic mutation as part of the evolution of life, and its implications for the special care for human life affirmed in the Christian scriptures and traditional theology. In this talk, a similar internalization of findings from ecosystem science will be examined for their implications concerning the understanding of the Christian doctrine of Incarnation (God becomes "flesh", as revealed by the life of Jesus of Nazareth). The far-reaching implications of this internalization are viewed as the necessary result of including reason as a CO-EQUAL, not subordinate, authority in theological reflection. This kind of discourse between science and religion is proposed as one tool, driven by theological perspectives themselves, for a more constructive dialog between these ancient, deep, and awe-inspiring modes of human experience.

The author is an Anglican priest (in the Episcopal Church), scientist (paleoecology and paleoclimatology), and educator (earth history, ecology, environmental ethics, and creation theology).