knowing God exists vs knowing God:
Christians say God can be known, not just knowing his existence n attributes but also personally, in a relationship
it’s argued that real Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship
James 4:8
Ephesians 1:7
Einstein: “Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind.”
science n religion:
there was a time when religion and scientific inquiry worked together.
universities like oxford and cambridge began from monastic scientific inquiry.
the separation of science and religion is a relatively recent phenomenon.
many famous scientists were influenced by the Bible to make discoveries.
some scientific facts were evident in the scriptures before science discovered them, e.g., the earth being a sphere and suspended in space.
they saw laws in nature and sought to explore how God, the lawmaker, caused things to work.
modern astrophysicist dr. hugh ross found 200 scientific facts in the bible before having faith in god.
well-known scientific theories are being challenged by modern scientists.
for many, the battle is not science vs. religion, but science vs. science.
bonaventure:
bonaventure, born giovanni di fidanza (1221 – 15 july 1274), was an italian medieval franciscan, scholastic theologian, and philosopher.
bonaventure discussed the relations between reason and faith.
he believed all sciences serve theology.
reason can discover some moral truths, but others require divine illumination.
to obtain divine illumination, the soul must use proper means: prayer, virtuous exercise, and meditation leading to ecstatic union with god.
bonaventure, like aquinas, believed in logically proving god's existence and the soul's immortality.
he argued for the existence of God.
unlike aquinas, bonaventure did not see philosophy as autonomous and believed it needed the light of faith to avoid serious errors.
3 different ways of knowing:
the eye of the flesh:
incorporates sense perception. this eye is the means by which we gain knowledge about the physical world » empiricism of science
the eye of reason:
the way of knowledge that lets us work out mathematical n philosophical truths through the use of logic
the eye of contemplation:
which is a w ay of knowing which allows us to come to a knowledge of God by going beyond the scope of sense experience and reason - gaining knowledge of God through faith
bonaventure’s view can be compared to the biblical belief of the regenerated triune man and his operation in three realms.
adam’s spirit died when he was separated from god by original sin.
the idea that we can know god differently from how we know other things is popular throughout christian history.
john polkinghorne:
binocular vision (using bonaventura’s metaphor):
he sees science through one eye - shows him the physical world and the laws n processes behind it
he sees spiritual truths about God through the other eye - shows him purposefulness and the world in the context of the creation of God
both eyes need to work tgt to give a complete picture in all its dimensinos
foolish for religious ppl to close an eye to science
foolish for scientists to close an eye to the possibilities of God
robert boyle:
In 17th and 18th C a metaphor for understanding how God can be known was popular; namely ‘God’s two books’
Boyle wrote his ideas in terms of those ‘two great books’; namely the natural world and the Bible both seen to be authored by God
Science and religion were complementary in enhancing people’s understanding and knowledge of God