 | Ramified Natural Theology in Science and Religion: Moving Forward from Natural Theology Subjects: Humanities; Religion; Philosophy; Philosophy of Religion; Philosophy of Science; Religion and Philosophy; Christianity; Religion in Context; This book offers a rationale for a new 'ramified natural theology' that is in dialogue with both science and historical-critical study of the Bible. Traditionally, knowledge of God has been seen to come from two sources, nature and revelation. However, a rigid separation between these sources cannot be maintained, since what purports to be revelation cannot be accepted without qualification: rational argument is needed to infer both the existence of God from nature and the particular truth claims of the Christian faith from the Bible. Hence the distinction between 'bare natural theology' and 'ramified natural theology.' The book begins with bare natural theology as background to its main focus on ramified natural theology. Bayesian confirmation theory is utilised to evaluate competing hypotheses in both cases, in a similar manner to that by which competing hypotheses in science can be evaluated on the basis of empirical data. In this way a case is built up for the rationality of a Christian theist worldview. Addressing issues of science, theology and revelation in a new framework, this book will be of keen interest to scholars working in Religion and Science, Natural Theology, Philosophy of Religion, Biblical Studies, Systematic Theology, and Science and Culture. Rodney Holder was Course Director of The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, Cambridge, UK, before retiring in 2013, and is a Fellow Commoner of St Edmund's College, Cambridge. He has published widely in the fields of science and religion and natural theology including the book Big Bang, Big God: A Universe Designed for Life? (2013) and articles in peer reviewed journals such as The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science , Theology and Science , and Philosophia Christi . |
