Viewpoint

Natural Theology

Broom and Pender's article [Scientists, Bungy Jumpers and God, Nov 91] touches on a complex of issues regarding the relationship between science and religion which is long overdue for a reappraisal by the scientific community.

To argue that these two fields of human enquiry occupy strictly demarcated spheres of influence, as is implied by their concluding sentence, is an unrealistic proposition. Historically, numerous attempts have been made by scholars to find a common ground for the two, such as by Aristotle and Aquinas, and in more recent times by Teilhard de Chardin, Dobzhansky and New Zealand's own John Morton.

In the eyes of the general public, science and religion are perceived as "conflicting" models of reality vying for people's "faith", as witness the perennial public debate about evolution/creation. But, in direct contrast to Broom and Pender's claim that science has no role in discussing ultimate questions like purpose, there are frequently occurring statements in scientific journals emanating from noted writers such as Stephen Hawking, Paul Davies and John Gribben to the effect that the Universe exhibits design and purpose.

The desirability of wedding science and religion was spurred by the medival hypothesis that knowledge of God was accessible through reason. This led to Natural Theology, a composite approach to reality. The rise of empiricism introduced a serious epistemological wedge between the "natural" and "theological" components of this holism, and Natural Theology declined rapidly after 1859 during the furore over origins.

However, a quiet contemporary revolution in biblical scholarship weakened the epistemological platform of biblical literalism on which opposition to scientific models concerning origins was based. This paved the way for the 20th-century demythologising of Christian faith. It was in response to both biblical scholarship and science that the reactionary fundamentalist movement arose in the US around the turn of the century. It is this vocal fringe -- not mainstream Christianity -- which continues to reinforce the public "rift" between science and religion.

Following Teilhard de Chardin's cautious efforts at reconciling science and religion in the 1930s though his hypothesis of an "Omega Point" towards which the Universe is evolving, the tensions between science and Christianity have been largely defused. It is noteworthy that the Big Bang Theory was accepted by the Vatican in 1951 as being more consistent with scriptural accounts of a sudden, dramatic creation than the prior-held Steady-State Theory.

Cosmology appears to be emerging as a nexus of physical and metaphysical concepts. In my view, a new Natural Theology is emerging through avant-garde physics.

Barend Vlaardingerbroek is a science education lecturer at PNG University