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In Christ All Things Hold Together
An increasingly prevalent view that ignores God’s hand in the natural world and how confessional Lutherans might approach such a view is addressed in a new report from the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations (CTCR).
The report looks at “scientism,” the belief that the scientific method is the only way to gain knowledge and genuine truth.
“The title of the report,” said CTCR Executive Director Rev. Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, “reflects the foundational truth expressed by St. Paul in Colossians 1:16-17: ‘For by him [Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible … all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.’”
In its introduction, the new report explains scientism as “a particular approach to science — the materialistic science which has become dominant since the Enlightenment, [as] the only way to gain knowledge. While a modest empirical approach sees science as a useful, but limited instrument to be complemented by the findings of other disciplines (such as literature, philosophy and theology), scientism claims that a materialistic paradigm of investigation has a monopoly on human knowledge. The consequence is that metaphysics, religion, and even traditional ethics, lose their cognitive status and appear vulnerable to replacement by more enlightened thinking.”
According to its “overview,” the report “aims to serve as a constructive resource for thoughtful Christian reflection on the complex questions arising from the intersection of science, faith and Christian theology. Each of its five chapters provides conceptual tools and examples that should aid Christians in forming a faithful response to these questions, and which it is hoped will encourage more young people to pursue scientific careers in full knowledge of the nature and significance of the scientific vocation.”
The topics of the report’s five chapters and the points they cover are:
Chapter 1: Theological Foundations. Those foundations include the authority of Scripture and the proper role of reason, the proper relationship between God’s two books, the doctrine of vocation, Christianity and culture, a Christocentric approach to creation, image of God theology and Christian anthropology, and the theological underpinnings of modern science.
Chapter 2: Historical Context — including the attack on final causes and the decline of natural theology, the rise of autonomous reason and Naturalism, the view of science as a profession rather than a vocation, and the roots of moralistic therapeutic deisim.
Chapter 3: Philosophical Issues — the philosophical basis of scientism, philosophical problems for the scientific vocation and philosophical contributions of Christianity to science.
Chapter 4: Biblical Knowledge and Scientific Knowledge — knowing as a Christian, reading God’s Word — basic principles of interpretation, and biblical exegesis and modern science.
Chapter 5: Practical Applications — for students, teachers and investigators.
The report looks at “scientism,” the belief that the scientific method is the only way to gain knowledge and genuine truth.
“The title of the report,” said CTCR Executive Director Rev. Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, “reflects the foundational truth expressed by St. Paul in Colossians 1:16-17: ‘For by him [Christ] all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible … all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.’”
In its introduction, the new report explains scientism as “a particular approach to science — the materialistic science which has become dominant since the Enlightenment, [as] the only way to gain knowledge. While a modest empirical approach sees science as a useful, but limited instrument to be complemented by the findings of other disciplines (such as literature, philosophy and theology), scientism claims that a materialistic paradigm of investigation has a monopoly on human knowledge. The consequence is that metaphysics, religion, and even traditional ethics, lose their cognitive status and appear vulnerable to replacement by more enlightened thinking.”
According to its “overview,” the report “aims to serve as a constructive resource for thoughtful Christian reflection on the complex questions arising from the intersection of science, faith and Christian theology. Each of its five chapters provides conceptual tools and examples that should aid Christians in forming a faithful response to these questions, and which it is hoped will encourage more young people to pursue scientific careers in full knowledge of the nature and significance of the scientific vocation.”
The topics of the report’s five chapters and the points they cover are:
Chapter 1: Theological Foundations. Those foundations include the authority of Scripture and the proper role of reason, the proper relationship between God’s two books, the doctrine of vocation, Christianity and culture, a Christocentric approach to creation, image of God theology and Christian anthropology, and the theological underpinnings of modern science.
Chapter 2: Historical Context — including the attack on final causes and the decline of natural theology, the rise of autonomous reason and Naturalism, the view of science as a profession rather than a vocation, and the roots of moralistic therapeutic deisim.
Chapter 3: Philosophical Issues — the philosophical basis of scientism, philosophical problems for the scientific vocation and philosophical contributions of Christianity to science.
Chapter 4: Biblical Knowledge and Scientific Knowledge — knowing as a Christian, reading God’s Word — basic principles of interpretation, and biblical exegesis and modern science.
Chapter 5: Practical Applications — for students, teachers and investigators.
139 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
July 15, 2019
Fantastic little 140 page book on science in a Christian perspective. It packs a punch in a short span of time. I loved the writing, and I wish I knew who actually wrote this (because I'd read more of their work). I'd be curious to read other publications from this committee.
The footnotes have great bibliographic references, including:
Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers quite a bit, which has been on my TBR for ages.
Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design
Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design
The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism
But is It Science?: The Philosophical Question in the Creation/Evolution Controversy
The Soul of Science
From the same commission that gave us Theology and Practice of Prayer: A Lutheran View.
I will put the table of contents below as a method of showing the great ideas in this book.
Introduction: The Challenge of Scientism
An Overview of the Report
I. Theological Foundations
1. Introduction
2. The authority of Scripture and the proper role of reason
3. The proper relationship between God's "two books"
4. The doctrine of vocation
5. Christianity and culture
6. A Christocentric approach to creation
7. Image of God theology and Christian anthropology
8. The theological underpinnings of modern science
II. Historical Context
1. Introduction
2. The attack on final causes and the decline of natural theology
3. The rise of autonomous reason
4. The Newtonian world machine
5. The rise of naturalism
6. Science as a profession
7. The roots of moralistic therapeutic deism
8. Conclusion
III. Philosophical Issues
1. Introduction
2. Philosophical problems for the scientific vocation
3. Philosophical contributions of Christianity to science
4. Conclusion
IV. Biblical Knowledge and Scientific Knowledge
1. Introduction
2. Knowing as a Christian
3. Reading God's Word -- basic principles of interpretation
4. Biblical exegesis and modern science
5. Conclusion
V. Practical Applications
1. Introduction
2. Students
3. Teachers
4. Investigators
5. Non-scientists
6. Conclusion
The footnotes have great bibliographic references, including:
Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers quite a bit, which has been on my TBR for ages.
Darwin's Doubt: The Explosive Origin of Animal Life and the Case for Intelligent Design
Signature in the Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design
The Edge of Evolution: The Search for the Limits of Darwinism
But is It Science?: The Philosophical Question in the Creation/Evolution Controversy
The Soul of Science
From the same commission that gave us Theology and Practice of Prayer: A Lutheran View.
I will put the table of contents below as a method of showing the great ideas in this book.
Introduction: The Challenge of Scientism
An Overview of the Report
I. Theological Foundations
1. Introduction
2. The authority of Scripture and the proper role of reason
3. The proper relationship between God's "two books"
4. The doctrine of vocation
5. Christianity and culture
6. A Christocentric approach to creation
7. Image of God theology and Christian anthropology
8. The theological underpinnings of modern science
II. Historical Context
1. Introduction
2. The attack on final causes and the decline of natural theology
3. The rise of autonomous reason
4. The Newtonian world machine
5. The rise of naturalism
6. Science as a profession
7. The roots of moralistic therapeutic deism
8. Conclusion
III. Philosophical Issues
1. Introduction
2. Philosophical problems for the scientific vocation
3. Philosophical contributions of Christianity to science
4. Conclusion
IV. Biblical Knowledge and Scientific Knowledge
1. Introduction
2. Knowing as a Christian
3. Reading God's Word -- basic principles of interpretation
4. Biblical exegesis and modern science
5. Conclusion
V. Practical Applications
1. Introduction
2. Students
3. Teachers
4. Investigators
5. Non-scientists
6. Conclusion
August 6, 2020
This book mostly dealt with the philosophical aspects of science and theology. Which is fine, and I enjoyed reading it. But I got my BS because I like facts, data, hard evidence, and definite answers. Still, very useful and really made me think a lot. It also cited sooooo many books I now need to look into.
August 12, 2022
This is a tremendous guide for people who long for a constructive engagement of science and faith. The last chapter on how people of faith in a variety of vocations should engage science and scientific claims is pure gold!
October 5, 2015
This is a great book that deals with the history and philosophy of science and how Christians should practice and understand science in light of God's Word. Not a light read but well worth the effort, especially for those who are unsure of what approach to take when science and Scripture appear to conflict.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews