Category Archives: Theology

Science and divine judgement

Posted on 11/09/2015 by Jon Garvey

There was a bit of a discussion on BioLogos not long ago about the possibility of miracles in relation to scientific laws. Interesting enough, but the subject has been treated quite frequently, in point of fact, from C S Lewis through to Alvin Plantinga. And it’s not really that controversial amongst contemporary Evangelicals, the target audience. As I pointed out there there’s been an intriguing change in general attitude to miracles within my lifetime, from something no modern man could countenance to something only old-fashioned atheists reject out of hand. But there’s a related field of divine action that’s both more ubiquitous and more controversial than that of occasional miracles.

Posted in Creation, Science, Theology | 12 Comments

And talking of Elizabeth II…

Posted on 09/09/2015 by Jon Garvey

Today is actually the day that the length of her reign overtakes that of Queen Victoria, making her the longest ruling of Britain’s forty monarchs since the Norman Conquest in 1066. As an individual she now has pretty universal respect. Opinions vary about the effectiveness of her reign, from historian David Starkey’s assertion that she’s never said anything that will be remembered, to others who consider that her management of the changes in Britain, from a stiff nominally Christian state to a secular one, and from an imperial power to a more modest world-player, has been masterful.

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Early Christian timelines

Posted on 31/08/2015 by Jon Garvey

I decided to read some of the earliest Christian writings again, a decision triggered, I guess, by the discussion of New Testament “oral texts” in The Lost World of Scripture, which I recently reviewed. First up in my Penguin edition is the first letter of Clement of Rome to the church in Corinth.

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The Lost World of Scripture

Posted on 24/08/2015 by Jon Garvey

  I’m beginning to feel that my reading of John H Walton’s books is in danger of resembling that of a Harry Potter fan: the next in the “Lost World” series is always a must-read. The Lost World of Scripture is actually a joint effort with NT scholar D Brent Sandy, and being from 2013 isn’t his latest work. And though it arises from Walton’s overriding concern with comparative studies in biblical understanding, its purpose is to apply such studies to the key issue of “Scriptural Inerrancy” in the light of American Evangelicalism’s recent loss of focus and confidence on this issue. It’s an important contribution.

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Creation and Election

Posted on 19/08/2015 by Jon Garvey

The BioLogos thread on the historicity of Adam turns out to be another important one, though the most interesting bit has got hived off to a sub-thread involving the Usual Suspects here, one Ex-Suspect and Christy (who so far is not suspected of anything, though she’d be most welcome on The Hump). I venture to suggest that amongst these there is broad agreement (though they may not fully realise it) that classical Christianity requires that Adam and Eve are not optional, and that attempts to make them so at least amount to new doctrine (so Eddie) and more strongly that such attempts amount to heterodoxy. That a significant strand in … Continue reading →

Posted in Adam, Creation, Science, Theology | 21 Comments

You heard it here first

Posted on 17/08/2015 by Jon Garvey

V J Torley, in a piece on Uncommon Descent, cites ex-Biologos TE Karl Giberson writing a blurb for atheist John Loftus’ new book, in which Giberson does a mea culpa for the weakness of his “free creation” defence of Christianity in relation to evolution.

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Every tale…

Posted on 10/08/2015 by Jon Garvey

I caught a snippet on the radio this morning, from a discussion amongst novelists on what led them to start reading books. One particular author, whose name I didn’t catch, but who is evidently Glaswegian from his accent, said that he first read to escape from the chaotic nature of his family life.

Posted in Creation, Politics and sociology, Theology | 2 Comments

Some bad scientists, bad theologians, bad philosophers – 2

Posted on 07/08/2015 by Jon Garvey

In yesterday’s post I recounted some of the panoply of thinkers who have propounded the argument from design down the centuries. At the beginning I asked at what point this respectable enterprise had become “bad science and bad theology”. The usual answer would seem to be that Darwin confronted William Paley and overcame.

Posted in Creation, Philosophy, Science, Theology | 2 Comments

Some bad scientists, bad theologians, bad philosophers – 1

Posted on 06/08/2015 by Jon Garvey

Well, it seems BioLogos and the Discovery Institute are once more locked in contention for the heart and mind of (I suppose) the Informed Christian. The recent spat seems mainly to stem from BioLogian Jim Stump’s review of a book on design arguments, and can be summed up (from that side) in the now well-worn phrase: Design arguments are bad science and bad theology.

Posted in Creation, History, Philosophy, Science, Theology | 5 Comments

Paradigms that don’t fit

Posted on 04/08/2015 by Jon Garvey

In my last post I mentioned in passing YEC thinker Dr Arthur Jones, who has commented here in the past and who is remarkable in being one of the only people ever to get a PhD in evolutionary biology with original research leading to anti-evolutionary conclusions. The link was intended as an introduction to him, but the essay so linked is educational in its own right. It shows a remarkable degree of perception on the stuff I discussed in the last post, given that it was written back in 1970, even before his PhD, and only eight years after Kuhn published his book on paradigm shifts in science.

Posted in Creation, Philosophy, Science, Theology | 6 Comments