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Natural Theology: The Process

Natural Theology: The Process. Victoria Popoola. Definition…. Natural Theology is a branch of theology based on reason and ordinary experience that explains God’s rational as a part of the physical world

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Natural Theology: The Process

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  1. Natural Theology: The Process Victoria Popoola

  2. Definition… • Natural Theology is a branch of theology based on reason and ordinary experience that explains God’s rational as a part of the physical world • deals with describing nature and the existence of God lacking special or supposed supernatural revelation

  3. In the Beginning… •  In about 116 -27 BC, Marcus Terentius Varro established a distinction of three kinds of theology • Civil – “the people” asking how God relates to daily life and the state • Natural – philosophers asking for the nature of God or gods • Mystical – poets crafting mythology

  4. …Still the Beginning… • Natural Theology was formulated at a time where people preferred Deism. • Deism is basically a theistic position based upon the preference of natural reason over sacred revelation • Only “chosen people” experienced divine revelations • High Middle Ages • Made fixed part of Roman Catholic dogma in 1870 • Not intended to replace faith or grace of God revealed in Christ • Opportunity to establish certain truth by means common to all

  5. Natural Theology Advocates… • Thomas Aquinas • Adopted Aristotle’s beliefs • First great proponent of Natural Theology • Synthesized Greek philosophy and the Gospel • Laid groundwork for “natural law” • defined theology as a "science" in the Aristotelian sense, that is, a definable body of knowledge with its own sources, principles, methods, and content; beyond the truths derived from the study of Scripture there was another body of compatible truths based upon the application of reason to the created world

  6. Natural Theology Advocates • William Paley • Made Natural Theology best known to Englishmen in the 1800s • How life works? • Used a mechanical analogy of the world, comparing it to a watch • Design qua purpose – purpose behind the design • Describes intricacies of • human eye, • the lacteal systems in mammals • design of a bird's wing

  7. Human Eye

  8. Lacteal System in Mammals

  9. Bird's Wing

  10. Opponents of Natural Theology • Charles Darwin • Occupied Paley’s room at Cambridge University • 1838 –1859 Natural Selection “On the Origin of Species” • Major conflict • Explaining adaptation

  11. Opponents of Natural Theology • David Hume • 18th century philosopher • Criticized Paley in "Dialogues concerning Natural Religion“ • Argued that God of theism could not be “THE Designer” • Said designer would be capable of making mistakes and have successes • Explains imperfections • Or theory of team of gods/goddesses

  12. Natural Theology Today • Science demonstrates dynamics of nature • 20th century, Natural Theology out of favor • Metaphysics • Theory of Evolution widely accepted • Second half of 20th century, Metaphysics and Natural Theology Return • Practiced with a degree of diversity and confidence unprecedented since the late Middle Ages

  13. SUMMARY • Natural Theology - deals with describing nature and the existence of God lacking special or supposed supernatural revelation. • High Middle Ages, 1870 • Advocates • Thomas Aquinas, William Paley • Opponents • Charles Darwin, David Hume • Natural theology, more evolved today

  14. References • http://www.nicolaabbagnano.it/archivio_di/03.pdf • http://www.helium.com/items/1119397-teleological-argument • http://mb-soft.com/believe/txn/natural.htm • http://books.google.com/books?id=gG_2YyDX3_YC&printsec=frontcover • http://books.google.com/books?id=p-PSrKkzDCMC&printsec=frontcover • https://ptx-cca-s3.net.umd.edu/auth/perfigo_weblogin.jsp?cm=ws32vklm&uri=http%3A%2F%2Fatheism.about.com%2Fod%2Ftheology%2Fa%2Fnatural.htmcv • http://evolution.berkeley.eduhttp://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/_0/history_03 • http://www.iep.utm.edu/t/theo-nat.htm#H7 • http://books.google.com/ooks?id=il5LAAAAIAAJ&printsec=titlepage • http://mb-soft.com/believe/txn/natural.htm • http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/metaphysics/

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