RE: [asa] Theology of Nature

I have never heard a clear and logical explanation of why the reasoning
ability of man to do abstract thinking , say mathematical and
theoretical physics thinking, is necessary for survival. In fact, the
development of the atomic bomb proves that it is quite the opposite
since such discoveries can lead to the total elimination of humankind.

Moorad

-----Original Message-----
From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On
Behalf Of Ted Davis
Sent: Friday, October 24, 2008 9:42 AM
To: ASA; gregoryarago@yahoo.ca
Subject: Re: [asa] Theology of Nature

Gregory:

Any rationality that we can find in "nature" (a word that, as Boyle
emphasized, is not found in the Hebrew Bible) is discoverable by us only
b/c
(1) God put it there--that is, God made the order that we can find--and
(2)
God also gave us the gift of reason, making us in his image. Nature has
no
mind of its own, but it does reflect an aspect of God's
personality--namely
the presence of contingent order. Order, b/c God is a God of order, who
brought order out of chaos "in the beginning." Contingent, b/c God's
will
is not wholly determined by God's reason; here I follow M B Foster and
others who reject Leibniz' rationalistic God, who must always act
conformably to reason.

Ted

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Received on Fri Oct 24 10:01:28 2008