RE: [asa] The ASA and the Soft Sciences (ASA focus for the future)

David said:
"Not that some mystical prophet will arise, but that they might help us see past our Western black-and-white approach to the ancient texts"

I didn't think people in the ASA saw things as black and white.

David said:
"...and maybe also help us better understand the limitations of the authority of the sciences at the same time"

You think most people in the ASA have overstated the use of science? Obviously some do, because in any organization some people do all kinds of wacky things. But as a whole, you think the ASA hasn't limited science appropriately? I can't understand why you are even suspecting such a thing. Maybe you should give an example.

I still don't understand why ASA can't be seen as the best possibility of figuring out how to reconcile science and religion, and some other place could do a better job.

...Bernie

________________________________
From: asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu [mailto:asa-owner@lists.calvin.edu] On Behalf Of David Opderbeck
Sent: Monday, January 05, 2009 5:49 AM
To: Murray Hogg
Cc: ASA
Subject: Re: [asa] The ASA and the Soft Sciences (ASA focus for the future)

Bernie -- what Murray is talking about here is exactly the sort of thing I had in mind by mentioning non-western cultures. Not that some mystical prophet will arise, but that they might help us see past our Western black-and-white approach to the ancient texts -- and maybe also help us better understand the limitations of the authority of the sciences at the same time.

David W. Opderbeck
Associate Professor of Law
Seton Hall University Law School
Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology

On Mon, Jan 5, 2009 at 7:39 AM, Murray Hogg <muzhogg@netspace.net.au<mailto:muzhogg@netspace.net.au>> wrote:
Hi All,

I'll only offer the observation here that the only people I've ever met who offer anything like a fully-orbed, theologically orthodox, scientifically informed, and biblically literate resolution of the nexus between evolution and Christian faith have been Australian Aboriginal Christians.

This is primarily because of the approach they take to Genesis - treating it as "a Dreaming" rather than as a historical narrative. I'm sorry that I can't easily flesh that out much more as the Dreaming is a quite profound approach to describing reality through the use of narrative which has no counterpart in western thought.

The problem for contemporary westerners is that we tend to have a pretty stark dichotomy between the notions of "history" and "myth" - with the former being "true" and the later "false." But the Dreaming is quite another category altogether - it reads like history, but it has more affinity with something like a Platonic plane of forms.

As such a Dreaming might read to us like a historical narrative, but it's actually a description of present reality, of the proper order of things, so to speak. As such to ask the question "did it happen?" is actually a category error (and will only result in much shaking of heads amongst Aboriginals dismayed by white-fella's ignorance). The only proper question is "is it so?" -- which one answers by appeal to the power of the Dreaming in question. Very powerful Dreamings have a sort of intuitive obviousness which can't be gainsaid and in some respects an Aboriginal might appropriate the famous words of CS Lewis to say something like: "I know that this Dreaming is true, not because I see it, but because by it I see everything else".

As a consequence of this sort of approach to Genesis, Australian Aboriginals tend not to find ANY difficulty in holding together evolution and the biblical account of creation. The key is not critiquing the science, but in understanding the role of creation stories in "ancient" cultures. Personally, I think westerners are by and large clueless on this score and, as David suggests, we could learn ALOT from our third-world brothers and sisters in regards to how creation stories should be appropriated.

Blessings,
Murray.

Dehler, Bernie wrote:
David, when you say:
"Maybe some of our brothers and sisters from parts of the world that aren't so influenced by rationalism will some day offer some solutions that /we/ will need to integrate"

I'm wondering what you could possibly mean by that. It seems to me that the educated western world is at the forefront of integrating science and religion; groups such as the ASA. How could another place come up with better understanding after groups like ASA have been struggling with it for many years- many of the brightest scientists and theologians? Are you thinking maybe a mystic or prophet of God will arise to illuminate all of this?

...Bernie

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Received on Mon Jan 5 11:43:59 2009