>I have heard the epithet "God of the gaps" frequently. It seems to be a
>label used for views in which God's action seems to be confined to the
>voids in our knowledge. But that's about all I know about it. Do any of
>you know anything of the history of this phrase? A colleague claims
>Dietrich Bonhoeffer used it in one of his writings, but couldn't
>immediately give me a reference. I think there are several logical flaws
>with the phrase itself -- with the connotations people draw from it -- and
>I'm writing an article on them. But I'd like to know more about the
>history of the phrase itself before I publish. Sorry for the vagueness of
>this, but most of what I know about "God of the gaps" has been gleaned from
>seeing it used (sometimes against me :-)) in the heat of an argument.
Hopefully you'll let us know when the article is published.
Surfing around, I found reference to the following:
Bube, R. (1993). "The Failure of the God-of-the-Gaps",
in <Religion and the natural sciences : the range of
engagement> [compiled by] James E. Huchingson, Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich College Publishers.
Unfortunately, our library doesn't have this book.
I have no idea when the phrase originated, but I think
the episode I mentioned in another thread regarding
Newton and Laplace certainly qualifies as a God of
the gaps style argument whether that phrase was used
or not. What I had written on this is buried in a
lengthy post and may have escaped the attention of
practically everyone :).
Basically, Newton could not figure out how, given his
laws, the solar system could be stable. He concluded
that God was regularly intervening in order to keep it
from going unstable. Pierre-Simon de Laplace was able
to accomplish what the master could not, i.e. he showed
intervention to be unnecessary. Supposedly Napoleon said
to Laplace:
"They tell me that you have written this huge book on the
system of the universe without once mentioning its Creator."
to which Laplace replied:
"I have no need for that hypothesis."
I'm not sure, but given Laplace's arrogance
it's quite possible he was taking a jab at Newton
here. Laplace has been quoted over and over and over
with, IMHO, much damage to theism. The up side is
that anyone who has fallen into this trap can take
some comfort in their company ;-).
Brian Harper
Associate Professor
Applied Mechanics
The Ohio State University
"It is not certain that all is uncertain,
to the glory of skepticism." -- Pascal