Science and Special Divine Action

Duration: 59 mins 24 secs

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Description:	Research Seminar given by Dr Andrew Pinsent on 4th November 2015.


Created:	2015-11-04 10:01
Collection:	Faraday Institute Lectures
Publisher:	Faraday Institute
Copyright:	Faraday Institute
Language:	eng (English)
Keywords:	faraday; science; religion; pinsent;


Abstract:	Is every thought, is every action in the cosmos, only an effect of some other thought, or some other action in the cosmos, or is there something more? Is there divine intervention? Is there special divine action (SDA)? From at least the mid-seventeenth century, divine action, or at least the intellectual study of possible divine action, has often been seen as limited to the primordial act of creation. This tacit deism still shapes much of the discourse of science and theology. Yet almost all historically significant and personally relevant issues of theology revolve around the principle of some or other mode of SDA, notably grace, inspiration, miracles, and providence. In this presentation I examine what contemporary science can contribute, if anything, to the study of SDA. I argue that a scientific worldview does not need to rule out the possibility of SDA, and that new research is providing ways to understand SDA that shed light on long-standing theological and philosophical problems. I conclude by examining how the possibility of SDA may not only shape a worldview that is amenable to science but may even help to ground its ongoing viability.

Abstract:

Is every thought, is every action in the cosmos, only an effect of some other thought, or some other action in the cosmos, or is there something more? Is there divine intervention? Is there special divine action (SDA)? From at least the mid-seventeenth century, divine action, or at least the intellectual study of possible divine action, has often been seen as limited to the primordial act of creation. This tacit deism still shapes much of the discourse of science and theology. Yet almost all historically significant and personally relevant issues of theology revolve around the principle of some or other mode of SDA, notably grace, inspiration, miracles, and providence.
In this presentation I examine what contemporary science can contribute, if anything, to the study of SDA. I argue that a scientific worldview does not need to rule out the possibility of SDA, and that new research is providing ways to understand SDA that shed light on long-standing theological and philosophical problems. I conclude by examining how the possibility of SDA may not only shape a worldview that is amenable to science but may even help to ground its ongoing viability.

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