Science and Theology: a Study of the Historical Conflict Between the Method of Science and Theology

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Summative assignment Science and Theology: A Study of the Historical Conflict between the Method of Science and Theology Mojzes Kristijan Submitted to Dr. Gunnar Pedersen and Jan Barna In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the module Principles and Methods in Theology 20 April 2009 Newbold College in partnership with the University of Wales Lampeter 1 Introduction Statement of the problem Science has a prominent place in contemporary society. The development of technology provides a considerable testimony to this fact. Advances all over the field of science and technology thus testify to the significance of science and thus raises the expectations that science and the scientific method might eventually discover the theory about everything and thus settle all the big questions about reality and existence. Thus science seems to pose a challenge to all approaches, which lead to different explanations of the origin, meaning and nature of existence, than the one entertained but the scientific consensus. The interpretation of life and existence that does not harmonized with science is considered unscientific and thus outmoded and irrelevant. Purpose of the study Historically a deep conflict emerged between the scientific method and religious faith especially between classical Christianity and Enlightenment science. The purpose of this study is to explore the deeper methodological assumptions undergirding this conflict. The Enlightenment scientific method in terms of seeking certain knowledge by an empirical rational search in nature and the Christian claim that the ultimate questions about everything can only be answered by divine revelation seems irreconcilable. Thus the area of epistemology seems to lie at the heart of the historical conflict. The search question could thus be formulated as follows: What are the core methodological assumption that
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