Uncommon Descent Serving The Intelligent Design Community

The Reformed Objection to Natural Theology – by Michael Sudduth

Andrew Sibley
September 29, 2010
Intelligent Design
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I have recently come across the work of Michael Sudduth on Natural Theology. This very interesting book is published by Ashgate The Reformed Objection to Natural Theology http://www.ashgate.com/isbn/9780754661757

Looks like essential reading for those concerned about intelligent design and Reformed theology. Reviews by Richard Swinburne, Alister McGrath and Alvin Plantinga  (Although it is not cheap).

Comments
allanius - but the question that is being raised in Reformed theology is whether there should be a dialectic between natural theology and special revelation and whether such a dialectic leads towards God or away from him.Steno
September 30, 2010
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allanius @(2) "Anything that adds fuel to the fruitless divisions among Christians detracts from faith and increases the misery of the world." Seems you inspired by God. That's the very only problem that this world. But this more soon than later will change without advise. I wish God be with you, Obriton CL&J AObriton
September 30, 2010
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What’s most interesting here is the divide it exemplifies. Yes, the Church has been divided from the time that Calvin took up the cause of resistance and “pure doctrine” against Thomas’s synthetic doctrine—or, we could say, since the time Thomas embraced his “Philosopher” and the concept of pure action in opposition to Augustinian Christianity and its Platonic notion of the good as pure negation. Yes, there is a divide between those who love to reason synthetically (by their nature, for they are lovers of nature the senses as well as complex arguments) and those who hate synthetic constructs of being and love to use intellect and its capacity for resistance to undo them for the sake of some purified ideal. This is the same divide that was seen between Plato and Aristotle. It cannot be overcome. But if the Church clings to this divide, how can it shine the light of Christ? Do we follow Paul or Apollos? What about the Unity of the Spirit? Or do we consider this unity unimportant compared with our ingenious arguments about the nature of God and man—from either side? For some, God will always be immanent to some degree for the simple reason that they cherish God’s creation—which after all is “very good”—as well as that which exists, which in their view was ordained by God. For others, God will always be purely transcendent for the simple reason that they are unhappy with present being and love the freedom resistance provides from constructs of intellect and sense. These differences cannot be overcome because they are produced by the nature of each individual—and by intellect itself, which is divided between sense and its own capacity for resistance. Pray that ID will stay clear of fruitless arguments over “disputable matters.” ID builds up faith and encourages unity when it remains content to point out the obvious: nature was designed. Anything that adds fuel to the fruitless divisions among Christians detracts from faith and increases the misery of the world.allanius
September 30, 2010
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There is a chapter available http://www.sfsu.edu/~phlsphr/files/Sudduth/SUDDUTH%20for%20EJPR%20Fall%202009%20-FinishedSent.pdfidnet.com.au
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