A Variety of Musings
If you find science interesting, particularly the philosophy of science, perhaps you will find this interesting. I've always found it interesting that, in light of all that we don't know about the universe we live in, we seem to feel justified in believing we can figure out universal laws by simple reason. That seems rather a stretch to me, even if our theories and laws do make predictions that bear out. In other words, I'm not much of a scientific realist, but very interested in science.
I've been studying the history of science and the influence of Greek philosophy on our current theories. That's taken me into influences from alchemy and the occult - though I have no interest in the occult other than how it has influenced science. Interesting books I've read recently on this are Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer by Michael White and Magic into Science: The Story of Paracelsus by Henry M. Pachter. Another, though rather hard to read and long is Religion and the Decline of Magic by Keith Thomas. I'll cite other references of interest in later posts. Suffice it to say that that which was once considered occult is no longer and has become accepted as science. Could it be that science is more occult than we realize? Then what influence has this had upon Christianity through history and where does that leave us today? There is much to say on that.
What does the Bible have to say about all this? It might seem somewhat disconnected from the above, but I find today that Christians of all stripes omit huge portion of the Canon of the Scriptures through reason. What seems to be the biggest motivator? "I'm okay and if there's a discrepancy between my experience and what the Bible seems to say my experience should be, then there's something wrong with my interpretation of the Bible." In other words, my experience takes precedence over the scriptures. My experience speaks into the scriptures and not the scriptures into my experience.
How does this all tie together? Perhaps you see it. Perhaps you don't. I think it'll become clear in future posts. If not, feel free to write to me anytime. I love respectful challenges to my thinking.
Later,
Rob
I've been studying the history of science and the influence of Greek philosophy on our current theories. That's taken me into influences from alchemy and the occult - though I have no interest in the occult other than how it has influenced science. Interesting books I've read recently on this are Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer by Michael White and Magic into Science: The Story of Paracelsus by Henry M. Pachter. Another, though rather hard to read and long is Religion and the Decline of Magic by Keith Thomas. I'll cite other references of interest in later posts. Suffice it to say that that which was once considered occult is no longer and has become accepted as science. Could it be that science is more occult than we realize? Then what influence has this had upon Christianity through history and where does that leave us today? There is much to say on that.
What does the Bible have to say about all this? It might seem somewhat disconnected from the above, but I find today that Christians of all stripes omit huge portion of the Canon of the Scriptures through reason. What seems to be the biggest motivator? "I'm okay and if there's a discrepancy between my experience and what the Bible seems to say my experience should be, then there's something wrong with my interpretation of the Bible." In other words, my experience takes precedence over the scriptures. My experience speaks into the scriptures and not the scriptures into my experience.
How does this all tie together? Perhaps you see it. Perhaps you don't. I think it'll become clear in future posts. If not, feel free to write to me anytime. I love respectful challenges to my thinking.
Later,
Rob
posted by Rob Walsman | 9:50 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home