Vol. 2, No. 2 (Fall 2003)
Articles
Evolution and Intelligent Design: Implications for Integration
of Faith and Learning
By Jerry Deese, Ph.D.
Missouri Baptist University
Summary: The currently accepted scientific explanation for the origin and development of life as we know it is evolution theory. The basic concepts of mutation and natural selection arose out of the work of Charles Darwin in the latter part of the nineteenth century and have been the subject of much research during the twentieth century. Developments in microbiology over the past three or four decades in particular have affected the evolution versus creation debate significantly. Cells are now understood to be complex systems, not just amalgamations of some basic proteins. The formation and operation of these systems is now known to be controlled by the cell DNA. This has opened up new ways to scientifically analyze the probability of a cell and the required DNA arising by chance from a mixture of appropriate chemicals. This paper will attempt to objectively summarize the current status of the debate between the two sides. It will then describe the developments needed to verify the arguments of each side and discuss some implications of the success of each side in this debate on the integration of faith and learning.
Autonomy and the Health Sciences: Clarifying a Broad Concept
By J. Alan Branch, Ph.D.
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Summary: The dominant principle of modern medical ethics is autonomy. However, problems arise in policy debates because this one term, autonomy, is used in a multifaceted way. In fact, three distinct forms of autonomy can be distinguished in policy debate: Partial Moral Autonomy, Civil Autonomy, and Libertarian Autonomy. This paper will summarize these three forms of autonomy and then offer a brief theological critique of each one. In public policy debate in the United States, Libertarian Autonomy is the principle utilized by leading ethicists. It also serves as the philosophical basis for certain crucial court decisions. This paper will argue that theories of medical ethics based on radical notions of autonomy actually diminish freedom.
Explanation and Understanding in Science and Theology: Is There
an Opportunity for a New Dialogue?
By Clark Triplett, Ph.D.
Missouri Baptist University
Summary: The postfoundationalist or postcritical mood that has settled over academia raises critical questions about the traditional nature of empiricism and rationalism. The seminal work of Thomas Kuhn has engendered a firestorm of debate not only over the received view of scientific inquiry but also the conventional understanding of rationality. While Kuhn has many critics (including Karl Popper, Paul Feyerabend, Imre Lakatos, and Stephen Toulmin), all would agree that there have been significant revolutions and changes in science and rationality and, like Kuhn, they accept the need for a fresh analysis of the way scientists (including behavioral and social scientists) and philosophers achieve rational consensus. To some extent, new theories and discoveries in science have led to the radical questioning of traditional views of rationality. New discoveries in science since the turn of the twentieth century such as the special theory of relativity, quantum theory, chaos theory, and recent emergentist “top-down” theories of causality seem to defy simple, empirical descriptions of the universe and traditional rational explanations. The question to be addressed in this discussion is whether there is a new opportunity for theology to enter into the debate with science, particularly in those areas that are not so easily resolved empirically. This does not mean that theology has nothing to say in empirical discussions but, in the realm of metaphysical reason, theology may provide arguments that will enhance a scientific understanding of the universe.
On Christian Teaching: Things a Professor in a Christian School
Is Expected to Be and to Believe
By Dale Allen, Ph.D.
Missouri Baptist University
Summary: Knowing that officials and professors shape the character of our Christian colleges and seminaries, parents have the right to ask if there is any substance behind the language “Christian higher education.” They have a right to expect their children and grandchildren to receive what they were sent to these schools to receive. They do not want “an education in a Christian context” but “a Christian education in an excellent context.” In how many Baptist institutions of higher education do the Biblical heritage and theistic perspectives actually enter into the intellectual mix on their campuses? Parents have some genuine and justifiable fears and expectations at this point. Since God does not tell one person that something is right and then tells another that something is wrong, there are some things a professor in a Christian school is expected to be and to believe.
The Promise and Peril of Postmodernism for Ministry Today
By Andy Chambers, Ph.D.
Missouri Baptist University
Summary: Evangelicals have fully engaged the reality of postmodernism and its implications for ministry today. Responses to the movement vary widely. Some excitedly welcome postmodernism's new openness to spirituality which opens up room at the table for those who refuse to separate faith issues from other areas of life. Others have reluctantly accept its presence and are determined to reshape and recast the Christian message in a way that will appeal to postmoderns by emphasizing the narrative of God's acts of redemption over against the propositionalism of an older scholastic orthodoxy. Still others react with alarm at the easy acceptance of evangelicals of some of the basic presuppositions of this movement. The idea that there is true truth that judges and excludes all other world-views may not be politically correct anymore, but it is the view held by Jesus (John 14:6) and His apostles (Acts 4:12), and we should assert it today the way it was proclaimed in the first century. There are aspects to postmodernism that evangelicals can eagerly welcome and exploit for apologetic purposes. However, we must proceed with caution realizing that there are aspects of postmodernism that are in fundamental conflict with the Christian faith. This article will briefly survey evangelical responses to postmodernism and assess its promise and peril for ministry today. Then it will offer several suggestions for effective ministry in a postmodern culture.
Book Reviews
J. David Hoeveler. Creating the American Mind: Intellect and Politics in the Colonial Colleges. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003.
Russell Hittinger. The First Grace: Rediscovering the Natural Law in a Post-Christian World. Wilmington, DE: ISI Books, 2003.
V. James Mannoia, Jr. Christian Liberal Arts: An Education That Goes Beyond. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000.
Arthur F. Holmes. Building the Christian Academy. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2001.
Anthony J. Diekema. Academic Freedom and Christian Scholarship. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2000.
Thoughts & Observations
Angels in Films:A University Classroom Perspective
By Ray Killebrew, M.A.
Missouri Baptist University
© 2003 Missouri Baptist University. All rights reserved.