From God to Newton and The Reconcilation of Science and Theology

It is common sense that in the so-called				atmosphere e.g. academic ideas, life styles, living
“Dark Ages” of the medieval Europe,				attitudes and so on of any country and
theology predominated in all the area from				sociaty.”15 Accordingly, when the
theocracy to regalia and became the absolute				weltanschauung of the people in a region
authority in the spiritual world of European.				undergoes a right-about or fundamental
Science was left no space in the magnificent				conversion, the academic culture and life attitudes
palace ruled by theology and was seen as				and behaviors will have holistic changes.
heterodoxy. At that time, the conflict in relations				Because the traditional dualistic worldview was the
between science and theology was serious, or				dominant ideology from the Aristotle to the late
more exactly, the oppression theology put on				Middle Ages, in which Western European soaked
science was cruel. For instance, Italian philosopher				themselves and took it for granted all the time,
and scientist Bruno because of his insistence on				the spiritual crisis of Western European was
scientific truth was burned at the stake by the				coming on the just day the theological worldview
Inquisition in Rome in 1600. Great physicist Galileo,				collapsed. In the context that the theological
for believing in and publicizing Copernicus’				worldview nodded to its fall and nihilism was
heliocentricism, was put into prison for life.1 Under				widespread around, Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky and
the great pressure and in the context of Western				Nietzsche etc. in 19th century inaugurated the
European fanaticism, there was hardly possibility				philosophical ideas of existentialism in coincidence
and space for science to emerge. Up to 17th and				to save the spiritual crisis and get back the lost
18th centuries, science began to advance rapidly				psychic home of Western European.
and defeat theology eventually. God became				Danish philosopher Kierkegaard’s
“master not at home” and Newton				existentialistic thought was a critical reaction to
became “chamberlaine in the world”.				Hegel’s rationalism, which rejected
Why did it happen in Europe? The key is to find				Hegel’s neglect of theology and the
out the origins for the rise of modern science. To				problem of faith and contended that theological
see it, we first look into Western traditional				knowledge and Christian beliefs are subjective
weltanschauung.				truth that can not be evanesced in universal
Western traditional weltanschauung is a kind of				objective knowledge. He thought that rationalist
dualism. Toward no matter what in nature,				Hegel and the like holded the position of the
morality or religion, Western people often has a				supremacy of reason and reduced the
dualistic attitude. For example, the classical				transcendental world into abstract idea, which
two-valued logic based on true or false duality				obliterated the paradoxicality (truth as
founded by Aristotle continued to use today.				subjectivity) of theology and the non-rationality
Moreover, the dualism of mind and body, subject				(not congruent with reason but with feelings and
and object, noumenon and phenomenon, ideal and				faith) of the dualistic worldview. Russian novelist
reality, collective and individual and so on, could				Dostoevsky discovered the problem of fate of
easily be found here and there in Western history				existence after the collapse of the theological
and culture. Especially in religious beliefs and				worldview. In his novels from Crime and
metaphysics, Western people adhered to a				Punishment to The Brothers Karamazov, he
dualistic position so obstinately that the				discussed how to seek the spiritual way out after
transcendent world and the real world were				the comedown of faith in God. He implied that
departed completely and heaven and earth were				except Christian theology and beliefs, Western
separated absolutely.2 No matter in significance or				people could not find a savior for their spiritual
value, the former is always higher than the latter.				crisis. Another initiator of existentialism and also a
Probing into the origins of the dualistic worldview,				representative figure of philosophy of Will
we could retrospect to ancient Greek philosophy				Nietzsche, though likewise criticizing rationalism,
(especially metaphysics) and Christian theology.				pushed the theological dualistic worldview into
Plato’s theory of Forms asserted that the				collapse at the same time. From the assumption
realm of Forms and the realm of things are				of “God is dead” (Nietzsche really
opposed.3 “The Forms are those				believed that Western European had lost the
changeless, eternal, and nonmaterial essences or				theological worldview.), he claimed that all
patterns of which the actual visible objects we				traditional morality, philosophies and theologies
see are only poor copies.”4 Although				must be revalued with the collapse of the dualistic
Aristotle tried to overcome Plato’s system				worldview. New values and ideals should be
of the dualism of Forms and actual things, he				established by the Superperson who can
didn’t give up the dualistic idea of reality				harmonize the animal nature with the intellect and
and phenomenon5, e.g. the distinction between				keep a balance between Dionysian and Apollonian
matter and form.				elements. His theory of the Will to Power is the
Another element of Western traditional dualistic				foundation of his philosophy of the Superperson.16
worldview is Christian theology. It is obvious that				From the argument above, it is obvious that the
the city of God and the city of the world as well				conversion from theology to science, though
as faith and reason are resolvedly distinct in the				brought high material civilization to the Western
Bible. Christian theology assured that any values				world, yet also produced deep spiritual crisis for
and ideals that could not be fulfilled in the world				Western people. The scientistic worldview in the
could be achieved in paradise only if you affirm				extreme would regard reason as the unique
the existence of God and believe in God piously. If				standard to evaluate all values and exclude any
compared to the absolute Christian beliefs, any				other “unscientistic” worldviews,
ethical or moral value or temporal ideal shows				which would further reject the value and meaning
immediately insignificance in itself. For instance,				of faith and affection and completely alienate
Jesus’ response to the questions about				people from the consciousness of existence.
paying tax - “Give therefore to the				Furthermore, the development of scientific
emperor the things that are the emperor’s,				theories would have stimulated the improvement
and to God the things that are				of productive technologies, which would
God’s.”(Matthew 22: 22) typically				increasingly enhance the danger of the scientific
represented the dualism of Christian theology.				technicalization. And the maximum danger of the
The Christian theological thought above mixed				scientific technicalization is to eliminate reason of
with Plato’s theory of Forms and				value by value of instrument and let people to
Aristotle’s metaphysics latter constructed				forget the problem of existence of themselves
the voluminous system of scholasticism. In more				and become the average
than a thousand year of the medieval ecclesiastic				“massman” or the “common
system, the Christian theology was the dominant				herd” degenerated from the true and
ideology of Western European.				individual existence in the mathematically
In this context, although the scientific researches				mechanical process. In the context of religious
were never stopping completely, the scientific				externalization and secularization, the true Christian
seeking and the exploring of nature and even all				beliefs disappeared while the theological dualistic
the secular concerns confronted with such a				worldview lost its original meaning.
perfect, pure and transcendental realm				It is undoubted that there exist some
constructed by Christian theology were suffering				incompatibilities between theology and science.
despisal, neglect and oppression. Christian theology				Science (in narrow sense natural science) is the
became the unique absolute standard of Western				knowledge of the physical world, which mainly
people and persecuted those disobedient. Despite				explains phenomena and laws of things; while
that theology nearly held all the power over all the				theology is the knowledge of the immaterial
secular and holy affairs and science seldom had				world, which chiefly resolves the problem of faith
space to develop, the theological worldview could				and the transcendental world (God and heaven).
not be necessarily ever-victorious and ever-valid.				Since the late Middle Ages especially modern
Once coming across holistic changes or				times, “the contradiction and conflicts in
encountering the assault of heterodox thought,				relations between science and theology have been
the faiths of Western people would be lax, which				so serious that people always oppose them with
would shake and even destroy the whole				each other that apparently cannot
Christian theological worldview.				coexist.”17 We do not deny the cruel
Renaissance in the 15th and 16th century first				oppression on science exerted by theology in the
revolted. The sense of self-awakening catalyzed				Middle Ages and the tremendous impact on
by humanism and the revival of ancient Greek				theology made by science in modern times,
and Roman cultures broke down the unified				however, science and theology are not always
complexion under the reign of theology. Man as a				“oil and vinegar” and not capable of
scientific master instead of God in the theological				being conciliated. In fact, a number of eminent
world became the center of social life and				scientists- Isaac Newton, M. Faraday, C. Maxwell,
academic researches so that science gained a				Albert Einstein and many academicians of the
valuable chance to grow.6 Then Reformation,				Royal Society etc. all have deep faith in Christian
against the moral corruption of the Catholic				belief or interest in theology. Some scientists even
Church and the sham of the dualistic opposite of				consider that science and theology are coherent
soul and body, advocated “justification by				and they fulfill the same mission through distinct
faith” and religious tolerance and rejected				approaches.18 In recent years, the dialogue
the absolute authority of and the spiritual control				between science and theology have been paid
by the Church.7 Therefore, science got rid of the				increasing attention to both by scientists and
spiritual restriction of theology. Enlightenment in				theologians or philosophers of religion and various
the 17th and 18th century in Europe further				theories of the relations between science and
fulfilled the ideological liberation of Western				theology or religion have been presented
European.8 Reason replaced faith and theology				successively. Wang Pisheng of Hong Kong Baptist
receded into the background. Modern science				University claims that the dialogue between
emerged as the times require.				science and theology in recent years is not a new
The intellectual revolutions above are the main				and rare phenomenon but a long and continuous
causes for the rise of modern science, but in the				tradition.19 He also indicated that many top
final analysis, the origins are from the collapse of				scientists today are aware of the importance to
Christian theological worldview and the rise of the				learn from philosophy and theology, not only to
scientific worldview. It is obvious that the collapse				have a deeper insight into the significance of the
of Christian theological worldview was going with a				scientific work, but also to seek a breakthrough in
series of the intellectual revolutions-Renaissance,				their scientific research. Therefore, it is reasonable
Reformation and Enlightenment. But generally				to believe that science and theology have a basis
speaking, it could be explained in terms of the				of coexistence and harmonization. If the two both
inherent problems of Christian theological				understand their limits and the conjunct
worldview within and the assault of				significance to human existence, a phase of
“heterodox” thoughts from outside.				science and theology in harmony is hopefully to
First, the system of medieval scholasticism that				come.
wholly made a stand for Christian theology,				After experiencing the tragedies of the two
although it tried to shorten the huge gap between				World Wars and the spread of nihilism and
reason and faith, yet because of its insistence on				hedonism after the Wars, people in the New
“faith superior to reason”, finally				Century can still not enjoy the peaceful life from
could not keep the balance and harmony between				the flying development of science. The threats of
faith and reason. On the one hand, J. D.				the weapons of massive destruction and nuclear
Scotus’ theory of “double				warfare and the crime of terrorists who killed the
truth” accelerated the departure of faith				innocent through modern scientific technology, all
and reason.9 On the other hand, mysticism				of these have strengthened the uneasiness,
contended a direct encounter and mystical union				insecurity and anxiety of people directly or
with God, such as J. Eckhart said “God and				indirectly. And that the tsunami aroused by the
soul were neither unaquainted nor far away, so				earthquake on the Indian Ocean devitalized
soul was not only consistent with God, but				thousands of lives at the end of last year and a
identical with God.”10 Mysticism distained all				trail of disasters-Pakistani earthquake, hurricanes in
secular affairs, consequently, theological dualistic				North America, hog cholera and birds’ flu
worldview was transformed into a transcendental				and so on latter, have made it clear that science
monistic worldview which refused any intervention				is not omnipotent confronted with those fearful
of human reason. W. Ockham’s nominalism				disasters; while the global humanitarian succors
argued against the doctrines made up by				unprecedented since the beginning of this year
scholasticism and the arguments of God’s				have just indicated that faith and affection are
existence. His principle of simplicity known as				the spiritual springs of human peace and solidarity.
“Ockham’s razor” contended				It gives us a profound revelation: the tensions and
that “what can be explained on fewer				conflicts between science and theology are not
principles is explained needlessly by				beneficial to human peace and development while
more”11, which became a “prodder				the mutual-complement and reconciliation between
putting medieval theological system into				them are probably the best salvation to help
disintegration.”12 Consequently, Western				people above water. Just as Paul Tillich says in his
European in the late Middle Ages lost their				Culture of Theology, “They should not be
confidence in Christian theological worldview and				separated from each other; they should be aware
began to resort to reason.				that their isolated existence is
Secondly, Copernicus’ heliocentricism				dangerous.”20
affected the worldview of the current scientists				A. N. Whitehead thinks that religious symbols
and philosophers in Renaissance and geocentricism				endow human with the meaning of life; scientific
of the theological worldview was seriously				modes endue people with the capability to reform
challenged. Human lost the superiority constructed				nature. The influences of religion and science are
by Christian theology in the cosmos and the				so tremendous that the orientation of human
dualistic relation between heaven and the world				history in the future is decided by how modern
was loose. Scientists at that time e.g. Galileo only				people look on the relations between science and
regarded God as prime efficient cause of the				religion. It shows clearly that theology and science
physical world and deprived God of the title of				are both the spiritual pillars indispensable of human
final cause. Therefore, the power and the				development. We need ‘God’, as
omnipotence of God were questioned. Other				well as ‘Newton’. Both of them are
scientists such as Bruno because of the influence				rooted in the basis of human inner world and point
of scientific explore, mostly adopted a pantheistic				to the ultimate concern for human beings. Been
position as a substitute of the theological dualistic				aware of this, conflicts between science and
worldview. Meanwhile, a tendency in modern				theology would be overcome and science and
philosophy gradually emerged to cooperate with				theology both would rediscover their true
science to rationalize the world. For example,				existence in the mental life of human and endow
Descartes “first made use of God’s				man with ultimate meaning, creative wisdom and
existence for the objectivity and actuality of the				courage to love.
physical world and then locked God into coffer				Note:
and explained the structure of the world in a				1 F. Engels in Dialectic of Nature(zi ran bian zheng
scientific view.”13 As for the problem of				fa): “Natural science sent its martyrs to the
the transcendental world in theology was				stake and the prison of Inquisition.” Exactly
“hanged” and became a				speaking, it is Christian church that sent scientific
“pseudo-problem”. The pantheistic				martyrs to the stake and jail.
metaphysics of Spinoza excluded the existence of				2 Fu Weixun, From Western Philosophy to Zen
the transcendental world, which also gave a				Buddhism, 1989, p158.
deathblow to the dualistic theological worldview.				3 As Bertrand Russell says in A History of
On the other hand, the empiricism initiated by				Western Philosophy: “Plato’s
Locke developed to Hume became a radical				philosophy is based on the distinction between
positivism of skepticism, which ultimately denied				reality and phenomenon.”
spiritual substance and the existence of causal				4 Sammuel Enoch Stumpf & James Fieser,
necessity and denied all the attempts of the				Socrates to Sartre and Beyond A History of
arguments of God’s existence through				Philosophy, Seventh Edition, 2003, p55.
human reason and empirical facts, which greatly				5 Aristotle believed that God as pure idea,
fluctuated the basis of theology. Kant’s				happiness and complete self-actualization is eternal
theory of the antinomies and critical rational				and doesn’t have any purpose that is not
theology contended that the transcendental world				fulfilled; contrarily, the sensible world is unperfect,
or noumenal world, the existence of God and the				has life and desire, and belongs to the impure idea.
immortality of soul could not be proved,				The idea as well represents his dualistic outlook.
consequently, theology was excluded from human				6 It is asserted in A History of Europe written by
knowledge. Hegel’s rationalistic dialectic				11 European historians that God and heaven were
metaphysics regarded the variational process of				seen as the center of thought in the Middle Ages,
the real world as the self-unfolding of absolute				but Renaissance drew the attention of people to
spirit and transformed the dualistic worldview into				man and the real world. This conversion had an
absolute idealism. The dualistic worldview was				impact on science. Since then, theology lost its
eventually discarded and Christian theological				superiority and the interest in human and nature
beliefs were evanesced in Hegel’s system.				prevailed.
Thus, reason won the advantage over faith and				7 Luther says: “Each Christian can interpret
the scientistic worldview instead of the theological				the Bible in his own way”, which is against
dualistic worldview became the dominant ideology				ecclesiastical authority, because only the Church
of Western European.				has the power to interpret the Bible and its
The rise of modern science could not begin until				interpretation is the unique right one.
the traditional dualistic worldview was				8 It is claimed in A History of Europe that nature
transformed, because weltanschauung is the				according to its own law of development will
ultimate understanding of the world or human life				result in a perfect world, so the religious and
of people, which is able to potentially predominate				political interventions of human should be
the ultimate attitude toward and activities in life of				minimum…reason requests man to develop
thinkers, social workers and even the masses in a				in nature, which shows the importance of reason
region. That is, only if the traditional theological				in the research of nature.
worldview was replaced by a new reason-based				9 Wollf comments on Scotus’ theory of
worldview viz. the scientistic worldview, the rise				“double truth” that it undoubtedly
of modern science could have ultimate assurance.				promoted the worldly research enterprise.
In a word, the origins for the rise of modern				10 Paul Tillich, Theology of Culture, 1988.
science were the collapse of the theological				11 Samuel Enoch Stumpf & James Fieser,
dualistic worldview and the predominance of the				Socrates to Sartre and Beyond A History of
scientific worldview.				Philosophy, 7th Edit., 1966, 2003, p. 185.
The conversion from theology to science has				12 Fu Weixun, From Western Philsophy to Zen
both positive and negative impacts on Western				Buddhism, 1989, p.161.
history. After walking up on the fast lane of				13 idem, p. 162.
scientific development, the realistic life of Western				14 Wang Pisheng, “Science seeks God: the
European was greatly improved, the material				new phenomena of the dialogue between science
civilization was rapidly progressed, the explore of				and theology”, Report of the Research
nature and geography was continuously advanced				Center of Chinese Christian Religions, Second
and technology was dramatically reformed.				Issue, 2002.
Thence, Western countries made a continuous				15 Said by Fu Weixun.
progress whereas Eastern countries fell far behind.				16 Nietzsche writes, “I regard Christianity
The influence of the conversion from theology to				as the most fatal and seductive lie that has ever
science is unmeasurable, just as historian H.				yet existed – as the greatest and most
Butterfield pointed out on this problem:				impious lie”, which is a fatal blame on the
“The impact on the world culture of the				slavish morality of Christianity.
rise of modern science in the 17th century could				17 Dong Xiaochuan, “Science and theology:
only be mentioned in the same breath with the				the two pillars of Modern American
rise of Christianity in the first century.”14				Civilization”, [
However, it does not mean that this conversion				18 idem.
doesn’t have any negative impact on				19 Wang Pisheng, “Science seeks God: the
Western European. “Weltanschauung can be				new phenomena of the dialogue between science
thought as a sort of comprehensive experience				and theology”.
that most potentially affects the cultural				20 Paul Tillich, Theology of Culture.

Study Committee

From God to Newton and The Reconcilation of Science and Theology