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Is a “Christian Naturalism” Possible?: Exploring the Boundaries of a Tradition

Is a “Christian Naturalism” Possible?: Exploring the Boundaries of a Tradition Is a “Christian Naturalism” Possible?: Exploring the Boundaries of a Tradition Jerome A. s tone / m eadville l ombard Theological s chool I. What is Christian Naturalism? s a c hristian naturalism possible? i t sounds like a contradiction in terms. h owever, depending on the meaning of the terms, it is not only possible i but highly desirable. The purpose of this article is to sketch the possibility of a c hristian naturalism, drawing on a number of twentieth- and twenty-r fi st- century theologians. n aturalism is a contrast term, like “left” or “up,” which gets its meaning partly from opposition to another term, in this case “supernaturalism” or some- times “supranaturalism.” i t is a set of beliefs which focuses on this world. (o f course, there is no other world, according to naturalism, but since c hristians and others have often spoken of g od, soul, and/or heaven as distinct from this world, naturalism is a denial of that strand of the c hristian tradition.) As b ernard l oomer wrote, it is a shift from living as a pilgrim between this world and the other world to an earth-creature resident in this. What http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Journal of Theology & Philosophy University of Illinois Press

Is a “Christian Naturalism” Possible?: Exploring the Boundaries of a Tradition

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Publisher
University of Illinois Press
ISSN
2156-4795

Abstract

Is a “Christian Naturalism” Possible?: Exploring the Boundaries of a Tradition Jerome A. s tone / m eadville l ombard Theological s chool I. What is Christian Naturalism? s a c hristian naturalism possible? i t sounds like a contradiction in terms. h owever, depending on the meaning of the terms, it is not only possible i but highly desirable. The purpose of this article is to sketch the possibility of a c hristian naturalism, drawing on a number of twentieth- and twenty-r fi st- century theologians. n aturalism is a contrast term, like “left” or “up,” which gets its meaning partly from opposition to another term, in this case “supernaturalism” or some- times “supranaturalism.” i t is a set of beliefs which focuses on this world. (o f course, there is no other world, according to naturalism, but since c hristians and others have often spoken of g od, soul, and/or heaven as distinct from this world, naturalism is a denial of that strand of the c hristian tradition.) As b ernard l oomer wrote, it is a shift from living as a pilgrim between this world and the other world to an earth-creature resident in this. What

Journal

American Journal of Theology & PhilosophyUniversity of Illinois Press

Published: Oct 26, 2011

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