Science and Orthodox Christianity
Orthodox Christianity and Modern Science: Past, Present and Future
The relationship of Orthodox Christianity to the modern sciences has received scant attention in the last fifty years. While important contributions have been made in history theology and philosophy there have been very few attempts to highlight the importance and fruitfulness of the field for an international audience. This volume brings together contributions from scholars of different disciplines to discuss the past present and future of the relations between Orthodox Christianity and the sciences. The topics covered range from theological discussions of miracles to the importance of seminary work on science and religion and from a practitioner’s view of addressing medical suffering to a historical discussion of the Scientific Revolution in Orthodox spaces. The volume is addressed to historians philosophers theologians scientists and members of the clergy but also to any scholar that is interested in discovering the vibrancy of the emerging field of Science and Orthodox Christianity Studies.
Orthodox Christianity and Modern Science
Theological, Philosophical, Scientific and Historical Aspects
Orthodox Christian theology is based on a living tradition that is deeply rooted in Greek Patristic thought. However few systematic proposals about how this theology can respond to questions that arise from modern science have yet appeared. This volume consisting of eleven essays by different authors about how this response should be formulated therefore represents a significant contribution to Orthodox thinking as well as to the broader science-theology dialogue among Christians. The variety of approaches in the essays indicates that there does not yet exist among Orthodox a consensus about the methodology that is appropriate to this dialogue or about how the questions that arise from specific scientific insights should be answered. Nevertheless they indicate the ways in which Orthodox approaches to science differ significantly from most of those to be found among Western Christian scholars and in this way they point to an underlying unity of perspective that is rooted in the Orthodox Tradition.
Orthodox Christianity and Modern Science
Tensions, Ambiguities, Potential
The first volume of the new series “Science and the Orthodox Christianity” focuses on the nature of the relationship between modern science and Orthodox Christianity with its centuries-old tradition. Orthodoxy today shares a variety of - sometimes ambiguous - attitudes towards modern science shaped by the texts of the Church Fathers medieval and modern theologians and scholars as well as contemporary social realities. On the other hand modern science which sprung from the quest by West European scholars for a better knowledge of the world is faced with crucial and uneasy questions about the meaning of life and the position of humankind within the natural world.
The main goal of this volume is to define the patterns of the science-religion relationship in the Orthodox world especially in the light of the most recent trends in both science and theology. Is this a relationship of dialogue or conflict? Of integration or independence? What is the impact of the revival of patristic studies and new theological currents on the relationship? But also what is the relevant impact of new scientific discoveries on the image of the human and the universe? Has the modern science-religion dialogue in the West influenced Orthodox Christianity in its effort to create new perspectives and concepts in response to new challenges? These questions are crucial for understanding and mapping the current science-religion dialogue in the Orthodox world and apart from recording given views and opinions.