Reality and Scientific Theology - Paperback

by Thomas F. Torrance (Author)

In this book the author argues for a rigorous scientific theology under the double constraint of the reality of God and the reality of the world of space and time. Careful attention is given to the common commitment of theological and natural science to objective knowledge, and the deeply natural relation between knowledge of God the Creator and knowledge of the world he has made. Stress is laid upon the stratified structure of theology and the need for a radical simplification and unification of Christian doctrine. Is theology the ""science of God"", and is it concerned with objective knowledge like natural science? Is there a natural theology and how is it related to knowledge of God through divine relation? How is the community of faith within which dogmatic theology arises related to the social coefficient of scientific inquiry? What is the place of mysticism and of art in theology? Does theology have a special notion of truth, and does it have its own inner logic and structure? These are some of the main questions which this book seeks to answer.

Author Biography

The Very Rev. Professor Thomas Forsyth Torrance was Professor of Christian Dogmatics in the University of Edinburgh from 1952 to 1979. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, 1976-1977, and President of Academie Internationale des Sciences Religieuses, 1972-1981. In 1969 he won the Collins Prize for his book Theological Science, and in 1978 he was awarded the Templeton Prize for his work on the relationship between science and theology. He holds doctorates in Divinity, Literature and Science; is Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh and a Fellow of the British Academy. His recent books include: The Ground and Grammar of Theology, Christian Theology and Scientific Culture, Divine and Contingent Order, Transformation and Convergence in the Frame of Knowledge, The Christian Frame of Mind.