REALITY BITES

http://www.realitybites.org.uk/

Religion, Reductionism and a Christian Ontology

Isn’t reductionism a nightmare?

Reductionism can be compared to the

mafia!

It ruins everything!

Everything is really just physical stuff!

Everything is really just sensory stuff!

Everything is really just economic stuff!

Everyone has their price! Are three camels enough for grandma?

To really understand and engage with reductionism

we have to take a fresh look at a dirty word -

“religion”

It’s a funny old game!

If there is one thing that people appear to know all about it is religion

Many people are sure:

• all religions may be true;

• no one can know if religion is true;

• religions were invented as scare stories to control people;

• belief in God is just wishful thinking, blind faith, or scare story.

What is religion?

What kind of belief is a religious belief?

Group Work

“What is Religion?”

The Myth of Religious Neutrality: An Essay on the Hidden Role of

Religious Beliefs in Theories

Roy Clouser

(University of Notre Dame Press, 2nd edn, 2005)

What is a religious belief?

• a belief in something as divine;

• a belief about how the non-divine depends on the divine;

• a belief about how we relate to the divine.

Divine = whatever is ‘just there’ – “unconditionally, non-dependently real”

(Clouser, 2005, pages 19,24)

What is a religious belief?

All of us, in our thinking and living, grant that status to something.

We cannot avoid assuming that something is ‘just there’, our ultimate starting point.

What is a religious belief?

Our god may be ‘matter’ or ‘sensory stuff’ just as much as ‘God’ or ‘Reason’

Paul of Tarsus(1st cent AD)

“They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator”

(Romans 1:25, NIV)

Paul on humankind:

No one can avoid religion

Everyone has religious beliefs

or known by another name than religious (values, worldview, philosophy …)

but they are often unconscious assumptions,

Religious beliefs

• They are our most influential beliefs:

they can’t be walled off from the rest of our knowledge;

they shape our conceptions of human nature and destiny;

and also our ideas of society, justice, ethics – and science.

Do you remember Juan Gines de

Sepulvida?

This isn’t just an ivory tower

debate!

Send in the lads on a religious mission!

No expense spared!

Sepulvida’s worship of ‘reason’ had devastating consequences!

1)Some ‘thick’ people aren’t human and can be enslaved or killed.

2) Justice is redefined to include enslaving and killing sub-humans (those who lack ‘reason’).

3) Was he wise to follow Aristotle’s god?

All religions focus upon a belief in something divine.

What is the divine? The divine is whatever is

unconditionally non-dependent while all that is not divine depends on the

divine.

Different religions agree on what constitutes the status of divinity but they disagree

with one another concerning who or what has

that status.

Religions to Ponder

Pythagoreanism - NumbersShinto religion – KamiBuddhism – Nothingness/VoidTaoism – The TaoHinduism – Brahman-AtmanPlatonism – The FormsMaterialism – Matter and Energy

Clouser argues that this definition of religion is almost

completely ignored in contemporary textbooks of

religion. But some of the greatest minds

in history including Plato, Aristotle, Calvin and Luther agree with Clouser’s view.

For example, Calvin wrote (speaking about God): “…that from which all other things derive their origin must necessarily be self-

existent and eternal.”

Inst 1,v,6

“Therefore about that which can exist independently and is changeless, there is a science…And if there is such a kind of thing in the world, here surely must be the divine, and this must be the first and most dominant principle.”

Aristotle Metaphysics 1064a33

There are, however, more senses in which a belief can

be religious than simply something as divine.

A second sense concerns how the non-divine depends on the

divine.A third sense concerns how humans come to stand in the

right relation to the divine.

Christians call this third sense God’s plan of

salvation.

God offers us his love, his forgiveness of our sins and the gift of eternal life and he

calls us to love, obey and trust him.

Let’s look very briefly at the religions of ancient Greece

and Rome.

These religions believed in many gods, none of whom were thought to be divine.

Ares, the god of war

likes a good

punch-up!

The myths of both Hesiod and Homer say the gods originated out of a pre-existing source called

“Okeanos”. An impersonal force.

Notice a contrast here between Yahweh and

Okeanos.

The gods were not divine per se but were more like the

divine than humans because they were immortal and had

superhuman powers. In these pagan religions it is “Okeanos” which is divine

in Clouser’s sense.

Does Scripture talk about pagan

beliefs?

Yes!

You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob.

They are full of superstition from the East;

they practise divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with

pagans.Their land is full of horses;

there is no end to the chariots.Their land is full of idols;

they bow down to the work of their hands. Isaiah 2:6-8

Consider this story!

Some folk in Dorset are very

superstitious!

Pagan religious beliefs are powerful!

So what implications does this analysis of religion

have for atheists?

All too often atheists claim to have no god.

Atheists are also incurably religious just like pagan

people. They also have gods but they are cleverly

disguised and camouflaged. Like a sniper in a bush!

Can you spot this one?

Atheism?

Tells us what they don’t believe, not what they do believe

Knowing that someone is an atheist is a bit like knowing

that someone is a vegetarian.

You know what they don’t eat but not what they do eat.

Many atheists hold that only matter and space have independent existence.

Everything else depends on matter combining and recombining in space.

This is to hold to a divinity belief.

Let’s now explore a non-reductionist ontology that presupposes that

Yahweh, alone, is divine

Caution we are changing colour!

Danger!

What is a Crocodile?

How do different worldviews perceive the crocodilein all its terrible glory?

Crude Paganism

Ancient Egyptian people worshipped the croc in the form of the god Sobek. The heathen would adorn pampered crocs with jewels and necklaces and bow down and worship these ugly reptiles. In the African country of Burkina Faso, in the village of Sabou, live chickens are fed to sacred crocodiles. According to local people, the crocs have never been known to harm any of the villagers!

Posh Paganism

More sophisticated pagans have contended thatthese creatures are really prisons forwicked souls. Platonic philosophers urge us torestrain our bodily cravings and embrace the austere life of the solitary mystic. Rebirth in acrocodile or an alligator is the inevitable outworking of a bad karma. Immoral peoplewill be clothed in crocodilian flesh. For this istheir fate!

Descartes and the snapper

Rene was convinced that crocodiles are reallymachines. It is a purely physical thing; a bit player in a Meccano set. This creature lacks consciousness and thought. It is an automatonwhich can be understood in terms of the laws of Physics. This is very reductionist.

David Hume and the crocodile

The Scottish philosopher David Hume argued that the crocodile is a bundle of perceptions. It can be reduced to the sensory aspect. UnlikeDescartes the crocodile is not purely physical. Itis simply a blob of sensory stuff. This is also very reductionist.

Consumerism and the crocodile

Modern consumerists believe that the crocodileis a future handbag or thirty pairs of shoes. It isa raw material that can be exploited for profitand pleasure. On this view everything – humans,embryos, animals, plants and rocks are purelyeconomic ‘things’. This is very reductionist. Hobbes and the Conquistadors would be cheering!

Can we have a distinctivelyChristian understanding of thehumble crocodile?

Sadly they are not mentioned in theBible. Other animals are.

Let’s have a look at some biblicalteaching about animals.

Who let the wild donkey go free?Who untied his ropes?I gave him the wasteland as his home,the salt flats as his habitat.He laughs at the commotion in the town;he does not hear a driver’s shout.He ranges the hills for his pastureand searches for any green thing.

Job 39:5-8

How many are your works, O Lord!In wisdom you made them all;the earth is full of your creatures.There is the sea, vast and spacious,teeming with creatures beyond number –living things both large and small.There the ships go to and fro,and the leviathan which youformed to frolic there.

Psalm 104:24-26

The Bible gives us a very rich and excitingperspective on animals. They have been crafted with wisdom and the Lord God delights in thework of his hands. Animals reveal God’s glory!Congratulations are in order!

How can we translate this wisdom and richnessinto a philosophical theory?

Let’s explore the philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd (1894-1977).

Dooyeweerd has developed a sophisticated and highly original philosophy that seeks tohonour God’s rich and complex creation. Christian Philosophy must respect the fantastichandiwork of the Lord God. Creation is notdenuded and threadbare. It is multi-faceted andfull of hidden joys and surprises. Let’s now analyse our favourite reptile – the crocodile – using Dooyeweerd’s biblical insights.

Introducing Chito, a fearless Costa Rican fisherman and his best mate, Pocho.

It’s a wonderful story!

Crocodiles are creatures that display manyfascinating aspects or dimensions.

Numerical Aspect

Try counting the crocodiles’ teeth and you will encounter this aspect. Mathematicians enjoystudying this feature of the reptile. How aboutits weight and size? Watch out for the big ones –they’re armed to the teeth!

Spatial Aspect

Crocs have long, narrow snouts; alligators haverounded ones. Geometry studies this aspect.

Kinematic Aspect

Have you ever seen a crocodile launch itself into the air? Physics helps us to understand motion.

Physical Aspect

If you wrestle a croc you will experience itsphysical power. Again Physics is interestedin this aspect.

Biological Aspect

Notice the crocodile breathing, gruntingand blinking. She’s alive and ready for a fight!Biology studies this aspect.

Sensitive Aspect

Bang a nail through the reptile’s head and shewill scream out in pain. She may not be veryintelligent but she has got feelings. Psychologystudies this aspect.

Logical Aspect

The crocodile doesn’t think about abstract,logical topics but humans can think logicallyabout crocodiles. There are twenty three different kinds of crocodilian. That fact is thefruit of scientific research. Crocodiles don’t do this kind of work. Logic is the appropriate discipline here.

Historical Aspect

In ancient times crocodiles were widely reveredand even worshipped as gods. Now in the westthey are often reduced to a mere commodity.History is the focus here.

Lingual Aspect

We can use many adjectives to describe crocs.‘Cunning’, ‘crafty’, and ‘ugly’ spring to mind.Linguistics is the science appropriate to thisaspect.

Social Aspect

Some people adopt crocodiles as pets and it ruinstheir family life when they bite babies. Dogs are probably a better choice. Sociology springsto mind.

Economic Aspect

Crocodiles can be bought and sold. Some people can make big profits. Economics is thescience here. Economics should focus on careful stewardship and not just maximisingprofit. Watch out for Economists who reduceeverything to maths!

Aesthetic Aspect

It would be perverse to describe these brutes as beautiful. They are ugly and they lack a sense of humour when they attack innocentswimmers. Aesthetics studies this aspect ofGod’s amazing world.

Legal Aspect

If I own a crocodile and you steal it, I willring up the police and have you arrested. LegalStudies/Law etc.

Ethical Aspect

Some people really love crocodiles and are veryconcerned about their welfare. Chito lovedPocho with genuine commitment. Ethics is a science and it is concerned with self-giving, sacrificial love.

Faith Aspect

Some people worship crocodiles and believe they are gods. This is a big mistake from a Christian point of view. Theology is the subjecthere.

Active and Passive Functions

Crocodiles can be worshipped but they do not worship.

Crocodiles blink but they do notwink ironically.

Crocodiles don’t tell jokes but humans can tell jokes about them.

Complex Relationships

We can philosophise about Chito’sfriendship with Pocho.

We can philosophise about manycomplex relationships.

How should schools relate to churchesand governments?

Institutional Callings

What is the calling of a school?

What is the calling of a business?

What is the calling of a library?

What is the calling of a government?

What is the calling of a church?

Why is this so important?

This rich theory helps us to avoid reducing thecroc to one of its aspects. It isn’t simply amachine or a bundle of sensation. It isn’t apurely economic thing nor is it an illusion. Itisn’t a god or a prison for immoral souls. It’sa crocodile – an amazing reptile created by Yahweh, the Creator of heaven and earth!

The wolf will live with the lamb;the leopard lie down with the kid;calf, young lion and fattened lamb together, with a little child to lead them. Cow and bear will feed together, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw

like the ox.

Isaiah 11:6-7

Time for Questions

REALITY BITES

http://www.realitybites.org.uk/