TITLE

AUGUSTINE AND EMERGENT EVOLUTION

AUTHOR(S)

Groenewoud, Gerben

PUB. DATE

June 2011

SOURCE

Philosophia Reformata;Jun2011, Vol. 76 Issue 1, p103

SOURCE TYPE

Academic Journal

DOC. TYPE

Article

ABSTRACT

Jacob Klapwijk appeals to Augustine on two distinct issues which are closely linked. The first concerns the approach to which Klapwijk commits himself: faith seeking understanding. He calls it Augustinian. I show in this essay that there is a considerable gap between what Augustine means by it and what Klapwijk does with it. Augustine means that what I believe I must seek to understand. Klapwijk means that faith opens up the whole world of science and philosophy to the believer. The second issue is that Klapwijk finds in the Church Father a view of time which he wants to appropriate: God created out of nothing and thus time itself is also a creature which began with the creation. I show that his affirmation of this doctrine comes with a price. He cannot simply set aside what he calls Scholasticism. In the final paragraph I attempt to show that at a deeper level Klapwijk does indeed stand in the Augustinian tradition.

ACCESSION #

62094026

Tags: KLAPWIJK, Jacob;  AUGUSTINE, Saint, Bishop of Hippo, 354-430;  FAITH;  COMPREHENSION;  GOD (Christianity);  SCHOLASTICISM (Theology)

 

Related Articles

• EMERGENT EVOLUTION, AUGUSTINE, INTELLIGENT DESIGN, AND MIRACLES. Gousmett, Chris // Philosophia Reformata;Jun2011, Vol. 76 Issue 1, p119 

  In this article I examine how Klapwijk makes reference to Augustine in Purpose, and consider the part Augustine's views played in earlier debates over evolution, and how those views continue to have an influence. I consider whether the emergence of life creates an unexplained process in...

• CREATION AND BECOMING IN JACOB KLAPWIJK'S THEORY OF EMERGENCE. Cook, Harry // Philosophia Reformata;Jun2011, Vol. 76 Issue 1, p138 

  It is remarkable that emergence is seldom mentioned in the discussions by Christians who accept the idea of a biological evolutionary process. Thus, Jacob Klapwijk's 2008 book fills a need. It is to be hoped that it will broaden the discussions on emergence. Klapwijk's discussions about...

• LA RELATION EN TANT QU'ÉLÉMENT-CLÉ DE L'ILLUMINATION AUGUSTINIENNE. Pârvan, Alexandra // Chôra: Revue d'Études Anciennes et Médiévales;2009/2010, Vol. 7/8, p87 

  This paper proposes a new approach to Augustine's illumination theory, understanding illumination as resulting from an act of the human being as much as from an action of God. Regardless of God's ever present light, the human intellect is not constantly and indiscriminately illuminated. In order...

• Learning to Read with Augustine of Hippo. Rine, C. Rebecca // Journal of Education & Christian Belief;Autumn2007, Vol. 11 Issue 2, p39 

  THE CONFESSIONS OF Augustine of Hippo can be read as a lesson in reading, one in which Augustine teaches by example as well as precept. Throughout this work, the relationship between faith and reading is clearly on Augustine's mind, as is his desire to teach others what be has learned. As we...

• A BUSCA DE DEUS NOSSOLIL�QUIOS DE AGOSTINHO. Nodari, Paulo C�sar // Teocomunica��o;2011, Vol. 41 Issue 1, p150 

  Augustine was a Christian philosopher and a Priest for the Latin Church. He greatly contributed to form Western Christian thought, representing a real Western Master. Augustine investigated fundamental aspects regarding pedagogy of religious status and gave it significant solutions through...

• Spiritual Exercises in Augustine�s Confessions. Ni�o, Andr�s // Journal of Religion & Health;Mar2008, Vol. 47 Issue 1, p88 

  Confessions, the narrative of Augustine�s spiritual journey, has been a source of inspiration to readers through many centuries. It addresses the universal striving of the individual towards a �way of living� characterized by internal coherence and an experience of the transcendent....

• NOTAS SOBRE DE UTILITATE CREDENDI. Hurtado, Guillermo // T�picos. Revista de Filosof�a;2007, Issue 32, p135 

  This article examines some of the arguments of Saint Augustine's De utilitate credendi, with the purpose of incorporate them in contemporary philosophical discussions about belief, testimony and tradition.

• Augustine's World and Ours. Tinder, Glenn // First Things: A Monthly Journal of Religion & Public Life;Dec1997, Issue 78, p35 

  Focuses on Saint Augustine's concept of the dichotomous habit of the mind. Comparison between constitutional democracies and tyrannies; Examples of the modern disintegration of the Augustinian dichotomies such as faith and reason; Analysis of the conflict associated with Augustine's thoughts on...

• Hoping Without a Future: Augustine's Theological Virtues Beyond Melancholia. METCALFE, JEFFREY S. // Anglican Theological Review;Spring2013, Vol. 95 Issue 2, p235 

  For St. Augustine, Christian living is constituted by the insepara-bly connected theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, where happiness is found in a precarious and changeable world through hope in a future secured in eternity. Taking up the Hegelian phi-losophy of Gillian Rose, Vincent...

Read the Article