Science and Eastern Orthodoxy

Science and Eastern Orthodoxy
Author: Efthymios Nicolaidis
Publisher: JHU Press
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2011-12-15
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1421404265

People have pondered conflicts between science and religion since at least the time of Christ. The millennia-long debate is well documented in the literature in the history and philosophy of science and religion in Western civilization. Science and Eastern Orthodoxy is a departure from that vast body of work, providing the first general overview of the relationship between science and Christian Orthodoxy, the official church of the Oriental Roman Empire. This pioneering study traces a rich history over an impressive span of time, from Saint Basil’s Hexameron of the fourth century to the globalization of scientific debates in the twentieth century. Efthymios Nicolaidis argues that conflicts between science and Greek Orthodoxy—when they existed—were not science versus Christianity but rather ecclesiastical debates that traversed the whole of society. Nicolaidis explains that during the Byzantine period, the Greek fathers of the church and their Byzantine followers wrestled passionately with how to reconcile their religious beliefs with the pagan science of their ancient ancestors. What, they repeatedly asked, should be the church’s official attitude toward secular knowledge? From the rise of the Ottoman Empire in the fifteenth century to its dismantling in the nineteenth century, the patriarchate of Constantinople attempted to control the scientific education of its Christian subjects, an effort complicated by the introduction of European science in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Science and Eastern Orthodoxy provides a wealth of new information concerning Orthodoxy and secular knowledge—and the reactions of the Orthodox Church to modern sciences.

Rock and Sand

Rock and Sand
Author: Josiah Trenham
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2015-01-15
Genre:
ISBN: 9781939028365

Science and the Eastern Orthodox Church

Science and the Eastern Orthodox Church
Author: Professor Daniel Buxhoeveden
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2013-06-28
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1409481611

Science and the Eastern Orthodox Church explores core theological and philosophical notions and contentious topics such as evolution from the vantage point of science, Orthodox theology, and the writings of popular recent Orthodox critics as well as supporters. Examining what science is and why Eastern Orthodox Christians should be concerned about the topic, including a look at well known 20th century figures that are considered holy elders or saints in the Orthodox Church and their relationship and thoughts about science, contributors analyse the historical contingencies that contribute to the relationship of the Orthodox Church and science both in the past and present. Part II includes critiques of science and considers its limitations and strengths in light of Orthodox understandings of the experience of God and the so called miraculous, together with analysis of two Orthodox figures of the 20th century that were highly critical of science, it's foundations and metaphysical assumptions. Part III looks at selected topics in science and how they relate to Orthodox theology, including evolution, brain evolution and consciousness, beginning of life science, nanotechnology, stem cell research and others. Drawing together leading Orthodox scientists, theologians, and historians confronting some of the critical issues and uses of modern science, this book will be useful for students, academics and clergy who want to develop a greater understanding of how to relate Orthodoxy to science.

Orthodox Mysticism and Asceticism

Orthodox Mysticism and Asceticism
Author: Constantinos Athanasopoulos
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
Total Pages: 243
Release: 2020-08-27
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1527558800

The scholarly contributions gathered together in this volume discuss themes related to the cultural, social and ethical dimension of St Gregory Palamas’ works. They relate his mystical philosophy and theology to contemporary debates in metaphysics, philosophy of language, ethics, philosophy of culture, political philosophy, epistemology, and philosophy of religion and theology, among others. The book considers a variety of topics of special interest to Christian theologians, philosophers and art historians including church and state relations, similarities and differences between Palamas, contemporary phenomenologists and philosophers of language, and hesychast influences on late Byzantine iconography.

Orthodox Christianity and Modern Science

Orthodox Christianity and Modern Science
Author: Vasilios Makrides
Publisher: Brepols Publishers
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2019
Genre: Religion and science
ISBN: 9782503576169

The first volume of the new series Science and the Orthodox Church 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 seventeenth-century quest by Western-European philosophers for rationality, 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 the 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 dialog 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 dialog in the West influenced Eastern 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 dialog in the Orthodox world, and apart from recording given views and opinions.

Energy in Orthodox Theology and Physics

Energy in Orthodox Theology and Physics
Author: Stoyan Tanev
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2017-08-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 153261487X

It is well known that energy is a fundamental concept in physics. Much less well known is that it is also a key concept in Eastern Christian or Orthodox theology. This book from Dr. Stoyan Tanev--a physicist, innovation management scholar, and theologian--provides a comparative analysis of the conceptualizations of energy in Orthodox theology and in physics, and demonstrates the potential of such comparison for a better understanding of these two quite different domains of human enquiry. The book explores the rediscovery of the Byzantine Church's teaching on the Divine energies in twentieth-century Orthodox theology, and offers new insights about the key contributions of key theologians such as Sergius Bulgakov, George Florovsky, John Meyendorff, Christos Yannaras, and Thomas Torrance. Where do the understandings of energy in theology and physics meet? The author argues that the encounter between theology and physics happens at the level of quantum physics, where the subtle use of words and language acquires a distinctive apophatic dimension. His comparative approach focuses on the epistemological struggles of theologians and physicists. According to Tanev, this focus on the struggles of knowing offers a new way to look at the dialogue between science and theology.

The Stranger at the Feast

The Stranger at the Feast
Author: Tom Boylston
Publisher: Univ of California Press
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2018-02-06
Genre: History
ISBN: 0520296494

Introduction : prohibition and a ritual regime -- A history of mediation -- Fasting, bodies, and the calendar -- Proliferations of mediators -- Blood, silver, and coffee -- Spirits in the marketplace -- Concrete, bones, and feasts -- Echoes of the host -- The media landscape -- The knowledge of the world -- Conclusion

The Christian and Technology

The Christian and Technology
Author: J. V. Fesko
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2020-01-24
Genre:
ISBN: 9781783972722

If any one thing had to be selected to characterise our time, the rapid advance of technology would have to be high on the list. The touch screen is everywhere: in our pockets, on our desks and inevitably in our homes. Children seem to take to touch screens naturally, accelerating their use in every part of life. All this is not without advantages--rapid communication, easy contact between family members almost anywhere in the world, online shopping made convenient.But no-one can afford to ignore the danger signs, including the rapid spread of pornography across a wide age range, resulting in the sexualisation of young children. These things are in one sense the tip of the iceberg: there are measurable declines in true literacy and a decreasing ability to take in information that is not on the screen, or that moves away from 'snippets' and 'sound bites' and quickly accessible videos. And why do major Silicon Valley personalities who are producing these devices limit their use in their own families?John Fesko tackles the essential question: what is the Christian response to all this? As he says, 'In the end, we need not flee from technology but we must understand it in order to use it well. One of the primary themes of this book is encouraging us to look past technology and dig into our own hearts. It encourages us to ask whether Christ so fills us that nothing else can drag us away from him.'

Further Up and Further in

Further Up and Further in
Author: Edith McEwan Humphrey
Publisher: St. Vladimir's Seminary Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Criticism
ISBN: 9780881415971

Drawing on Lewis's broad corpus, both his beloved classics and his less well-known writings, Humphrey brings Lewis into conversation with Orthodox thinkers from the ancient past down to the present day, on subjects as diverse and challenging as the nature of reality, miracles, the ascetic life, the atonement, the last things, and the mystery of male and female. -- ‡c From back cover.