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EMPIRICAL THEOLOGY IN THE LIGHT OF SCIENCE
Author(s) -
Peters Karl E.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
zygon®
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 23
eISSN - 1467-9744
pISSN - 0591-2385
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9744.1992.tb01068.x
Subject(s) - epistemology , naturalism , meaning (existential) , empirical evidence , empirical research , human welfare , sociology , philosophy , welfare , political science , law
. Empirical theology stands in contrast to science insofar as it seeks to understand the nature and source of human fulfillment and insofar as science seeks to understand the world and human beings regardless of the implications of that knowledge for human welfare. However, empirical theology is like science insofar as it affirms a dynamic, relational naturalism; accepts limitations of the human knower, thereby making all knowledge including religious knowledge tentative; seeks causal explanations as well as religious meaning; and argues that a key criterion for justifying ideas is their ability to explain experience already had and to predict new experiences in Lakatosian‐type progressive research programs.