Does the denomination have some principle in mind for having a separate seminary where theology is pursued apart from the other academic disciplines? Why not incorporate it into a university setting? I recently heard a sermon on Genesis 1 and 2, be it an enthusiastic one with some valid points, but one that displayed a definite ignorance about obvious scientific facts.

Posted On
July 2, 2013Updated On
May 24, 2018Let's Discuss…

Henry,
I think this is a far more interesting topic than perhaps some people realize. I myself would lean towards agreeing with Karl Barth that, in reality, there is no science, or even knowledge, that is not in reality "theology" Our talk about physics, chemistry, biology, etc. is all really, in Barth's estimation, talk about God. In Church Dogmatics he deals with this and argues the following, I believe:
1) That theology is not and cannot be a science in that it cannot be submitted entirely to the same "scientific" principles that the other "sciences" claim.
2) That theology is, properly speaking, the only true science and that all the other disciplines are, in reality, subsets of theology.
3) That, practically speaking, theology must (in spite of poitn two above) remain somewhat separate from the other "scientific disciplines" so that it is not tempted to fall into the mistake of thinking of itself as "just another science"
These three beliefs (he says more, of course) are important, I believe in considering your comments regarding Kuyper and the earlier secessionists. It seems to me that the tension between "independence" and "accountability", while at the same time trying to wrestle appropriately with issues brought forth by other academic/cultural/scientific disciplines is a critical one for us to maintain. If we attempt to shut down dialogue on issues brought forth by the scientific community, for example, because they don't fit with our "doctrine", and we want to keep our preachers "pure" of harmful influences, then we will be aiming a gun at ourselves, in effect--playing russian roulette with our seminarians: When will this scientific stuff blow up in our faces?
If, on the other hand, we extend "independance" so far that students/staff/faculty are no longer required to adhere in any way to doctrinal standards then we play a different kind of russian roulette with ourselves such that we wonder when all this "independence" will lead us down a similar theological road to that which other mainline churches in Canada seem to have taken...
In short, I'm not at all sure that this is a tension that ought to be resolved. I think rather that the tension ought to be maintained as a healthy and important one.
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