Kuyper’s razor? Rethinking science and religion, trinitarian scholarship and God’s eternity

Abstract

This article explores three research fields in contemporary Christian scholarship and argues that the way they are approached is often questionable due to the basic assumptions, the methods or the implications. The following allegations are proposed. Research on the relationship between religion and science is based on a framework of assumptions which does not reflect the biblical standpoint properly. Trinitarian scholarship expects too much from the presumed correspondence between Trinity and created reality, whilst it tends to neglect other resources available to Christian scholarship. Scientific reflection on God’s eternity is speculative in as much as it tries to transcend the modal horizon of knowledge. In these three cases (other cases are also briefly mentioned) it is argued that ‘Kuyper’s razor’ (an approach promoted in the Kuyperian reformational tradition) would help rethinking research in these areas.Kuyper se skalpel? ’n Heroorweging van wetenskap-en-religie, trinitariese navorsing en God se ewigheid. Hierdie artikel verken drie navorsingsterreine in die kontemporêre Christelike wetenskap en voer aan dat die manier waarop hulle benader word dikwels bedenklik is weens basiese aannames, die metodes of die implikasies daarvan. Die volgende kritiek word voorgestel. Navorsing oor die verhouding tussen religie en wetenskap is op ’n raamwerk van aannames gebaseer wat nie ’n behoorlike weerspieëling van die skriftuurlike standpunt is nie. Trinitariese navorsing verwag te veel van die veronderstelde ooreenkoms tussen die Drie-eenheid en die geskape werklikheid, terwyl dit neig om ander hulpbronne wat vir die Christelike wetenskap beskikbaar is, te verwaarloos. Wetenskaplike besinning oor God se ewigheid is spekulatief vir sover dit poog om die modale horison van kennis te transendeer. Dit word aangevoer dat ‘Kuyper se skalpel’ (’n benadering wat in die Kuyperiaans-reformatoriese tradisie bevorder word) sal help om navorsing in hierdie drie gevalle (ander gevalle word ook kortliks genoem) te heroorweeg.

Kuyperania in 2015

“…Several of the previous papers have been critical of some aspects of Kuyper's thought; the one from Coletto (2015) applies a Kuyperian approach to three key areas of Christian scholarship: science and religion; Trinitarian scholarship; and God's eternity. In each of these three areas he questions the assumptions on which they are based and maintains that 'Kuyper's razor' would help in a surgical assumption-ectomy and shows how the problems can be cut a different way.…”