September 22, 2014
Having completed the first part of my studies and obtained a Certificate of Higher Education in Theology this is my last post as a student at the University of London International Programmes – I am moving on to continue my studies on campus at Heythrop College (which was the Lead College for my Certificate).
In this last post I would like to briefly reflect on the continuing importance of theology – understood as rational discourse on religions from within and without particular religious traditions – and comment on its continuing relevance in the modern world.
I fully expect this to be a controversial notion – not least because of the widespread but mistaken belief that religion is no longer relevant in a contemporary society.
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Posted by Edgar
August 22, 2014
Psychologist Paul Vitz is a senior scholar at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences and professor emeritus of psychology at New York University. An atheist until his late 30s, he has written extensively on the psychology of religion, and Faith of the Fatherless: the psychology of atheism is his latest work. Given my interest in theology and psychology I knew I’d be interested in what he has to say but found the book even more illuminating than I had expected.
I won’t spoil the pleasure of reading the book itself by giving too much away, but here is what I found interesting:
Vitz begins by looking at the projection theory of belief in God as well as Sigmund Freud’s ideas about religion. Vitz argues that the same approach (of critical psychological evaluation) can and should be taken to the atheist ideas. If theist’s belief in God is “simply” a projection of his desire for there to be God (according to Freud), atheist’s denial of God can also be “simply” a projection of desire for a Godless universe. Next Vitz asks what predisposes people to being atheists or theists, and discovers some very interesting facts, namely that atheists tend, in general, to have absent or “defective” fathers or father figures – and he presents a historical survey of famous atheists from different times to illustrate his theory. Of course the above is a gross oversimplification of his work, so if you want to find out the details and psychology behind this all read the book!
Edgar is studying for a Bachelor of Divinity with the University of London International Programmes, with academic direction from Heythrop College.
6 Comments | Theology | Tagged: atheism, Bachelor of Divinity, BD, Edgar, faith, Heythrop, psychology, Religion | Permalink
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July 8, 2014
With this year’s exams written and some time to go before exam results are released, I took the opportunity to revisit some of the themes from the first course I did, Introduction to the Old Testament. Old Testament (or the Hebrew Bible) studies can easily take a lifetime of study even if one focuses on a particular subject or theme, but for this post I chose to focus on one of the most central “problems” in the Old Testament, namely the problem of idolatry. If there is one position that really unites Judaism, Christianity and Islam in addition to the insistent belief in One, it is their aversion to and rejection of idolatry.
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Posted by Edgar
June 26, 2014
Over the last few years I have had the privilege of reading and meeting several leading scholars of science and theology who are also outstanding individuals. It is often commented that the times of polymaths are long gone, not least due to the incredible advances made in almost all areas of inquiry, from sciences to engineering to history. There is certainly at least some truth in that opinion, however there are scholars who combine and excel in two or more areas and by doing so bring forth fresh insights not otherwise available from those who only specialise in one discipline. When these disciplines are science and theology I think their achievements are of particular importance.
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August 7, 2013
Having completed the Old and New Testament courses it’s now time to study for my next course: Christian Doctrine. The Christian Doctrine course builds on the introductions to the Old and the New Testaments and considers the core Christian teaching and concepts (“doctrine” – from Latin “doctor” – teacher). If the Old Testament (in academic usage more properly called the Hebrew Bible) is the foundation of Judaism, and the New Testament is the foundation of Christianity, the Christian Doctrine is what Christians understand, believe and proclaim when they read the New Testament (and the Old Testament in light of the New) and very importantly, why they do so. Despite what many atheist authors would like us to believe, theists in general and Christians in particular have many reasons to believe what they believe – and while one can subject these reasons to analysis and critique one has to understand them first – which some atheist authors fail to do.
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Posted by Edgar
May 5, 2013
Relationship of science and religion is one of my interests and I think it is a very promising area of study and research. This blog post by Dr Guy Consolmagno SJ, Vatican’s Astronomer, is an interesting meditation not only on this relationship but also on a lot more, including how an MIT graduate in astronomy who worked for Peace Corps ended up becoming a Jesuit and Vatican’s astronomer. One of the interesting questions he asks is:
Science is not a big book of facts. Science is not about ‘proving’ anything. Science describes, but the descriptions are incomplete; we keep hoping that they get better. For that very reason you cannot use science to prove the existence of God (or no-God). But can science encourage us in our belief?
Read the post to find out!
Edgar is studying for a Bachelor of Divinity with the University of London International Programmes, with academic direction from Heythrop College.
3 Comments | General, Theology | Tagged: astronomy, Bachelor of Divinity, BD, Distance Learning, divinity, God, Guy Consolmagno, Heythrop, london, Religion, science, science and religion, students, Study, theology, University of London, University of London International Programmes | Permalink
Posted by Edgar
March 27, 2013
In February 2013 I attended a study day on Church Fathers at the Institute of Orthodox Christian Studies in Cambridge, dedicated to St Ephrem the Syrian by Dr Sebastian Brock, probably the world’s foremost expert on Syriac Christianity. In the morning Dr Brock introduced St Ephrem’s life and his times, and in the afternoon we had a chance to consider some of his profound and moving writings which are available in English translations, in particular by Dr Brock. It is interesting to note that St Ephrem wrote in the Syriac language, which is a descendant of Aramaic language spoken by Jesus. One often hears that it is not just what is taught but also who teaches it that matters – and Dr Brock’s lecture was a proof of how a dedicated scholar who deeply cares about the subject of his studies makes a huge difference.
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