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Is Humanity Uniquely Created by God?

Is Humanity Uniquely Created by God?. Jan-Olav Henriksen. Evolution and Human Nature at CTI. Theologians, Scientists, Philosophers Why at CTI? => The interdisciplinary Focus What do scientists and theologians have in common? We want to understand religion Religion as part of human nature

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Is Humanity Uniquely Created by God?

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  1. Is HumanityUniquelyCreated by God? Jan-Olav Henriksen

  2. Evolution and Human Nature at CTI • Theologians, Scientists, Philosophers • Why at CTI? => The interdisciplinary Focus • What do scientists and theologians have in common? We want to understand religion • Religion as part of human nature • Religion as a common topic – approached from different scholarly disciplines • Evolution as providing the conditions for understanding (the impact and importance of) religion • Note: distinction between the conditions for religion and the contents of religion

  3. What is religion? • Relgion is more thandoctrine (and belief) • Religion as practice (prayer, worship, meals, clothing, etc. • Religion as embodied – and as ritual • Ritual as prior to language (early symbols) • Religion as emerged and evolved • Religion as part ofwhat makes human human • Religion as conditioned by human symboliccapacities – butalso more thanthese.

  4. Theology • Theology as critical and constructive reflection on the existing contents and functions of religion • Theology in need of being informed by other approaches if we are to make constructive suggestions about how to articulate Christian faith in the contemporary world. Why? Avoid compartmentalization of faith and reason • Common for all at CTI: Criticism of the neo-Darwinian rejection of the possibility for warranted belief, as well as of creationism as the rejection of scientific data about human evolution. • Theology does not explore the empirical world. Theology interprets the human experience of the world by means of its normative sources in Scripture and Tradition. Conflict between theology and science will accordingly always be over the interpretation of “data” – if any. • Theology as insisting on how religion is rooted in a reality that is more than “the natural” conditions for being human

  5. The problem • Who cancreate? – OnlyGod is creator • Whatdoes it mean to be created? • Humans as co-creators? • Creativity as agency, intervention or what? (in, with and under thenaturalprocesses ) • Creation: of more thanthe «naturalworld»

  6. The theological side • Humans as creatures • Creation as ongoing • Creation as good – and as corrupted: thetheological scene • Humans as intertwinedwiththeworkofthetrinitartian God, in God’swork for creation, redemption and renewal, and fulfilment • Nature and grace

  7. The empirical (scientific) side • Humanity as evolved • Natural Selection • Anthropicprinciple(s)? • Interaction and sociality • Communityniche • Language, symbols • Reciprocity:environment as shaping, and shaped by, humanty • => Humans as makingthemselves and theirworlds

  8. To relate to God: RealmsofExperience and theirreligiousrelevance • The naturalworld • The social and culturalworld • The Innerworld • A «spiritual» world? • The symbolicpowersofhumanity: shaping theworlddifferently: Sacraments as example

  9. God and Creation • God is not a thing – not an empiricalentity • God is infinite – Creationfinite • Humansbecomewhattheyare by relating to God – in all realmsoflife and experience • The onlythingwecaninvestigatescientifically, is theeffectsofGod’swork • => weare all in process, all underway

  10. Weareuniquelycreated by God • In the sense that only God is creator • We are not the only ones who are created • The whole of the process of the world must be seen as an expression of God’s creative work • It also means that all that is, is included in God’s process of creation, redemption, and fulfillment • Humans are distinct (different, unique) compared to other living beings, but must also be seen as having evolved from and being in continuation with other living beings

  11. A creature in the image of God • Witness – in passivity as well as activity: OfGod’s love, care, justice, generosity and abundance • Differentiation – knowwhoyouare (Socrates) and diversity • Recognition • Relation • Beingfinite • Believe in God’s Word abouthumanity: Created in the image of God and given a destinythat is revealed in thelife and workof Jesus Christ – and thepracticalconsequencesofthis • Other Species as images of God?

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