Is die ortodoksie se verstaan van die sondeval belemmerend vir die gesprek tussen teologie en natuurwetenskap?

Abstract

In hierdie artikel is betoog dat die Gereformeerde Ortodoksie se begrip van die sondeval ’n belemmering was vir die gesprek tussen teologie en natuurwetenskap. Die rede hiervoor was dat dit ten eerste ’n bepaalde verstaan van liniêre tyd nahou en ten tweede dat dit ’n bonatuurlike ingryp veronderstel het. Albei hierdie aspekte het die debat onnodig problematiseer. Die argument is ontwikkel deur eerstens die probleem te definieer, gevolg deur ’n uiteensetting van die standpunte van Augustinus en Calvyn onderskeidelik oor die sondeval. As ’n heuristiese sleutel is die konsepte van infralapsarisme en supralapsarisme aangewend om die tema te ontleed. Die artikel is afgesluit met die oortuiging dat die imago Dei ’n beliggaamde menslike persoon is wat biologies in die geskiedenis in terme van selfbewussyn en morele verantwoordelikheid ontluik het. Is the Orthodoxy’s notion of the Fall inhibitory for the dialogue between theology and science? In this article it was argued that the Reformed Orthodoxy’s interpretation of the Fall had become an impediment in the dialogue between theology and science. The reason was that it assumed firstly a specific understanding of linear time and secondly a metaphysical intervention. Both events were unnecessarily problematising the debate. The argument was deployed by stating the problem, followed by an exposition of the views of Augustine and Calvin on the Fall. As a heuristic key, the concepts of infralapsarism and supralapsarism were applied respectively to analyse the topic. The article concluded with the conviction that the imago Dei is an embodied human person that had biologically emerged in history as a center of self-awareness, and moral responsibility.

Keywords

• Fall
• Augustine
• Calvin
• Imago Dei
• Virtue ethics
• Embodied human person