Abstract
Scientific data indicate that violence is involved in the emergence of higher forms of life from lower forms. This seems incompatible with the God of Christian revelation, who is the source of love and mercy. Current attempts to explain this tension usually focus on two approaches: the ‘gift of freedom’ (McLeish) or the ‘only way’ theory (Southgate). I will argue that Thomas Aquinas’ understanding of nature is able to provide an interesting framework for the challenges posed by the way of the appearance of life. The article will present Aquinas’ theology of nature, which seems to fit perfectly with the current state of scientific knowledge, especially when considering the relationship between God and creation.Contribution: The article shows that the problem of the interpretation of paradise in the Christian tradition may be related to the influence of the Neoplatonic tradition, which reduces paradise to the idealistic sphere. Attention is drawn to the concept of perfection, which does not mean the absence of any disvalue in the natural world, but is a relational concept. The death of animals and natural evil need not be explained by moral evil, but requires a broader interpretation of the value of the natural order.
Highlights
The topic of the natural order has become the subject of a active dialogue between science and religion, providing both sides with new insights
The picture of the world proposed by the natural sciences is based on a spontaneous tendency of complex systems to self-organise
Nature is represented as a large system in which predominantly chaotic, indeterministic systems exist at the local level, as suggested by quantum mechanics in its standard interpretation (Llamas 2020), perhaps characterised by super determinism or macrolevel determinism (Sanchez-Cañizares 2019:29)
Summary
The topic of the natural order has become the subject of a active dialogue between science and religion, providing both sides with new insights (eds. Torrance & McCall 2018). The picture of the world proposed by the natural sciences is based on a spontaneous tendency of complex systems to self-organise. Nature is represented as a large system in which predominantly chaotic, indeterministic systems exist at the local level, as suggested by quantum mechanics in its standard interpretation (Llamas 2020), perhaps characterised by super determinism or macrolevel determinism (Sanchez-Cañizares 2019:29). Interactions occur between these systems because they are not isolated from each other and large number of possible nonlinear connections (as yet unknown) make them into a complex whole
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