| Popis: |
Ethical Encounter Theology (E.E.T.) is developed as a scientifically coherent, perfect being theist worldview, supported by holistic biblical readings and a strong theodicy. Ethically-structured cosmogony bridges the revelational/empirical gap that separates traditional perfect being theism from Theology/Science research. The dissertation explores an ethical worldview where biblical faith in a perfect God is consonant with contemporary science. Processes of ethical encounter, binary ethical apocalypsis and ethical dialysis characterize a worldview in which science and traditional theology can share a goal of exposing and separating right from wrong. Ecollation (physical actualization of invisible information) and binary ethical apocalypsis (reification of right and wrong ethical possibilities) are argued to have accompanied the progress of naturalistic evolution and to have added lasting meaning to world history. The ethical structuring of our world is argued to have begun with a prolepsis (and/or divine prescience) of moral evil. That caused the cosmic ethical anthropic problem (c.e.a.p.) which imprisoned creation’s goodness in a singularity of selfishness. An encounter with divine self-giving love then enabled this to expand into our universe. Thus evolutionary complexification takes place in a matrix of invisible potentials, including right and wrong ethical possibilities. The visible and invisible moieties of a creatio ex ethica universe facilitate an ongoing dialectic between divine right ethics and human resistance to virtue. All evolutionary history is expected to be conserved to constitute the evidence required for eschatological justice. This differentiates E.E.T. from those naturalistic and panentheistic theologies where history is disposable. The biblical story of original sin is taken to be a dramatization of the primal problem (c.e.a.p.) between God and humankind. Freedom of choice is the divine means for there to be a just judgment and ethical dialysis at the Eschaton. Our anthropic universe’s contingency, waste, suffering, injustice and futility are consequences of the freedom required to resolve the c.e.a.p. Nevertheless, ethical identification and separation processes are specifically salvific, eternally instructive and greatly honor God. They provide a theologically very good motive for creating a universe like ours. |
