MVC professor outlines eras in religion, science

Stephen Patton, Missouri Valley College professor of chemistry, holds a model of a light particle used during his discussion of the evolution of science and religious thought Monday night. Patton's lecture was the first of three in a series hosted by the college. [Click to enlarge]

Missouri Valley College began its second series of lectures focusing on science and religion Monday with a presentation on the four controversies that have shaped the history of science and still divide religion.

Stephen Patton, MVC professor of chemistry, explained that throughout the history of both science and religion there have been periods of expansion -- interrupted by periods of disruption.

The first period of expansion began about 1100 A.D. and continued on until 1455. Called the age of deductive reasoning in science and the scholastic period in religion, this time was exemplified by the observations of those considered to be authorities in their fields. During this first period, those making observations included noted scientist Roger Bacon and theologian Thomas Aquinas.

However, Patton said, often their observations were not entirely correct. When people began to question the observations of the accepted authorities, the age of inductive reasoning began. In religion, the availability of Gutenberg's printed Bibles allowed more people to have access to religious literature and heralded the beginning of the Protestant reformation.

Leading thinkers during this period included Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilee, Martin Luther and Cornelius Jensen. Patton said Jensen was a religious thinker, but also a heretic who developed the doctrine of "once saved always saved." Under this heresy, if a person asks for salvation they can live the rest of their lives however they want and still be under the protection of salvation, he said.

The second age came to a close when people began to focus on increasingly smaller objects. Patton explained that, in science, the question was whether matter would lose its identity if it is cut repeatedly. Christians pondered whether they were in danger of losing their identity in Christ if they sinned repeatedly.

This led to the age of corpuscular reasoning in science and personal piety in religion. Leading the way during this period were Blaise Pascal, Isaac Newton, George Fox and John Wesley, Patton said. The era ran for 50 years, extending from 1750 through 1800.

After this, scientists and religious thinkers began to look at the persistent, non-material forces that change people's lives, the world and the universe. By 1870 this exploration led to the age of romantic forces in science and fundamentalism in religion. Michael Faraday, Robert Millikan, John Nelson Darby and Cyrus Ingersoll Scofield all were prominent leaders during this time.

Around 1932, a new school of thought emerged that changed the shape of both science and religion, Patton said. Rather than looking at small, gradual changes, the new thinkers looked to study the sudden catastrophic events that shape the universe. Called the age of catastrophic events in science, the present period is known as the evangelical era for religion. Patton named Albert Einstein, Rene Thom, Billy Graham and Harvey Cox among the thinkers helping to shape this age.

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