Science and Religion

  1. Lemma
  2. Επιστήμη και θρησκεία
  3. Greek, Modern (1453-)
  4. Katsiampoura, Gianna
  5. Scientific theories and disciplines - Various approaches to the problem of correlation between science and theology
  6. 13-2-2017
  7. Riginiotis, Theodore I. [Author]. Επιστήμη και θρησκεία (Science and religion)
  8. Ορθοδοξία (Orthodoxy)
  9. limits of science - Orthodox worldview
  10. Click Here
    1. Riginiotis, Theodore I. (2012), "Science and Religion", http://www.orthodoxos.com.gr/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=833

    1. Theodore I. Riginiotis, in this article, discusses the science-religion relations from the first centuries AD until now. The opportunity for this discussion is the experiment for the confirmation of Higgs Boson in CERN.

      The writer has the opinion that the first Christian Fathers and Orthodox Church made clear that the science and religion are different. Bible, especially the Genesis, was not treated as an information source for the creation of the world. Knowledge in this area was always the subject of natural philosophy research. Fathers like St. Basil explained the Genesis as a symbolic text. The conflict began after the Middle Ages in West Europe, when scientists could work without the control of the papal Inquisition.

      From the 19th century to our days, the controversy continues with various chance, among them the theory of evolution and the experiment on Higgs Boson. Neverthelless, according to Theodore Riginiotis, from the orthodox standpoint, the problem has already been solved by the 4th century AD, when the St. Basil, interpreting the beginning of Genesis to the famous Speeches in Hexaemeron, with the help of all the scientific knowledge of his time, said that they did not reduce our admiration for the greatness of creation when they discovered the way in which they have been. Basil wrote this because some Christians of his day grumbled that he examined Genesis scientifically!

      Theodore Riginiotis’ opinion is that the problem now is not the research about natural world but how we can find the God for our salvation, because the salvation is the union with God, meaning the union with all other beings in the universe.