The original justice in the context of natural sciences: Thomistic insights

HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies

 
 
Field Value
 
Title The original justice in the context of natural sciences: Thomistic insights
 
Creator Roszak, Piotr
 
Subject Theology; Philosophy Evolution; original justice; religion–science; sin; nature and grace; natural sciences.
Description The picture of the beginnings of humankind presented by natural science is often contrasted with what is conveyed in Scripture. It has been pointed out that the Edenic state before sin – which we refer to as original justice – was a time of absolute perfection in which there was no room for any deficiency. According to Thomas Aquinas, however, this picture conflicts with what Paradise was as a state on the way to Heaven. For Aquinas, the difference between Paradise and the present situation is not an ontological one but a change of circumstance, because original justice was not a period of salvation. This means that Paradise was a period of development, thanks to the grace received, which is reconcilable with the principled account of natural science. The key is the distinction between Paradise and Heaven, which sets religion–science reflections in their proper context.Contribution: The article drew attention to notions of original justice, emphasising the Paradise time as the development of virtues, including the theological virtue of faith. This helps to build an adequate theological framework for a fruitful dialogue with the natural sciences, as recommended by Buitendag.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor
Date 2023-01-26
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/hts.v79i2.8073
 
Source HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies; Vol 79, No 2 (2023); 6 pages 2072-8050 0259-9422
 
Language eng
 
Relation
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https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/8073/24216 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/8073/24217 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/8073/24218 https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/8073/24219
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2023 Piotr Roszak https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
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