# LCMS Convention Workbook_St. Louis Missouri_2016_S196 # Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration) 196 IV. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS The Intersection of Science and Christian Theology: Abbreviations AC AE Ap FC ep FC SD LC In Christ All Things Hold Together The Intersection of Science & Christian Theology Augsburg Confession Luther’s Works. American ed. 55 vols. St. Louis: Concordia and Philadelphia: Fortress, 1955–1986. Apology of the Augsburg Confession Formula of Concord, Epitome Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration The Large Catechism Copyright © 2015 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod 1333 South Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122-7295 Manufactured in the United States of America. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, unless otherwise noted. Quotations from the Lutheran Confessions are from The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, ed. Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000). This publication may be available in Braille, in large print, or on cassette tape for the visually impaired. Please allow 8 to 12 weeks for delivery. Write to Lutheran Braille Workers, P.O. Box 5000, Yucaipa, CA 92399; call toll-free 1-800-925-6092; or visit the Web site: www.LBWinc.org. A REPORT OF THE COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS THE LUTHERAN CHURCH—MISSOURI SYNOD FEBRUARY 2015 cover photo © Galyna Andrushko/Shutterstock, Inc. In Christ All Things Hold Together The Intersection of Science and Christian Theology IV. Biblical Knowledge and Scientific Knowledge ........................ 98 1. Introduction ................................................................................. 98 2. Knowing as a Christian ............................................................... 98 3. Reading God's Word—basic principles of interpretation ......... 106 Introduction: The Challenge of Scientism ..........................................5 An Overview of the Report ...................................................................13 I. Theological Foundations....................................................................16 1. Introduction ..............................................................................16 2. The authority of Scripture and the proper role of reason ..........17 3. The proper relationship between God's "two books" ................20 4. Biblical Exegesis and Modern Science .......................................111 5. Conclusion.................................................................................. 124 V. Practical Applications ..................................................................... 125 1. Introduction ............................................................................... 125 2. Students...................................................................................... 125 4. The doctrine of vocation ............................................................25 3. Teachers ...................................................................................... 128 5. Christianity and culture ...........................................................28 4. Investigators ............................................................................... 131 6. A Christocentric approach to creation.......................................35 5. Non-scientists ............................................................................ 135 7. Image of God theology and Christian anthropology .................43 6. Conclusion.................................................................................. 139 8. The theological underpinnings of modern science ....................48 II. Historical Context...............................................................................52 1. Introduction ................................................................................. 52 2. The attack on final causes and the decline of natural theology ....................................................................53 3. The rise of autonomous reason ..................................................59 4. The Newtonian world machine .................................................. 62 5. The rise of Naturalism ..............................................................64 6. Science as a profession ................................................................ 68 7. The roots of moralistic therapeutic deism .................................69 8. Conclusion ................................................................................... 71 III. Philosophical Issues........................................................................ 72 1. Introduction ..............................................................................72 2. Philosophical problems for the scientific vocation.....................72 3. Philosophical contributions of Christianity to science..............94 4. Conclusion ................................................................................97 2016 Convention Workbook