Human Death in Theological Anthropology and Evolutionary Biology: Disambiguating (im)mortality as Ecumenical Solution

Human death is natural from the perspective of evolutionary biology but unnatural from the vantage point of classical Christian theology. The biblical notion that death entered the world as a result of sin seems hard to square with the view that (human) death has been an integral part of the natural...

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
1. VerfasserIn: Brink, Gijsbert van den 1963- (VerfasserIn)
Medienart: Elektronisch Aufsatz
Sprache:Englisch
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Veröffentlicht: Wiley-Blackwell 2022
In: Zygon
Jahr: 2022, Band: 57, Heft: 4, Seiten: 869-888
weitere Schlagwörter:B Augustine
B Human Nature
B theology and science
B Immortality
B Ecumenical Theology
B Death
B Theological Anthropology
B Christianity
B Evolutionary Biology
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Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Human death is natural from the perspective of evolutionary biology but unnatural from the vantage point of classical Christian theology. The biblical notion that death entered the world as a result of sin seems hard to square with the view that (human) death has been an integral part of the natural order all along. I suggest an ecumenical solution to this conundrum by retrieving and elaborating the Augustinian modal distinction between strong and weak immortality. It is argued on exegetical and theological grounds that the human being can best be seen as being created in a state of posse mori et posse non mori, and that—when conceptual ambiguities in their writings are dissolved—this is what theologians as diverse as the prelates of the Council of Trent, John Calvin, Louis Berkhof, and Wolfhart Pannenberg had in mind. It is also argued that this solution is compatible with contemporary evolutionary science and can be accepted by creationists of various stripes.
ISSN:1467-9744
Enthält:Enthalten in: Zygon
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/zygo.12824