Baruch Spinoza and the naturalisation of the Bible : an epistemological investigation

dc.contributor.authorGronum, N.J. (Nicolaas)
dc.date.accessioned2015-11-25T08:11:29Z
dc.date.available2015-11-25T08:11:29Z
dc.date.issued2015-09-28
dc.descriptionRefer to Legaspi (2010).en_ZA
dc.description.abstractThis article investigates the naturalisation of the Bible. Three voices are of special importance in the narrative presented in this article; they are Aristotle (384–322 BC), Rene Descartes (1596–1650) and Baruch Spinoza (1632–1677). This article will investigate the scientific method and metaphysics espoused by each of the three scholars, thereby highlighting changes in scientific method and metaphysics that lead to the naturalisation of the Bible. Firstly, Aristotle pioneered a scientific method (his logic) that would dominate for centuries, as well as a highly influential metaphysics. Secondly, Descartes, witnessing the horrors of the Thirty Years War and seeing first-hand the new discoveries that brought about the scientific revolution, reacted against Aristotle’s metaphysics. Ironically he then used Aristotle’s scientific method to provide a foundation for the new science resulting in Descartes’s famous dualism. Thirdly, Spinoza, equally horrified by the amount of religious violence of his time, reacts against Descartes’s dualism, providing scholars with a monist metaphysics that would contribute greatly to the naturalisation of the Bible. This article will be relevant to theologians who wish to engage more fully with contemporary Western culture.en_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2015en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.hts.org.zaen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationGronum, N.J., 2015, 'Baruch Spinoza and the naturalisation of the Bible: An epistemological investigation', HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 71(3), Art. #2885, 9 pages. http://dx.DOI.org/ 10.4102/hts.v71i3.2885.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0259-9422 (print)
dc.identifier.issn2072-8050 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.4102/hts.v71i3.2885
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/50613
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherOpenJournals Publishingen_ZA
dc.rights© 2015. The Authors. Licensee: AOSIS OpenJournals. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License.en_ZA
dc.subjectScientific revolutionen_ZA
dc.subjectMetaphysicsen_ZA
dc.subjectNaturalisation of the Bibleen_ZA
dc.subjectAristotle (384–322 BC)en_ZA
dc.subjectRene Descartes (1596–1650)en_ZA
dc.subjectBaruch Spinoza (1632–1677)en_ZA
dc.titleBaruch Spinoza and the naturalisation of the Bible : an epistemological investigationen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Gronum_Baruch_2015.pdf
Size:
238.49 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Article

License bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
1.71 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description: