Father Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest - Research Paper Example

Father Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest Introduction For the better part of the history of mankind, scholars have perceived science and religion as being in conflict[Swe07]. The two are said to oppose each other. For instance, for a long time, religion held that the earth was created between six and ten thousand years ago. However, archeology, which is a form of science has led to this belief being abandoned. This example illustrates how science opposes religion. Based on this and similar cases, one might argue that science has proven many religious beliefs to be false, and it is only a matter of time and all the other religious beliefs will suffer the same fate. Religion too opposes science, for example, by offering opposing explanations for occurrence. Despite this widely held view that science and religion oppose each other, there are scholars who believe that overall, science and religion have had a positive relationship between them[Swe07]. According to this school of thought, the two complement each other. Promoters of this viewpoint claim that religion has made several contributions to science. They also point to the fact that, throughout history, several religious people have been involved in scientific research. One such person is Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, a Jesuit priest. Many scholars regard Teilhard as a pioneer of integrating science and faith within the Catholic Church. This paper examines Teilhard’s thoughts and contribution toward getting the Catholic Church to embrace science. Background on Fr. Teilhard Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French Jesuit priest who also doubled up as a scientist[Del12]. As a paleontologist, Teilhard took part in the discovery of the “Peking Man”. They also had the concept of the “Omega Point”, the highest degree of complexity and awareness they believed the universes was evolving toward. The Catholic Church censored many of Teilhard’s writing primarily because of their views on the original sin. Today, Teilhard’s paleontological work is widely accepted among scientists. However, their theorizing on evolution is disparaged. Fr. Teilhard died in 1955 at the age of seventy-four years. Their Thoughts and Contribution to Change in the Catholic Teilhard was among the very few leaders of thought to successfully marry pure scientific research with a religious calling. Teilhard believed that there was a need to reconstruct the doctrines of the Catholic Church from the viewpoints of science while at the same time, rebuilding science from the perspectives of science[Del12]. In other words, they believed that the two spheres complemented each other. Consequently, from early in their paleontological career, Teilhard made it their mission to reconcile science and religion. They would accomplish this by taking lessons learned from the study of nature and making them the basis for Christian faith. At the same time, they would make their personal experience of God the foundation of modern science. In line with their belief that science, as it existed then, needed reconstruction, Teilhard advanced a well-thought critique of traditional science. They posited that science void of faith was meaningless[Del12]. It could only begin to find meaning the moment scientists started basing their work on the doctrines of Christianity in general and those of the Catholic Church in particular. This was no doubt a radical proposition. Hence, it is not surprising that it was met with the full wrath of the scientific community. Surprisingly though, a small number of world-renown scientists saw sense in Teilhard’s model and embraced it. The greatest majority of scientists, however, continued to react defensively. Stephen Jay Gould was among the most vocal scientists in reacting to Teilhard's claims[Del12]. Gould teaches evolutionary biology at Harvard University is influential in the discipline. Gould underscores that the entire enterprise of Teilhard is illegitimate. Their basic assumptions are not compatible with science. In addition, Gould has made it their personal mission to expose Teilhard as the biggest scientific fraudster of modern times. Unfortunately, Gould’s vehement opposition to Teilhard’s ideas has served to work against them. Today, many people, both in religion and science, no longer regard them as highly as they did before. Teilhard posited that the workings of God are most manifest in the physical world which science seeks to understand[Del12]. According to them, through the physical world, God reveals themselves to all mankind in all places and at all times. Scientists, like everyone else, can either choose to open or shut their eyes to the deeds of God as they are manifest in the physical world. Valid as this idea may sound in religious circles, it did not go down well with the scientific community. In fact, many scientists saw Teilhard as being unreasonable by trying to force an alliance between two entities that must each be left on their own. In their book entitled The Divine Milieu, Teilhard claimed that their aim was to emphasize the lessons the Church had always taught from its beginning[Del12]. The only difference they were introducing was in the methodology; they intended to use science to recapitulate these lessons. They went ahead to assert that they were teaching the Church how to see. In effect, Teilhard was saying that religious truth was to be found in the physical world, not in the Magisterium or teaching authority of the Church. Since its inception to this day, the Magisterium defines the doctrines of the Catholic Church. However, Teilhard was about to overturn the tables by proposing that science teaches theology how to see. Their personal experience was to inform the highest Church authorities what ought to be contained in the teachings of the church. Teilhard held that science was the single most important occupation of man[Del12]. In an essay they wrote in 1939, Teilhard attempted to trace the history of science from its humble beginnings as a hobby to its state today where it drives life on earth. They traced science from its roots in the ancient cultures through the nineteenth century when it started to question religious beliefs. The single most important theory at that point in time was the theory of evolution propagated by Charles Darwin. Teilhard posits that Darwin’s most important discovery was time. According to Teilhard, Darwin transformed the way we perceive time in a similar way that Galileo changed our perception of space. In the nineteenth century, science was able to explain many phenomena that had been mysteries until then. So successful was it that many people believed that one day, science could solve all the mysteries of life. For instance, in physics, physicists were able to a clear understanding of the essence of all matter: the atom. In biology, it became possible to explain the evolution of all life forms in terms of competition for limited resources such that the strongest of organisms amassed enough resources to support life and, therefore, lived. Thus, argued Teilhard, discovery was fast paving the way for people to worship matter[Del12]. In other words, the rise of scientific discovery was leading to the “death of God”. Traditionally, Teilhard argued, theologians tended to perceive God as a supreme being over and above ant not a part of the physical world[Del12]. The al-powerful God of conventional theology could only influence the physical world by overturning its natural laws. For instance, if a river flowed uphill instead of downhill, this would be regarded an act of God. It could not be explained scientifically. Science, on the other hand, had its foundation in nature. Teilhard proposed a solution to these divergent views. Their solution was to chart a new path for each. If the purpose of religion is to raise mankind’s awareness of God and that of science is to bring about advancement in human life within the constraints of the material world, then these two surely complement each other. Just as from the scientific community, Teilhard’s ideas met a lot of resistance from the Church. The Church saw Teilhard as a threat to the authenticity of the faith[Del12]. Vatican took measures to ensure that their religious writings were not published. They were forbidden from teaching or speaking in public on religious matters. They were driven out of their native country of France. Despite these repressive efforts, however, Teilhard was still able to disseminate their ideas informally and discretely through their friends in the Church. They became a hero and a source of inspiration for young priests and theologians. In spite of all these challenges, Teilhard set the stage for the several renewal movements that blossomed in the Church in the aftermath of the Second Vatican Council. Teilhard’s Theology vs. Communism There exists a similarity between Teilhard and Karl Marx. Both men attempted to abolish the status quo of their day[Lis75]. Karl Marx revolutionized our understanding of societies by revealing the hidden motivations that underpin their workings. Teilhard, on the other hand, had an even more uphill task of turning theology on its head. They tried to demonstrate that the realm of the material world was not a reserve of scientific investigation, but also the new basis of religion. The physical world, Teilhard argued, mirrored God, and so humankind's understanding of God could be enhanced through it. Teilhard and their ideas rubbed the Church the wrong way. They had elevated the physical world to a level of significance it had never enjoyed before. During their stay in China, Teilhard dialogued with the leaders of communist socialism in that country. Based on these dialogues, Teilhard wrote on the future (or evolution), a popular subject both in Christianity and Marxism[Lis75]. However, critics argue that Teilhard’s discussion of evolution was naïve at best. In addition, they question the presence and degree of utopianism in their view of the future. Nevertheless, there are several similarities between Teilhard’s and Karl Marx’s notions of the ultimate end state for the organism and society, respectively. Contemporary Catholic Leaders’ Views on Teilhard’s Theology In 1925, Teilhard’s superior in the Society of Jesus ordered them to relinquish their teaching position in France and withdraw their controversial remarks on the teaching of the original sin. Unwilling to leave the Society, they opted to sign a statement withdrawing their remarks then left for China. This incident marked the beginning of a string of accusations that certain Church officials levied against Teilhard. The mother of them all was the 1962 reprimand of the Holy Office that cautioned on Teilhard's writings. Following this incident, many prominent clergies began to defend Teilhard's works[Van14]. These clerics include Popes Francis and Benedict XVI. Pope Benedict In their book, Introduction to Christianity, Pope Benedict XVI, at that time, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, speaks favorably of Teilhard’s works[Van14]. For instance, they speak favorably of Teilhard’s theorizing on evolution. Teilhard had posited that there are two extreme orders in the universe: the infinitely big and small orders. However, in between these extremes, there is a third order called infinitely complex. According to Teilhard, this third order is the ultimate goal of growth. It is worth noting that while Pope Benedict XVI converses positively of Fr. Teilhard’s theorizing on evolution, scientists have dismissed the same as charlatanism. Pope Francis In recent times, Pope Francis has made remarks that could imply that they support Teilhard’s teachings[Van14]. The Pope’s recent teachings on the responsibility of mankind to the environment are far from revolutionary. Christianity has consistently taught that man is the steward of creation. God has made man the custodian of the creation, including the environment so that they may take care of it for the common good of all. While some scholars see in this teaching some resonance with Teilhard’s theory of conscious evolution, many more do not see anything radical here. Conclusion For a long time, scholars perceived science and religion as incompatible and directly opposed to each other. However, this view began to change in the twentieth century when some clerics became actively involved in scientific research. One such cleric was Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, who was both a priest and a scientist. Teilhard saw the need to turn religion and theology on their heads such that they became founded on science also, not just on faith alone. Similarly, they proposed that science be founded on faith. Teilhard's views generated much opposition from both the Church leadership and the international community of scientists. Today, many scholars regard Teilhard as a victim of the Church leadership that was both afraid and ignorant of science. This stance is bolstered by the fact that in recent years, Teilhard's works have received support from prominent clerics such as Pope Benedict XVI[Van14]. Works cited Swe07: , (Sweet and Feist 2), Del12: , (Delio 155), Del12: , (Delio 157), Del12: , (Delio 158), Del12: , (Delio 160), Del12: , (Delio 161), Del12: , (Delio 162), Del12: , (Delio 164), Del12: , (Delio 166), Lis75: , (Lischer 353), Lis75: , (Lischer 355), Van14: , (Van Dyke 33), Van14: , (Van Dyke 35), Van14: , (Van Dyke 38), Read More