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From: Michael Straight <straight@email.unc.edu> Subject: Re: (urth) natural theology, argument from design, Wolfe, and other matters Date: Fri, 5 Nov 1999 10:03:07 On Thu, 4 Nov 1999, Daniel Fusch wrote: > Natural theology, on the other hand, is a much older and more complex > ideology. As I understand it, natural theology argues, among other things, > that because the world was created by a supernatural being, that being can > intervene in the affairs of the world, producing miracles. Actually, Natural Theology refers to that which can be learned about God from nature, as opposed to that which has been learned about God from revelation. The term "Natural Theology" was most popular in the 18th and 19th centuries, but the distinction is rooted in Aquinas and the scholastics. You are right that the worldview that does not clearly distinguish between the actions of God and the action of nature goes back even further. For instance, in the Hebrew scriptures the prophets frequently give God credit for natural disasters (the locust plague in Amos), and historical events (the triumph of Babylon is God's punishment against Israel). On the other hand, ancient people also recognized some distinction between a miracle and an ordinary event. The story of a virgin giving birth was no easier to believe because they knew less biology than we do. -Rostrum *More Wolfe info & archive of this list at http://www.urth.net/urth/