[October 2000 journal entry]
Re Bonhoeffer’s reference in his 30 April 1944 prison letter to a “religious a priori” as the underpinning for “our whole 1900-year-old Christian preaching and theology”, his ‘God of the gaps’ criticism of ‘religion’ should be recalled. Until well into the 19th century, so little could be explained ‘from below’ that a ‘from above’ worldview could easily be taken for granted throughout Germany and other western societies in which modern/scientific foundations were still being laid. In other words, the image of ‘gaps’ itself implies a shift from a ‘from above’ perspective to a ‘from below’ perspective due to scientific breakthroughs already achieved and those anticipated with increasing confidence.
Re Bonhoeffer’s reference in his 30 April 1944 prison letter to a “religious a priori” as the underpinning for “our whole 1900-year-old Christian preaching and theology”, his ‘God of the gaps’ criticism of ‘religion’ should be recalled. Until well into the 19th century, so little could be explained ‘from below’ that a ‘from above’ worldview could easily be taken for granted throughout Germany and other western societies in which modern/scientific foundations were still being laid. In other words, the image of ‘gaps’ itself implies a shift from a ‘from above’ perspective to a ‘from below’ perspective due to scientific breakthroughs already achieved and those anticipated with increasing confidence.