Papers by Dr. Alexander F. van Biezen
Saying that science and religion are in conflict is knocking on an open door. Twenty-first centur... more Saying that science and religion are in conflict is knocking on an open door. Twenty-first century science does not disprove the existence of God, but it turns out that the universe does not need God for its existence. Religiously inspired explanations of reality are not refuted, but are slowly drifting into the shadows. Is there any place left for religion in a world without any need for the supernatural or the transcendent? How will traditional religions evolve in view of this new scientific image?
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Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), both priest and physicist, is the founding father of the big bang t... more Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), both priest and physicist, is the founding father of the big bang theory. In 1951, pope Pius XII saw in Lemaître's theory a confirmation of the Christian doctrine of creation. Surprisingly enough, Lemaître opposed this official statement of the pope. According to him, a cosmological theory cannot be used as a proof nor as a refutation of an article of faith. In my research I investigate which vision Lemaître had on the relation between religion and science. This research puts the current-day discussion about religion and science in a surprisingly new light.
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This paper is based on my lecture at Christ Church, University of Oxford, on 30 November 2016 [Ox... more This paper is based on my lecture at Christ Church, University of Oxford, on 30 November 2016 [Oxford Talks]: 'Science and Religion: Moving Beyond the Conflict'
(https://talks-dev.oucs.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/70f6840a-a9fc-44f6-a919-f794230825c7/?format=txt )
Saying that science and religion are in conflict is knocking on an open door. Twenty-first century science does not disprove the existence of God, but it turns out that the universe does not need God for its existence. Religiously inspired explanations of reality are not refuted, but are slowly drifting into the shadows. Is there any place left for religion in a world without any need for the supernatural or the transcendent? How will traditional religions evolve in view of this new scientific image?
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Published in Student Research Conference 2014, Delft, TU Delft, p. 31-33, Nov 2014
Peer reviewd paper presented at the Student Research Conference 2014, TU Delft, The Netherlands. ... more Peer reviewd paper presented at the Student Research Conference 2014, TU Delft, The Netherlands. Published in 'Student Research Conference 2014', Delft, TU Delft, p. 31-33
Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), both priest and physicist, is the founding father of the big bang theory. In 1951, pope Pius XII saw in Lemaître’s theory a confirmation of the Christian doctrine of creation. Surprisingly enough, Lemaître opposed this official statement of the pope. According to him, a cosmological theory cannot be used as a proof nor as a refutation of an article of faith. In my research I investigate which vision Lemaître had on the relation between religion and science. This research puts the current-day discussion about religion and science in a surprisingly new light.
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When bringing up the relationship between science and religion, the example of the Italian scient... more When bringing up the relationship between science and religion, the example of the Italian scientist Galileo (1564-1642) almost automatically springs to mind. Galileo’s conviction in 1633 for heresy for defending the Copernican model of the universe (with the earth orbiting the sun instead of vice versa) has become a paradigmatic example for advocating the incompatibility between science and faith. The Catholic Church has a long history of struggling with the rise of modern science. The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) – informally known as Vatican II, the most recent eucumenical council of the Catholic Church – is no exception in this respect. Even four hundred years after the birthday of Galileo, the Catholic Church failed to reach an agreement about his rehabilitation. How does this failure shed light on the apparently insurmountable difficulties of the Catholic Church with coming to grips with the scientific worldview?
As the Second Vatican Council took place from 1962 to 1965, this period happens to coincide with Georges Lemaître - the father of the Big Bang theory - being president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and a bit over ten years after the Un'Ora affair (the conflict between Lemaître and Pope Pius XII in 1951). As such, this working paper sheds an extra light on the related 'science and religion' debate and is part of my preparatory work for my PhD research.
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The doctrine of the Trinity is purportedly one of the fundamental cornerstones of Christianity. H... more The doctrine of the Trinity is purportedly one of the fundamental cornerstones of Christianity. However, it suffers from a remarkable isolation within the structure of dogmatic theology as a whole. The reason for this spurious isolation must be sought in its unfortunate connection with Thomist, scholastic metaphysics, going back to Aristotelian metaphysical concepts which play an essential role in the formulation of the contents of this doctrine.
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Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), zowel priester als natuurkundige, is de grondlegger van de oerknalt... more Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), zowel priester als natuurkundige, is de grondlegger van de oerknaltheorie. Paus Pius XII zag in 1951 in Lemaîtres theorie een bevestiging van de christelijke scheppingsleer. Verrassend genoeg verzette Lemaître zich tegen deze uitspraak van de paus. Volgens hem kan een kosmologische theorie niet als bewijs noch als weerlegging van een geloofspunt worden gebruikt. In mijn onderzoek ga ik na welke visie Lemaître had op de verhouding tussen geloof en wetenschap. Dit onderzoek werpt een verrassend licht op de hedendaagse discussie over geloof en wetenschap.
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[Peer-reviewed artikel, verschenen in Collationes] De rol van het pastoraat in de gezondheidszorg... more [Peer-reviewed artikel, verschenen in Collationes] De rol van het pastoraat in de gezondheidszorg wordt problematisch: het zit gevangen tussen het Scylla van een zich volledig willen inschakelen in de professionaliteit - met name het professionele, interventionistische deficit-model (waardoor het zijn identiteit dreigt te verliezen en zo vervangbaar te worden) - en het Charybdis van een niet langer begrepen identiteit. Een identiteit die zich daarom terugplooit op zijn traditionele rol van vertegenwoordiging van de eredienst en daardoor dreigt overbodig en weggecijferd te worden bij de volgende begrotingsronde. De theologische categorie van de ‘onderbreking’ (Lieven Boeve) laat toe een perspectief te ontwikkelen op een uitweg uit dit dilemma. In de actuele context van detraditionalisering en pluralisering dient het pastoraat in de gezondheidszorg precies meer – en niet minder – in te zetten op de “onderbrekende” identiteit van de pastor.
[Verschenen in 2015 in Collationes. Tijdschrift voor Theologie en Pastoraal, 2015, 1, 75-92.]
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In dit artikel gaan we op zoek naar de betekenis van christelijke pastorale zorg in de gezondheid... more In dit artikel gaan we op zoek naar de betekenis van christelijke pastorale zorg in de gezondheidszorg. Waar levensverhalen van mensen zich dreigen te sluiten door ziekte of naderende dood roept het christelijke verhaal de pastor als christen op deze verhalen te onderbreken. De rol van de christelijke pastor is in deze onderbreking de heilzame betrokkenheid van God zichtbaar te laten worden.
[Gepubliceerd in Pastorale Perspectieven (167), 2015, p. 25-29.]
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Jacques Dupuis (1923-2004) was undoubtedly one of the most prominent advocates of interreligious ... more Jacques Dupuis (1923-2004) was undoubtedly one of the most prominent advocates of interreligious dialogue of our time.The purpose of this paper is to analyse Dupuis’ work with regard to its strengths and weaknesses, when held against the official teaching of the Catholic Church.
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A reflection on Christianity and contemporary culture, with Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope) - one ... more A reflection on Christianity and contemporary culture, with Gaudium et Spes (Joy and Hope) - one of the principal documents of the Vatican Council (1962-1965) - as a starting point.
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De klassieke bevrijdingstheologie is niet dood, maar zich heeft getransformeerd naar een beter th... more De klassieke bevrijdingstheologie is niet dood, maar zich heeft getransformeerd naar een beter theologisch onderbouwde voorkeursoptie voor de armen in een breder kader gericht op duurzaamheid. Dat is alleszins de stelling die ik in deze tekst verder wil onderzoeken en onderbouwen.
Een sterke aanzet hiertoe komt van paus Franciscus I met het uitbouwen van een optie voor de armen. Het grote vernieuwingspunt is dat deze optie voor de armen verder dient te worden aangevuld en niet los kan gezien worden van een optie voor de aarde. Pas binnen een referentiekader van ecologische duurzaamheid op planetaire schaal kan een optie voor de armen volledig tot haar recht komen. Het hoopgevende van de visie van paus Franciscus I is dat er opnieuw een groeiende aandacht kan zijn voor de sociale leer van de Kerk, zonder dat men blijft steken in het ideologisch geharrewar tussen links en rechts, door te pleiten voor een trouw zijn aan de waarden van het evangelie.
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Dei Verbum heeft een diepgaande invloed gehad op de recontextualisering van het theologisch denke... more Dei Verbum heeft een diepgaande invloed gehad op de recontextualisering van het theologisch denken over de openbaring. De kern van deze vernieuwende visie is dat openbaring niet langer wordt gezien als een reeks van expliciteerbare, bovennatuurlijke geloofswaarheden die als een granieten blok van generatie op generatie dienen te worden doorgegeven. Openbaring wordt geïdentificeerd als Gods zelfmededeling in de geschiedenis die daardoor heilsgeschiedenis wordt. Deze zelfmededeling van God vindt haar definitieve culminatie in de incarnatie in de mens Jezus van Nazareth. Door deze zelfmededeling wordt de mens in een antwoordrelatie geplaatst. Deze openbaring is niet alleen volledig contigent (er is niets dat mensen onontkoombaar zou dwingen tot geloof), ze is bovendien intrinsiek kwetsbaar, want ze wordt slechts tot openbaring zolang ze door de mens in geloof aanvaard en beantwoord wordt.
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Autismevriendelijkheid in spirituele zorg, Mar 2016
Wanneer men aan spirituele zorgverleners in een ziekenhuis vraagt om een patiënt met autisme te b... more Wanneer men aan spirituele zorgverleners in een ziekenhuis vraagt om een patiënt met autisme te bezoeken, voelen velen zich vaak onzeker. Nochtans kom je met enkele praktische tips al een heel eind op weg naar wat meer autismevriendelijkheid bij spirituele zorgverlening.
Gepubliceerd in 'Pastorale Perspectieven', 170, maart 2016, p. 23-26.
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Books by Dr. Alexander F. van Biezen
Top-Down Cosmology and Model-Dependent Realism. A Philosophical Study of the Cosmology of Stephen Hawking and Thomas Hertog. Uitgeverij VUBPRESS Brussels University Press, ISBN 9789481172884, 2021
This book investigates the cosmological work of Stephen Hawking — the famous British scientist in... more This book investigates the cosmological work of Stephen Hawking — the famous British scientist in a wheelchair — and Thomas Hertog — his Flemish disciple — between 2006 and 2018. In 2006, Hawking and Hertog put forward a new framework called top-down cosmology. This approach starts from the present (“at the top”), with the properties of the universe as we can observe it today, and works its way back to the past (“down to the bottom”). This framework views the origin of the universe as all possible histories layered on top of each other. The universe did not have a single, unique beginning. Instead, it began in about every possible way.
In the ensuing years, Hawking and Hertog continued to refine their newly proposed cosmological framework, focussing on issues like the role of the observer and the conundrum of eternal inflation. A few weeks after Hawking’s passing away in 2018, a last joint article together with Hertog was published in which the next step to an even newer cosmological model was presented, applying a number of new concepts of holography in string theory.
What makes top-down cosmology stand out, compared to many other competing approaches, is Hawking’s attempt to scaffold his cosmological work by means of his philosophy of model-dependent realism. When two competing, even mutually incompatible, theories agree with observation, it is impossible to say one is more real than the other. From a cosmological point of view, it gave Hawking and Hertog a practically unconstrained liberty to play with concepts and tools of different branches of physics needed to construct their cosmological models. The author argues that model-dependent realism is not a brazen and failed attempt at philosophising, but a well thought through strategic move which definitely has its merits for science, provided that it would be worked out in a more systematic way. The author also defends the view that Hawking’s and Hertog’s approach to cosmology is indicative for a gradually changing attitude about what counts as “the scientific method” within the scientific community of fundamental physics and cosmology. The characteristics of this changing attitude are a more lenient view towards falsifiability and a stronger focus on non-empirical theory assessment.
Brussels, Uitgeverij VUBPRESS Brussels University Press, 2021.
ISBN 9789461172884
302 pages.
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Papers by Dr. Alexander F. van Biezen
(https://talks-dev.oucs.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/70f6840a-a9fc-44f6-a919-f794230825c7/?format=txt )
Saying that science and religion are in conflict is knocking on an open door. Twenty-first century science does not disprove the existence of God, but it turns out that the universe does not need God for its existence. Religiously inspired explanations of reality are not refuted, but are slowly drifting into the shadows. Is there any place left for religion in a world without any need for the supernatural or the transcendent? How will traditional religions evolve in view of this new scientific image?
Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), both priest and physicist, is the founding father of the big bang theory. In 1951, pope Pius XII saw in Lemaître’s theory a confirmation of the Christian doctrine of creation. Surprisingly enough, Lemaître opposed this official statement of the pope. According to him, a cosmological theory cannot be used as a proof nor as a refutation of an article of faith. In my research I investigate which vision Lemaître had on the relation between religion and science. This research puts the current-day discussion about religion and science in a surprisingly new light.
As the Second Vatican Council took place from 1962 to 1965, this period happens to coincide with Georges Lemaître - the father of the Big Bang theory - being president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and a bit over ten years after the Un'Ora affair (the conflict between Lemaître and Pope Pius XII in 1951). As such, this working paper sheds an extra light on the related 'science and religion' debate and is part of my preparatory work for my PhD research.
[Verschenen in 2015 in Collationes. Tijdschrift voor Theologie en Pastoraal, 2015, 1, 75-92.]
[Gepubliceerd in Pastorale Perspectieven (167), 2015, p. 25-29.]
Een sterke aanzet hiertoe komt van paus Franciscus I met het uitbouwen van een optie voor de armen. Het grote vernieuwingspunt is dat deze optie voor de armen verder dient te worden aangevuld en niet los kan gezien worden van een optie voor de aarde. Pas binnen een referentiekader van ecologische duurzaamheid op planetaire schaal kan een optie voor de armen volledig tot haar recht komen. Het hoopgevende van de visie van paus Franciscus I is dat er opnieuw een groeiende aandacht kan zijn voor de sociale leer van de Kerk, zonder dat men blijft steken in het ideologisch geharrewar tussen links en rechts, door te pleiten voor een trouw zijn aan de waarden van het evangelie.
Gepubliceerd in 'Pastorale Perspectieven', 170, maart 2016, p. 23-26.
Books by Dr. Alexander F. van Biezen
In the ensuing years, Hawking and Hertog continued to refine their newly proposed cosmological framework, focussing on issues like the role of the observer and the conundrum of eternal inflation. A few weeks after Hawking’s passing away in 2018, a last joint article together with Hertog was published in which the next step to an even newer cosmological model was presented, applying a number of new concepts of holography in string theory.
What makes top-down cosmology stand out, compared to many other competing approaches, is Hawking’s attempt to scaffold his cosmological work by means of his philosophy of model-dependent realism. When two competing, even mutually incompatible, theories agree with observation, it is impossible to say one is more real than the other. From a cosmological point of view, it gave Hawking and Hertog a practically unconstrained liberty to play with concepts and tools of different branches of physics needed to construct their cosmological models. The author argues that model-dependent realism is not a brazen and failed attempt at philosophising, but a well thought through strategic move which definitely has its merits for science, provided that it would be worked out in a more systematic way. The author also defends the view that Hawking’s and Hertog’s approach to cosmology is indicative for a gradually changing attitude about what counts as “the scientific method” within the scientific community of fundamental physics and cosmology. The characteristics of this changing attitude are a more lenient view towards falsifiability and a stronger focus on non-empirical theory assessment.
Brussels, Uitgeverij VUBPRESS Brussels University Press, 2021.
ISBN 9789461172884
302 pages.
(https://talks-dev.oucs.ox.ac.uk/talks/id/70f6840a-a9fc-44f6-a919-f794230825c7/?format=txt )
Saying that science and religion are in conflict is knocking on an open door. Twenty-first century science does not disprove the existence of God, but it turns out that the universe does not need God for its existence. Religiously inspired explanations of reality are not refuted, but are slowly drifting into the shadows. Is there any place left for religion in a world without any need for the supernatural or the transcendent? How will traditional religions evolve in view of this new scientific image?
Georges Lemaître (1894-1966), both priest and physicist, is the founding father of the big bang theory. In 1951, pope Pius XII saw in Lemaître’s theory a confirmation of the Christian doctrine of creation. Surprisingly enough, Lemaître opposed this official statement of the pope. According to him, a cosmological theory cannot be used as a proof nor as a refutation of an article of faith. In my research I investigate which vision Lemaître had on the relation between religion and science. This research puts the current-day discussion about religion and science in a surprisingly new light.
As the Second Vatican Council took place from 1962 to 1965, this period happens to coincide with Georges Lemaître - the father of the Big Bang theory - being president of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and a bit over ten years after the Un'Ora affair (the conflict between Lemaître and Pope Pius XII in 1951). As such, this working paper sheds an extra light on the related 'science and religion' debate and is part of my preparatory work for my PhD research.
[Verschenen in 2015 in Collationes. Tijdschrift voor Theologie en Pastoraal, 2015, 1, 75-92.]
[Gepubliceerd in Pastorale Perspectieven (167), 2015, p. 25-29.]
Een sterke aanzet hiertoe komt van paus Franciscus I met het uitbouwen van een optie voor de armen. Het grote vernieuwingspunt is dat deze optie voor de armen verder dient te worden aangevuld en niet los kan gezien worden van een optie voor de aarde. Pas binnen een referentiekader van ecologische duurzaamheid op planetaire schaal kan een optie voor de armen volledig tot haar recht komen. Het hoopgevende van de visie van paus Franciscus I is dat er opnieuw een groeiende aandacht kan zijn voor de sociale leer van de Kerk, zonder dat men blijft steken in het ideologisch geharrewar tussen links en rechts, door te pleiten voor een trouw zijn aan de waarden van het evangelie.
Gepubliceerd in 'Pastorale Perspectieven', 170, maart 2016, p. 23-26.
In the ensuing years, Hawking and Hertog continued to refine their newly proposed cosmological framework, focussing on issues like the role of the observer and the conundrum of eternal inflation. A few weeks after Hawking’s passing away in 2018, a last joint article together with Hertog was published in which the next step to an even newer cosmological model was presented, applying a number of new concepts of holography in string theory.
What makes top-down cosmology stand out, compared to many other competing approaches, is Hawking’s attempt to scaffold his cosmological work by means of his philosophy of model-dependent realism. When two competing, even mutually incompatible, theories agree with observation, it is impossible to say one is more real than the other. From a cosmological point of view, it gave Hawking and Hertog a practically unconstrained liberty to play with concepts and tools of different branches of physics needed to construct their cosmological models. The author argues that model-dependent realism is not a brazen and failed attempt at philosophising, but a well thought through strategic move which definitely has its merits for science, provided that it would be worked out in a more systematic way. The author also defends the view that Hawking’s and Hertog’s approach to cosmology is indicative for a gradually changing attitude about what counts as “the scientific method” within the scientific community of fundamental physics and cosmology. The characteristics of this changing attitude are a more lenient view towards falsifiability and a stronger focus on non-empirical theory assessment.
Brussels, Uitgeverij VUBPRESS Brussels University Press, 2021.
ISBN 9789461172884
302 pages.