Springing Cultural Traps

Abstract

This article reviews the dialogue of recent decades between scientists and theologians in general and in two multiyear consultations held at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton in particular. It reflects upon the fact that the shift from a “methodological phase” through a “physics phase” to a content-centered “theology phase” has been extremely fruitful for the discourse. The article considers the various gaps between theological, scientific, and common-sense thought in modernity. It shows how scientists and theologians tried to overcome these gaps. Finally, the article identifies six “cultural traps” that limited the fruitfulness and the academic impact of the science-and-theology discourse in the past.