GUSTAFSON THEOCENTRISM AND SCIENTIFIC NATURALISTIC PHILOSOPHY - A MARRIAGE MADE IN HEAVEN

Examining James M. Gustafson's views on the relationships between the sciences, theology, and ethics from a scientifically based naturalisti c philosophical perspective, I concur with his rejection of separatist and antagonistic interactionist positions and his adherence to a mutu ally supportive interactionist position with both descriptive and norm ative features. I next explore three aspects of this interactionism: r eligious empiricism, the connections between facts and values, and the centering of objective values in the divine. Here I find much accord between Gustafson's theocentrism and a scientifically based naturalist ic philosophical account of the relationships between the sciences, th eology, and ethics.