THE QUESTION OF GOD IN AN AGE OF SCIENCE - CONSTRUCTIONS OF REALITY AND ULTIMATE REALITY IN THEOLOGY AND SCIENCE

Both science and theology have lately faced a crisis of authority. The ir shared realization of the extent to which knowledge is underdetermi ned by the data and socially constructed provides a kind of common gro und for reconsideration of their respective methods of inquiry as well as of the status of the claims they have warrant to make. Both fields are now consciously and critically employing a models approach. This article proposes criteria for assessing models and applies the criteri a to one model from each field. The model of understanding evolution a s a struggle for existence is considered from the field of science, an d the traditional model for understanding the God-world relation as th at of a king's relation to his kingdom is considered from the field of theology. Each of these models is evaluated with respect to its credi bility, religious viability, and moral adequacy. In each case an alter native analogy is proposed and argued for.