西方科學與基督宗教：十七世紀早期理性與信仰間的張力

Western Science and Christianity: The Tension between Reason and Faith in the Early Seventeenth Century

本文藉由分析國內學者有關「科學與宗教」的論點，探討17世紀早期理性與信仰之間的張力關係。本文從17世紀前的神學暨自然哲學史考察表明，科學（哲學）所強調的理性及宗教（神學）所強調的啟示信仰之間經常存在著張力。這種張力來自於，當哲學觀點與神學權威對自然現象有不同理解時，《聖經》經文解釋就成為關鍵：基督徒學者面臨是要捍衛《聖經》經文字面意義，還是接受哲學觀點而認定經文字面意義僅為比喻性語言。奧古斯丁曾提出一個《聖經》「解經原則」──勿輕率固執地拒斥（或接納）無傷信仰的不同解釋。這給哲學家爭論新學說的空間，但實際應用上基督徒學者間卻難有共識。17世紀伽利略和克普勒遵從古斯丁解經原則支持哥白尼日心地動說，但反對者認為日心地動說會危及基督教信仰。支持及反對哥白尼學說的雙方，皆嘗試在理性地理解自然又不傷害信仰的張力下說服對方。

"This paper explores the tense relationship between reason and faith in the early 17th century through an analysis of domestic scholars’arguments concerning Science and Religion. Through an examination of the histories of theology and natural philosophy prior to the 17th century, this paper demonstrates the tension that regularly existed between reason, that which is emphasized by Science/Philosophy, and revelatory faith, that which is emphasized by and Religion/Theology. This tension arose at atime when philosophical views and theological authorities had different understandings of the natural world. The interpretation of the Bible’s scriptures then became the crucial point. Facing this issue, Christian scholars would either defend the literal meaning of certain Biblical verses or accept philosophical views and maintain that the meaning of the scriptural passages was merely metaphorical. Augustine once suggested a“principle of Biblical interpretation”––one should not rashly and stubbornly reject (or accept) adifferent interpretation if there is no harm to faith. This gave philosophers room to debate new theories, but in their practical application, Christian scholars found it difficult to come to acommon consensus. In the 17th century, Galileo and Kepler followed Augustine’s“principle of Biblical interpretation”and supported Copernican heliocentrism; however, opponents believed that heliocentrism posed adanger to Christian faith. Supporters and opponents of Copernicus’theory both attempted to convince each other amidst the tension between reasonably comprehending the natural world and not harming faith."