Michael Barnes

University of Dayton, Religious Studies, Faculty Member

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A native Minnesotan somehow now anchored in southwest Ohio, I miss the pines and the clear water. After 60 years or so of learning about religion and then religionS and then cultural anthropology, I am no longer certain how to classify myself. The influence of cultural evolution on human life dominates my perspectives.

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Daniel D. Hutto

University of Wollongong

Galen Strawson

The University of Texas at Austin

Matthew Broome

University of Oxford

Shaun Gallagher

University of Memphis

Griffith University

Macquarie University

Deakin University

Università di Verona

University of Genova

University of Navarra

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Papers by Michael Barnes

Küng in Conflict. Edited and Translated by Swidler Leonard. Garden City, NY: Doubleday Image, 1981. xv + 627 pages. $8.95 (paper)

Horizons, 1982

Biblical Faith: An Evolutionary Approach. By Gerd Theissen. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985. xiii + 194 pages. $8.95 (paper)

Horizons, 1985

Nature and Purpose. By Haught John F.. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 1980. ii + 127 pages. $15.75 (paper $7.75)

Horizons, 1981

Responsive and Unresponsive Deity: The Religious Character of Panentheism and Classical Theism According to Charles Hartshorne

Bodies and Souls, or Spirited Bodies?(SHORTER NOTICES)(Brief article)(Book review)

Theological Studies, Jun 1, 2007

Mikael Stenmark, Rationality in Science, Religion and Everyday Life: A Critical Evaluation of Four Models of Rationality

Stenmark does not say it quite this directly, but the goal of the book (winner of a 1995 Templeto... more Stenmark does not say it quite this directly, but the goal of the book (winner of a 1995 Templeton Prize) is to defend religion against those who declare it to be irrational. He does not seek to show that any specific religious beliefs are true, but to show that the overall believing practices of religious people are rational, even in cases where in fact their beliefs may be wrong. Religion has a larger aim than just possessing truth and avoiding error. Religion is a whole life-view, a set of beliefs, values, and practices that has as its main aim to address the existential needs of persons to find meaning in life in the face of profound challenges posed by death, suffering, love, moral ambiguity. Stenmark identifies four initial models of rationality. The first is a generic normative notion that applies to all fields of believing. But this notion fails to distinguish among various aspects such as the nature of rationality in general, the standards of rationality used, the evidence of rationality, and the reasons to be rational (the aims or goals of rationality). To overcome this vagueness, Stenmark distinguishes between deontological and means-end rationalities. The deontological model supposes we have certain epistemic responsibilities to seek the truth for its own sake and therefore to adhere to rational standards. The means-end model says that whatever helps us achieve our goals is rational. In fact, Stenmark argues, there is a hidden means-end aspect to what is supposedly deontological: we think we should be rational because this serves various aims or goals. Stenmark insists we should have goals that transcend mere desires. The desire to feel good, e.g., could lead us to do something self-destructive. It is not rational to seek selfdestruction. So Stenmark offers a fourth 'Holistic Rationality'. A person should seek to articulate basic human interests and needs, beyond mere desires. Methods of believing that fulfill basic interests and needs are to be considered rational. There are further criteria of this fourth, holistic, rationality. To truly serve basic human interests and needs, believing must be realistic. A notion of rationality that could be applied only by a theoretical ideal person (or an angel) is not practical. An excellent guide to what is practical is what people in fact actually do successfully. Here science provides some guidance inasmuch as science is a successful practice. Science is a form of 'social evidentalism'. Science accepts beliefs as true (1) if there are 'good reasons' (evidence is the main good reason in science and life in general), and (2) if the beliefs have been subjected to good peer review (this is the social element). Having set all these criteria in place, albeit with a great many

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Stages of Thought

Rationality in Religion

Religion, 1997

Religion can be defined narrowly as belief in anthropomorphic supernatural beings. For Levy-Bruhl... more Religion can be defined narrowly as belief in anthropomorphic supernatural beings. For Levy-Bruhl this meant that prelogical ‘mystic participation’ preceded true religion. For Donald Wiebe and others it means that philosophical-scientific rationality has been struggling to replace religion since the axial age. A broader definition of religion interprets rational post-axial theology as a development within religion, not a replacement of true religion. Both definitions are legitimate. The narrow definition highlights a tendency to superstition in religion. The broader definition recognizes the possibility of an evolution of religious thought.

How to Relate Science and Religion: A Multidimensional Model. By Mikael Stenmark

The Heythrop Journal, 2008

Book Review: Faithful Persuasion: In Aid of Rhetoric of Christian Theology

Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology, 1994

THIS COLLECTION of thirty-two reprinted essays is divided thematically under five main headings: ... more THIS COLLECTION of thirty-two reprinted essays is divided thematically under five main headings: (1) Use of the Bible: Methods, Principles and Issues; (2) ReUse of the Bible: Examples of Hermeneutical Explorations; (3) The Exodus: One Theme, Many Perspectives; (4) One Reality, Many Texts: Examples of Multi-faith Hermeneutics; and (5) People as Exegetes. The contributors are mostly biblical scholars from the TwoThirds World who are seriously applying the historical-critical method to the Bible while wrestling with the realities of torture, death, terror, poverty, and oppression. The editor provides an introduction, one article on Interfaith Hermeneutics in Part Four, and a postscript. The organizing theme of this collection is the reading and interpreta tion of scripture out of the experience of being alienated and powerless. In other words, it concerns the present day am ha*äres or today's ochlos (cf. the Korean minjung) who are theologically, socially, and economically marginalized.

Theology and the Social Sciences

Biblical Interpretation, 1988

Background: Five different sacral fracture fixation methods were compared using finite element (F... more Background: Five different sacral fracture fixation methods were compared using finite element (FE) analysis to study their biomechanical characteristics. Methods: Denis type I sacral fractures were created by FE modeling. Five different fixation methods for the posterior pelvic ring were simulated: sacroiliac screw (SIS), lumbopelvic fixation (LPF), transiliac internal fixator (TIFI), S2-alar-iliac (S2AI) screw and S1 pedicle screw fixation (S2AI-S1) and S2AI screw and contralateral S1 pedicle screw fixation (S2AI-CS1). Four different loading methods were implemented in sequence to simulate the force in standing, flexion, right bending and left twisting, respectively. Vertical stiffness, relative displacement and change in relative displacement were recorded and analyzed. As predicted by the FE model, the vertical stiffness of the five groups in descending order was S2AI-S1, SIS, S2AI-CS1, LPF and TIFI. In terms of relative displacement, groups S2AI-S1 and S2AI-CS1 displayed a lower mean relative displacement, although group S2AI-CS1 exhibited greater displacement in the upper sacrum than group S2AI-S1. Group SIS displayed a moderate mean relative displacement, although the displacement of the upper sacrum was smaller than the corresponding displacement in group S2AI-CS1, while groups LPF and TIFI displayed larger mean relative displacements. Finally, in terms of change in relative displacement, groups TIFI and LPF displayed the greatest fluctuations in their motion, while groups SIS, S2AI-S1 and S2AI-CS1 displayed smaller fluctuations. Compared with SIS, unilateral LPF and TIFI, group S2AI-S1 displayed the greatest biomechanical stability of the Denis type I sacral fracture FE models. When the S1 pedicle screw insertion point on the affected side is damaged, S2AI-CS1 can be used as an appropriate alternative to S2AI-S1.

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Quantum Theology. By Diarmuid ÓMurchúM.S.C., New York: Crossroad, 1997. x + 227 pages. $19.95 (paper)

Horizons

Miguel Díaz’s On Being Human

Philosophy and Theology, 2004