Page 338 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O r t h o d o x y
possesses intelligibility, and that the human mind is called to
explore it.
Modern science emerged when two decisive theological
convictions were affirmed in medieval Christianity: that cre-
ation is rational, and that it is contingent. Because creation is
rational, one may search for causes and explanations; because
it is contingent, and not an extension of God’s nature, it must
be studied as it actually is. Thus science was able to investigate
nature through measure, size, quality, and cause. Science,
therefore, is historically a child of theology.
That few realize this today reveals how dramatic the later
change has been. The child grew up and revolted against its
mother; science and religion parted ways. This separation is
often explained through the story of Galileo, with the Church
portrayed as the oppressor of scientific freedom. Yet the causes
are far deeper. The true roots lie in the rise of an atomistic and
mechanistic mentality in Western thought, a mentality that
fragmented knowledge, encouraged specialization, and grad-
ually gave science an appearance of self-sufficiency.
Descartes gave this mentality its classic expression when he
wrote that humanity should become “masters and possessors
of nature.” Science has fulfilled this dream with remarkable
success. Through mechanistic analysis and technological ap-
plication, human beings have indeed become masters of na-
ture. But is this not precisely the root of our ecological crisis?
Yet religion bears its own share of responsibility. Forced by
science into the realm of myth, religion in the West often en-
tered into competition with science in the same marketplace
of happiness. It too encouraged humanity to dominate na-
ture—sometimes in the name of biblical interpretations of
“subduing the earth,” sometimes through spiritualities that
exalted human rationality over against the rest of creation.
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