Die Boyle-Lectures sind nach Robert Boyle benannt, einem bedeutenden Naturphilosophen des 17. Jahrhunderts. Im Rahmen seines Testaments stiftete Boyle eine Reihe von Vorlesungen oder Predigten (ursprünglich acht pro Jahr), die sich mit der Beziehung zwischen dem Christentum und der neuen Naturphilosophie befassen sollten, die zu dieser Zeit in der europäischen Gesellschaft aufkam.
Seit 2004 wird diese Vortragsreihe mit Unterstützung des Board of the Boyle Lectures von der International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) organisiert und an einem der ursprünglichen Veranstaltungsorte, der Kirche St. Mary-le-Bow in Cheapside in der Londoner City, abgehalten.
Geschichte Frühe Vorlesungen Die erste derartige Vorlesung wurde 1692 von Richard Bentley gehalten, an den Isaac Newton geschrieben hatte:
Die frühen Prediger hatten den ausdrücklichen Auftrag, die Wahrheit der christlichen Religion gegenüber Juden, Muslimen und Ungläubigen zu beweisen, ohne dabei Kontroversen oder Unterschiede zwischen verschiedenen christlichen Gruppen zu berücksichtigen.
Ein Geistlicher sollte von Thomas Tenison (dem späteren Erzbischof von Canterbury) und drei weiteren ernannten Treuhändern für einen Zeitraum von höchstens drei Jahren zum Dozenten ernannt werden. Boyle hatte anfangs die Miete aus seinem Haus in der Londoner Crooked Lane zur Unterstützung der Vorlesungen abgetreten, doch die Einnahmen aus dieser Quelle versiegten bald. Erzbischof Tenison veranlasste daraufhin, dass die Pachteinnahmen aus einem Bauernhof in der Gemeinde Brill in Buckinghamshire in Höhe von 12,10 £ pro Quartal an den Dozenten gezahlt werden sollten.
Wiederauflage Die Boyle-Vorlesungen wurden 2004 in der Kirche St. Mary-le-Bow in der Londoner City von Michael Byrne, einem Fellow des Birkbeck College der University of London, wiederbelebt. Finanziell unterstützt wurden die Vorlesungen von einer Reihe von Mäzenen, vor allem von der Worshipful Company of Grocers und der Worshipful Company of Mercers in der Stadt.
Nachdem Michael Byrne die ersten 15 Vorlesungen der neuen Reihe organisiert hatte, trat er 2018 als Einberufender zurück. Die Leitung der Vorlesung ging daraufhin an die International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Boyle Lectures Board of Trustees über.
Chronologische Liste
17. Jahrhundert 1692 – A Confutation of Atheism, by Richard BentleyJohn Henry Parker: J. H. Parker's Divinity Catalogue, Oxford, 1837, S. 39Richard Bentley: Eight Boyle Lectures on Atheism, New York, Garland 1976Separate first editions of lectures #2–8: Richard Bentley: Matter and Motion Cannot Think, Or A Confutation of Atheism from the Faculties of the Soul, T. Parkhurst and H. Mortlock, London, 1692. 1693–94 – A Demonstration of the Messias, in which the Truth of the Christian Religion is proved, especially against the Jews, by Richard KidderGilbert Burnet: Boyle Lectures (1692–1732): A Defence of Natural and Revealed Religion, being an Abridgement of the Sermons preached at the Lectures founded by Robert Boyle. Philosophy and Christian Thought in Britain 1700–1900, Bristol, Thoemmes 2000 1694 – Richard BentleyJames Henry Monk: The life of Richard Bentley, with an account of his writings and anecdotes of many distinguished characters during the period in which he flourished, London: Printed for J. G. & F. Rivington, 1833 1695 – The Possibility, Expediency and Necessity of Divine Revelation, by John WilliamsJohn Williams: A collection of eight sermons preached in defense of the Christian religion, called the "Boyle lectures", 1694-1696, London: Printed for Ric. Chitwell ... and Tho. Cockerill ..., 1695 1696 – The Perfection of the Evangelical Revelation, by John Williams 1697 – The Certainty of the Christian Revelation and the Necessity of believing it, established, by Francis Gastrell 1698 – The Atheistical Objections against the Being of God and His Attributes fairly considered and fully refuted, by John Harris 1699 – The Credibility of the Christian Revelation, from its intrinsick Evidence, by Samuel Bradford 1700 – The Sufficiency of a Standing Revelation, by Offspring Blackall
18. Jahrhundert 1701–02 – Truth and Excellency of the Christian Religion, by George Stanhope 1703 – Adams 1704 – A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God, by Samuel Clarke 1705 – The Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion, by Samuel Clarke 1706 – Arguments to Prove the Being of a God, by John Hancock 1707 – The Accomplishment of Scripture Prophecies, by William Whiston 1708 – The Wisdom of God in the Redemption of Man, as delivered in the Holy Scriptures, vindicated from the chief Objections of Modern Infidels, by John Turner 1709 – Religion no Matter of Shame, by Lilly Butler 1710 – The Divine Original and Excellence of the Christian Religion, by Josiah Woodward 1711–12 – Physico-Theology, or a Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God from his Works of Creation, by William Derham 1713–14 – On the Exercise of Private Judgment, or Free-Thinking, by Benjamin Ibbot 1717–18 – Natural Obligations to Believe the Principles of Religion and Divine Revelation, by John Leng 1719 – An Enquiry into the Cause and Origin of Evil, by John Clarke 1720 – On the Origin of Evil, by John Clarke 1721 – The pretended Difficulties in Natural or Revealed Religion, no Excuse for Infidelity, by Robert Gurdon 1724–25 – A Demonstration of True Religion, in a Chain of Consequences from certain and undeniable Principles, by Thomas Burnett 1725–28 – John Denne 1730–32 – The Gradual Revelation of the Gospel from the time of Man's Apostacy, by William Berriman 1736–38 – The History of the Acts of the Holy Apostles, confirmed from other Authors, and considered as full Evidence for the Truth of Christianity, by Richard Biscoe 1739–41 – Leonard Twells 1747–49 – Christianity justified upon the Scripture Foundation; being a Summery View of the Controversy between Christians and Deists, by Henry Stebbing 1750–52 – John Jortin 1759–62 – Charles Moss 1763 – A Discourse upon the Being of God against Atheists, by Ralph Heathcote 1769–71 – The Intent and Propriety of the Scripture Miracles considered and explained, by Henry Owen 1778–80 – An Argument for the Christian Religion, drawn from a Comparison of Revelation with the Natural Operations of the Mind, by James Williamson
19. Jahrhundert 1802–05 – An Historical View of the Rise and Progress of Infidelity, with a Refutation of its Principles and Reasonings, by William Van Mildert 1812 – William Van Mildert 1814 – Frederick Nolan 1821 – The Connection of Christianity with Human Happiness, by William Harness 1845–46 – The Religions of the World; and Their Relations to Christianity Considered in Eight Lectures – Frederick Denison Maurice 1854 – Christopher Wordsworth 1861 – The Bible and its Critics: an Enquiry into the Objective Reality of Revealed Truths, by Edward Garbett 1862 – The Conflict between Science and Infidelity, by Edward Garbett 1864 – The Conversion of the Roman empire, by Charles Merivale 1865 – The Conversion of the Northern Nations, by Charles Merivale 1866–67 – Christ and Christendom, by Edward Hayes Plumptre 1868 – The Witness of the Old Testament to Christ, by Stanley Leathes 1869 – The Witness of St. Paul to Christ, by Stanley Leathes 1870 – The Witness of St. John to Christ, by Stanley Leathes 1871–72 – Moral Difficulties Connected with the Bible, by James Augustus Hessey 1874–75 – Christianity and Morality Or the Correspondence of the Gospel with the Moral Nature of Man, by Henry Wace 1876 – What is Natural Theology?, by Alfred Barry 1877–78 – The Manifold Witness for Christ, by Alfred Barry 1879–80 – The Evidential Value of the Holy Eucharist, by George Frederick Maclear 1884 – The Scientific Obstacles to Christian Belief, by George Herbert Curteis 1890 – Old Truths in Modern Lights (The Present Conflict of Science and Theology), by T. G. Bonney 1891 – Christian Doctrines and Modern Thought, by T. G. Bonney 1893 – Ascent of Faith or the Grounds of Certainty in Science and Religion, by Alexander James Harrison 1895 – The Gospel of Experience Or the Witness of Human Life to the Truth of Revelation, by W. C. E. Newbolt 1897 – William Benham
20. Jahrhundert 1903–05 – The Testimony of St. Paul to Christ Viewed in Some of its Aspects, by Richard John Knowling 1935–36 – God, Creation and Revelation, by Allen John MacDonald 1965 – The Christian Universe, by Eric Mascall
21. Jahrhundert 2004 – Darwin, Design, and the Promise of Nature, by John F. Haught 2005 – Darwin's Compass: How Evolution Discovers the Song of Creation, by Simon Conway Morris, with a response by Keith Ward 2006 – The Emergence of Spirit: From Complexity to Anthropology to Theology, by Philip Clayton 2007 – Cosmology of Ultimate Concern, by John D. Barrow, with a response by Martin Rees 2008 – Psychologising and Neurologising about Religion: Facts, Fallacies and the Future, by Malcolm Jeeves, with a response by Fraser Watts 2009 – Misusing Darwin: The Materialist Conspiracy in Evolutionary Biology, by Keith Ward, with a response by John Polkinghorne 2010 – The Legacy of Robert Boyle – Then and Now, by John Hedley Brooke, with a response by Geoffrey Cantor 2011 – Is the World Unfinished? On Interactions between Science and Theology, by Jürgen Moltmann, with a response by Alan Torrance 2012 – Christ and Evolution: A Drama of Wisdom, by Celia Deane-Drummond, with a response by Fount LeRon Shults 2013 – Science and Religion in Dialogue, by John Polkinghorne, with a response by Richard Chartres 2014 – New Atheism – New Apologetics: The Use of Science in Recent Christian Apologetic Writings, by Alister McGrath, with a response by Richard Harries 2015 – Natural Theology Revisited (Again), by Russell Re Manning, with a response by Louise Hickman 2016 – Natural Theology in a Changed Key? Evolution, Cooperation, and the God Question, by Sarah Coakley, with a response by Christopher Insole 2017 – Theological Influences in Scientific Research Programmes: Natural Theology ‘in Reverse’, by Robert J. Russell, with a response by Rowan Williams 2018 – Apocalypses Now: Modern Science and Biblical Miracles, by Mark Harris, with a response by John Hedley Brooke 2019 – Science, Religion and Ethics, by Michael Reiss 2020 – Mental Health and the Gospel, by Christopher Cook, with a response by Fraser Watts 2021 – The Rediscovery of Contemplation Through Science, by Tom McLeish, with a response by Rowan Williams 2022 – God and a World of Natural Evil: Theology and Science in Hard Conversation, by Prof Christopher Southgate, with a response by Andrew Davidson 2023 – Attending to Attention, by The Rt Revd and Rt Hon the Lord (Rowan) Williams of Oystermouth, with response from Dr John Teasdale 2024 – Is religion natural?, by David Fergusson, with response from Fiona Ellis.
Literatur Boyle, Robert, and the Boyle Lectures, in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. II (CCEL)
Einzelnachweise
Kategorie:Philosophie der Neuzeit Kategorie:Bildung in England Kategorie:Vorlesung Kategorie:Christentum in England