3 out of 4 stars
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In The Unity of Knowledge: A Whole System Approach to the Coherence Theory of Truth, Dr. Yemi Adex Adeniran argues that the great divide between scientific thought and theological thought need not exist. He argues that, although the Enlightenment period created a false rift between them, they can and should coexist. Through a systematic treatment of the subject, he takes the reader through different aspects of scientific and theological systems of thought to prove his point.
Part of Dr. Adeniran's argument is that the foundations of modern science have roots in the Judeo-Christian worldview, and that the people who paved the way for modern science were theists (who believed the universe was created by God). He discusses Galileo, Kepler, Isaac Newton and Rene Descarte among many others in an extensive literature review. Some of the concepts Dr. Adeniran discusses are atheistic scientism (the belief that science is the only real knowledge there is), semiotics (the study of signs and what they signify), and the Christian Theistic Conviction Model (that Christian theists are justified in their beliefs based on material and immaterial knowledge).
What I like about this book is that Dr. Adeniran does not advocate for science without religion, nor does he propose we focus only on religion and eschew intellectual thought entirely. Instead, he stresses the importance and interconnectedness of the two. The inclusion of citations from leading scientists and theologians helped me to understand his argument for a coherent system of thought. He systematically addresses the different elements of the "war" between scientific knowledge and biblical knowledge to show that no war need exist. This is a difficult topic, but the author tackled it well.
This is a dense book. It reads like a doctoral dissertation; take your time reading it to let the concepts sink in. People interested in philosophy and theology will like this text. Its thorough, systematic approach to the content helps the reader understand it better, one element at a time. People who do not like scholarly writing will not like this book. Although Dr. Adeniran writes that the book is for academics as well as for lay people, it is definitely written with an academic slant. The language, as well as the format of the text, put the work squarely in academia. It includes a table of contents, copious footnotes, a bibliography, an appendix and an index. In addition, Dr. Adeniran uses quotes from scripture, blogs, and historical books and essays to support his arguments.
I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. Further editing is needed, as there are several grammatical errors throughout the work. Even with the errors, however, this is an interesting book that addresses a complex issue. Kudos to Dr. Adeniran for taking on such an important, albeit difficult, topic.
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The Unity Of Knowledge
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